San Jose Earthquakes - Sacramento Republic FC U.S. Open Cup (Tues., 6/11) pre/in/postgame thread [R]

What exactly occured? I happened to be walking along the far concourse when she started the anthem, then it just stopped....and then restarted. I couldn't see what the problem was.

 

I was standing next to Seismothusiast and his wife and I turned around to look at them during the unplanned silent interlude, and they remained rapt with attention (proving they're more patriotic than me).

I enjoy the anthem in its myriad variations, "scat riffs or country licks or millennial whoops." (Of course, I often like cover tunes better than the original.)

But, agreed, the SVGM Chorus rendition was among the best I've heard.

 

Also known as a Zlatan.

 

If only we had some sort of idiom or expression that would make it easy to remember if speed was a trait one can be taught....

 

Good job prying my tongue from my cheek. It was stuck there all day!

 

She did the "Oh say can you see by the dawn's early light" and (I think) either totally blanked, had a sudden attack of stage fright or something, because a looooonnnngg time passed, I started hearing random folks (and the Republic supporters) singing on, and she then got back on it. I don't know - perhaps it was her interpretation of the anthem - an artistic nod to John Cage's 4'33?

 

Seems like yesterday, but almost 30 years ago.

 

My old man would refer to that as the "Lou Rawls Treatment" because of how Rawls would do it at 49er games in the '70s

 

Next game is away to LAFC, date and time not announced yet. The winner will host a quarterfinal.

 

In the second half I got a better chance to watch Lopez and he is not slow. The problem seems to be he is immature. Several times I watch him move towards a ball and look over his shoulder and when challenged he would kick it into a higher gear. He did it a lot and made plays closer than needed.

I will say at $380K he is for sure not worth it, especially if Lima and TT are the defensive edges.

 

I smell revenge!

 

Yup. Only good thing about a moat ticket

 

Was it 13.0 dollars?

 

I don't know. @Quakes05 treated.

 

The market for defenders is different than it was a few years ago. Lopez definitely needs work, but is it better to try to turn him into a better player or find another player? You'll have to spend more to get a better player, most likely, you might end up saving money on working with Lopez rather than replacing him, unless there are academy players for those positions that look particularly promising. I'm not all that familiar with the academy, so I'd appreciate info from anyone who follows them closely.

At 19 years old, I think Lopez might be a good longer term investment. He makes mistakes, but it's not as if Lima isn't making mistakes, too, and he's played in a lot more MLS games than Lopez has up to this point. Lima and Thompson can't play every game, so the team needs players to fill in. Lopez fills that role adequately for now, and hopefully will grow into a better player in a relatively short time.

 

Do we know how they determine who hosts the game? I wonder if it is going to be another game during the week. That would make it difficult to travel south to support the Quakes.

 

Partida looked like he could be pretty good last year under Stahre before he got injured. I think he could have a higher ceiling than Paul Marie.

 

The host was determined by a draw. There's a video on Twitter @usopencup. They drew in order Home 1 (LAFC), Home 2 (Portland), Away 1 (San Jose), Away 2 (Galaxy). The rules of the draw also stated that the winner of the game involving "Home 1" will host the subsequent round.

The designated date is next Wednesday, but it can be changed, within reason, by mutual agreement.

 

Yeah, Partida did show some promise as well. Like Thompson, I think the intent was for Paul Marie to play as a midfielder, so I don't want to lump him in as strictly vying for a defensive spot yet. Thompson is solidly in that role now, but Marie has played as a midfielder recently, and the team is relatively thin in that respect as well. So if you have Thompson, Lima, Lopez, and Partida, I think you're in a decent spot on the defensive end.

Essentially, unless you have an immediate replacement in mind for Lopez, or can drastically cut his cost without losing a ton of quality, then I don't see a reason to get rid of him right now. I'd rather they spend the effort to make him a good player than start over with someone else.

 

Agreed. I don't think that we should get rid of him, but for someone who was got a callup for the Peru National Team, I was expecting more - even at 19. It was fine that we played him in the US Open Cup, but he is not ready to be on the field for regular MLS games (even as a backup). He gets caught up field too much, gives too much space in defense, and doesn't show enough skill to compensate for his tactical deficiencies.

 

I really think they should explore playing him in the midfield. When I watched his YouTube clips before he joined the Quakes he looked very comfortable bombing forward into space. I think he could bookend Espinoza and give the Quakes strong dribblers on the edge. Honestly, he could be a better option than an inverted Salinas.