Top of the table San Jose Earthquakes. That’s not a true statement during any other season in recent memory. A high-flying 9–2-1, the Quakes have found themselves in the lead for the Supporters Shield despite entering the 2026 season with a huge amount of questions. That one loss, though? A 1–0 nail-biting result to the Seattle Sounders back in March.
Last time San Jose held a lead over the rest of the league was 2012; a team remembered fondly by some as The Goonies, and less so by others. Going into September of that year, Seattle had lost their previous two matches to the California side and looked to exact revenge in the second and final game of the Heritage Cup.
Date: Sept. 22, 2012
Around the World
“Vigilante dog hunters” used poisoned meat to target populations of stray dogs around Moscow. Unfortunately, several domestic pets were among the strays finding the improvised traps. The city police set about finding these vigilantes, who posted warnings around a park essentially giving vague death threats to pets who aren’t properly watched over.
Around the Country
Boston Children’s Hospital and VU University Amsterdam run trials that oh-so-shockingly discover that “consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages may cause excessive weight gain.” That’s a thinker.
Around the State
Amazon offers to purchase and sponsor a South Lake Union Streetcar to help increase frequencies from 15 to 10 minutes. The offer included ~$5.5 million for purchasing a new car and operating it for 10 years, plus bicycle path improvements. The deal was meant to serve as a public benefit, to serve Amazon’s future Westlake Avenue towers, and to compensate for occupying city-owned alleys on its Denny Triangle campus.
Seattle Sounders 1 – 2 San Jose Earthquakes
The Heritage Cup – sprung from the mind of Earthquakes fan Rob Stevenson – is a lesser known, yet historically interesting competition honoring MLS teams holding the name and history of NASL-era teams. When Seattle joined MLS in 2009, only they and San Jose had that link to the era of Pele, of Beckenbauer, of Best. Though Portland and Vancouver joined two years later, they opted to exclude themselves from the tournament to maintain distinction between Cascadia Cup and the Heritage Cup.
Having lost the inaugural competition but won the previous two years, the Seattle Sounders found themselves in a precarious situation – already having taken beatings in the previous two games against San Jose (though only the latter counted for the Cup due to an imbalanced schedule). Needing a win, Sigi Schmid’s men set out to reverse the 2–1 scoreline they suffered during the throes of summer.
Entering CenturyLink Field to a crowd of 38,948, the Sounders immediately found themselves under pressure. Simon Dawkins found the back of the net from outside the box in just the second minute after a miscommunication between Steve Zakuani* and Leo Gonzales.
The former Akron man took little time to make up for his mistake. 12 minutes later, after battling three defenders for the ball at the corner of the box, Sammy Ochoa* slid a pass across the face of goal for a waiting Zakuani. The winger was perfect from close distance, scoring his first goal since returning from what is likely still the worst injury in Sounders history; pure elation.
Unfortunately for the Sounders, their equalizer wouldn’t hold. Danger man Chris Wondolowski* put away his 22nd goal of the season, deflecting a shot with the inside of his leg past goalkeeper Michael Gspurning.
The second half was a wake-up call. In the 52nd minute, Fredy Montero created enough chaos for Sammy Ochoa, who fired a long-range shot off the crossbar. After maintaining the majority of possession throughout the game to the tune of 54.9%, Montero would then find his own chance in the 86th minute, heading a shot just over the bar from the six-yard box off service from deep. The last meaningful opportunity of the game would again go to the home side. In the first of four minutes of stoppage time, Montero hit a cross to the right post. Fullback Justin Morrow maintained superior body positioning, preventing David Estrada from getting a foot on the end of it to equalize.
San Jose won by a score of 2-1: replicating their win earlier in the season, securing their second Heritage Cup since its inception, and continuing their rampage towards the Supporters Shield.
*Personality Spotlight
Steve Zakuani: The DR Congo-born, London-raised and Pacific Northwest cultured “flying winger” spent his early years as part of the Arsenal Academy. Later on, he spent time playing for the University of Akron, where he performed well enough to be selected as the first overall pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by the Sounders. His speed and attacking prowess nearly earned him the Rookie of the Year award. Zakuani’s second season was even better, with 16 goal contributions across all competitions, which earned him a callup to the DR Congo National Team. The rest of his career leading up to the September 2012 matchup with San Jose would be hindered by injury, after spending 15 months out with fibia and tibia fractures. Zakuani’s voice is well known, now a long-time beloved broadcaster for the Sounders.
Sammy Ochoa: The Mexican-American forward spent the initial years of his career playing for Zapopan-based Estudiantes Tecos before transferring to the Sounders. During those early years, he garnered some interest from US youth national teams, earning a handful of appearances at the U20 and U23 levels. He would go on to score his first goal for the Sounders against the Quakes, a month and a half after his first appearance at the end of August 2011.
Chris Wondolowski: Chris Wondolowksi’s story is well known. The former NCAA Division II Chico State man was drafted by the initial San Jose Earthquakes franchise in the fourth round of the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft. Despite leading the reserve team in scoring during his early years, he rarely earned first team appearances. Though he moved to Houston when the franchise relocated, Wondo would return to the Bay Area in 2009. The following season would be his coming out party, winning the MLS Golden Boot with 18 goals – only having previously scored 7 goals in his first 53 appearances in the league. He would go on to be the last American to win the award after scoring 27 goals by the end of the 2012 season.
This time around, the Seattle Sounders hold a 1-0 advantage by both goals and result ahead of this top of the Western Conference clash. With a win or draw, they can assert dominance over San Jose: not only by winning just their second Heritage Cup in 5 seasons, but by holding the Quakes back in the standings – potentially reducing the gap from 8 to 5 points with 2 games in hand. Tune in Wednesday at 6:30 pm PT on Apple TV.
‘Echoes’ is a series mirroring notable games: framing historical match-ups with a timely events lens.
