The Black & Gold hit the road again to travel to the West Coast to face the San Jose Earthquakes in their first and only meeting for the 2017 Major League Soccer regular season. The cross-conference match will take place Saturday at Avaya Stadium for a 10:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
Here are some storylines to keep an eye on:
No Way, Jose
The Black & Gold denied the San Jose Earthquakes a win last season when the cross-conference rivals clashed on August 27 at MAPFRE Stadium. Midfielder Justin Meram worked his magic to assist Ethan Finlay's 32nd minute goal before netting his own of a penalty kick in the 84th minute. To add insult to injury, in the first half alone, the Black & Gold held 67 percent of the possession, fired 13 shots, and completed 18 successful crosses — a League record in 2016 for that category.
Wondering about Wondolowski?
If you were wondering which attacker to keep an eye on the answer is Chris Wondolowski.
San Jose's striker and Designated Player has eight goals in his account the season, and led the Quakes in goals scored last season with seven. Wondolowski also became the first player in league history to score at least 10 goals in seven consecutive seasons and the second player in MLS history to score a goal against 21 different MLS clubs by finding the back of the net against the Houston Dynamo on July 31, 2016.
Down on the West Coast
The Black & Gold hold an overall 19-14-7 record over their West Coast rivals and are sitting above the red line in the Eastern Conference. Crew SC and San Jose, two of the 10 original sides from the inaugural MLS season in 1996, have had a strong rivalry in MLS history, facing off on two separate occasions in the playoffs and competing in a number of memorable games including one in 2002 when the Black & Gold knocked the Quakes out of the postseason with a pair of 2-1 victories that both came on stoppage time goals.
The Black & Gold will travel to the West Coast to face the San Jose Earthquakes for a cross-conference clash Saturday night before returning home to MAPFRE Stadium to host Bastian Schweinsteiger and the Chicago Fire on August 12 for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.