San Jose Earthquakes Shea Salinas (6) celebrates a first half goal as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.
Two weeks ago, missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season looked like a near certainty for the San Jose Earthquakes. Four wins later, they look like the best team in MLS.
The Earthquakes extended their season-high four game winning streak, with a first half goal by Shea Salinas providing the difference in a huge 1-0 victory over rivals LA Galaxy.
San Jose also extended their streak of games without conceding to four in front of a sellout crowd of 18,000 at Avaya Stadium, despite the absence of midfield stalwart Fatai Alashe.
His replacement, Marc Pelosi, didn’t miss a beat, pairing well with newcomer Anibal Godoy who had another exceptional performance. San Jose is undefeated in all four games since acquiring the Panamanian on August 6.
Los Angeles Galaxy Giovani dos Santos (10) warms up before the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.
San Jose Earthquakes Shea Salinas (6) redirects the ball in front of Los Angeles Galaxy Gyasi Zardes (11) in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
San Jose Earthquakes Quincy Amarikwa (25) and Los Angeles Galaxy Robbie Keane (7) battle for the ball in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
San Jose Earthquakes Shea Salinas (6) controls the ball in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.
San Jose Earthquakes Shea Salinas (6) controls the ball in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.
San Jose Earthquakes Quincy Amarikwa (25) controls the ball in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.
Los Angeles Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes battle in the first half at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.
San Jose Earthquakes Cordell Cato (7) passes the ball through the legs of Los Angeles Galaxy Omar Gonzalez (4) in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
San Jose Earthquakes Quincy Amarikwa (25) dices through the defense as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.
San Jose Earthquakes Shea Salinas (6) celebrates a first half goal as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.
San Jose Earthquakes Chris Wondolowski (8) charges upfield in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.
San Jose Earthquakes Anibal Godoy (30) snags the ball from Los Angeles Galaxy Juninho (19) in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
Los Angeles Galaxy A.J. DeLaGarza (20) and San Jose Earthquakes Quincy Amarikwa (25) battle in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
San Jose Earthquakes Chris Wondolowski (8) gets a pass off in front of Los Angeles Galaxy Steven Gerrard (8) in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
San Jose Earthquakes David Bingham (1) grabs a shot on goal in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.
San Jose Earthquakes Shea Salinas (6) reacts after a shot on goal in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.
San Jose Earthquakes Quincy Amarikwa (25) shoots the ball past Los Angeles Galaxy Omar Gonzalez (4) in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
Los Angeles Galaxy Donovan Ricketts (1) stops the shot by San Jose Earthquakes Quincy Amarikwa (25) in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
San Jose Earthquakes Chris Wondolowski (8 reacts after a collision in the first half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
San Jose Earthquakes Victor Bernardez (5) and Los Angeles Galaxy Steven Gerrard (8) battle for the ball in the second half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
San Jose Earthquakes David Bingham (1) punches the ball away from Los Angeles Galaxy Gyasi Zardes (11) in the second half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
Los Angeles Galaxy Giovani dos Santos (10) escapes the pursuit of San Jose Earthquakes Shaun Francis (20) in the second half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
Los Angeles Galaxy Giovani dos Santos (10) gets the ball past San Jose Earthquakes Victor Bernardez (5) in the second half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
San Jose Earthquakes Victor Bernardez (5) picks the ball from Los Angeles Galaxy Robbie Keane (7) in the second half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena looks on in the second half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.
San Jose Earthquakes David Bingham (1) pokes the ball from the path of Los Angeles Galaxy Robbie Keane (7) in the second half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
San Jose Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear instructs players in the second half as the LA Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.more
San Jose Earthquakes David Bingham (1) reacts after the 1-0 win over the LA Galaxy at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 28, 2015.
A red card in the 46th minute put the visiting Galaxy in an even deeper hole after conceding in the 23rd minute. LA still holds the top spot in the Western Conference by a point, but Vancouver has two games in hand, and could leapfrog them with a victory against Houston tomorrow.
The Quakes are now in sole possession of the 6th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, leading Seattle by three points with eight games remaining.
After nearly conceding a Zardes header 23 seconds in, the Earthquakes improbably took the lead in the thanks to an excellent cross by Marvell Wynne.
Just when it looked like the San Jose attack had stalled, the right-back curled a left-footed cross that found the head of Wondolowski in the penalty area.
Galaxy keeper Donovan Ricketts saved the initial chance, but was in no position to deal with Shea Salinas’ headed rebound.
The goal was the veteran winger’s second in as many games and his third this season, a single-season record for Salinas.
San Jose thoroughly dominated LA throughout the entire first half. The Quakes nearly had a second goal in the 38th minute, when a Wondo header hit the far post after another excellent service from Wynne.
A dreadful start for the Galaxy got worse just three minutes after the restart, when center-back Leonardo was issued a straight red card for pulling down Quincy Amarikwa, who beat the Brazilian in a foot race for a one-on-one opportunity with Ricketts.
The Galaxy lost another defender in the 56th minute, after A.J. DeLaGarza was forced off with a left-knee injury.
The pace slowed down for the game’s final half-hour with neither side creating a serious chance.
The Quakes looks to continue this dream run in their second of a four game home stand, when they host Philadelphia Union next Saturday.