Shrader's Spin: Bump in the Road

Humbling. Disappointing. Not necessarily perplexing.

The effort in the first half may be perplexing, not necessarily the result. We’re talking here about Saturday’s 3-1 home loss to Toronto FC.

It was a battle between two hot teams, and it was the Quakes who got cold early. The first strike was a sun-aided TFC goal. (Chad Barrett scored when Jason Hernandez and Joe Cannon mis-communicated on a ball that Cannon said he lost in the sun.)

The game’s final goal was a rare empty-netter. With Cannon in the offensive end for series of corners – and his team down 2-1 – Dwayne DeRosario scored without opposition.

I think we can agree the Quakes are a better team than they were the last two years. I think it’s also certain they are not quite championship contenders…yet.

Confidence is a big part of success in life. It’s what fueled the Quakes to their four-game unbeaten streak, which included nearly 400 minutes of scoreless defense.

But that swagger can disappear as quickly as the California rainy season. The rain is gone, most likely until about October. You’d better hope the Quakes thump their chests much sooner. Oh, about Wednesday night would be good, when the Quakes host Columbus.

The Crew got beat by two goals at home Saturday night, just like the Quakes. They consider themselves contenders and they’ll want to prove it at Buck Shaw Stadium, after losing to the Galaxy at Crew Stadium, 2-0.

So, in many respects this is the best match-up for the Quakes to come back from a second home loss. Not much prep time, but an opponent that gets your attention, and they have something to prove.

Turn that humility into anger and turn that anger into resolve. And turn that resolve into a win that would put the Quakes back into second place in the West.