Earthquakes take care of business on ‘Decision Day’ but still miss playoffs

SAN JOSE The San Jose Earthquakes took care of business on the final day of the regular season but with their playoff fate out of their own hands ultimately it didn t matter The Quakes broke through with a pair of late goals to pull out a - win over Austin FC on Saturday The other results they would have needed to claim the Western Conference s final playoff seed on Major League Soccer s Decision Day however didn t go their way San Jose needed to win its match and depended on three other outcomes FC Dallas beat Vancouver and Real Salt Lake tied St Louis locking the Quakes out of the postseason despite getting the needed draw from Colorado against LAFC They needed one loss from FC Dallas or Real Salt Lake The Earthquakes players watched from the field as their fate was sealed with the final seven minutes of the RSL-St Louis match airing on the jumbotron For much of the match at PayPal Park it didn t appear that scoreboard watching would be a worthwhile activity Related Articles Earthquakes prep for must-win finale against Austin FC with playoff hopes still alive How the Earthquakes can climb MLS standings secure a playoff spot on final day San Jose Earthquakes - road loss to Vancouver damages their postseason chances Earthquakes use first-half goal from Josef Mart nez to beat San Diego - Earthquakes fall out of MLS playoff spot as St Louis City hands San Jose a - loss The Quakes dominated possession and owned advantages in preponderance statistical categories They outshot Austin - and held possession for more than of the meeting But they missed their first eight shots on goal and first total attempts before Josef Martinez headed their first goal past Austin keeper Brad Stuver in the th minute Martinez s goal tied the outcome at and Niko Tsakiris put them ahead - just minutes later on a free kick reminiscent of the one he made in the U World Cup Austin FC attempted only one shot on goal in the first half but the right-footer from Owen Wolff gave Austin a - lead in the nd minute In Bruce Arena s first season at the helm San Jose clearly corrected program from last year s last-place finish but faded down the stretch costing them a return to the postseason for the first time since The Earthquakes lost four of their final six matches to finish - - two points shy of the playoffs