SAN JOSE, Calif. – In an offseason full of changes, one of the San Jose Earthquakes’ biggest transformations should take place in goal Saturday night.
That’s when David Bingham, for years the heir apparent to the nets in San Jose, is expected to replace the departed Jon Busch, who started 150 of the Quakes’ last 155 regular-season MLS matches – including all 34 last year on his way to recording a franchise-record 137 saves.
It’s a rare changing of the guard for a franchise that has had only two primary goalkeepers – Busch and Joe Cannon – since being reborn as an expansion side in 2008. And it’s an opportunity Bingham, 25, has eagerly awaited since landing with the Quakes via a weighted lottery in 2011.
“It’s my fifth year [in MLS],” Bingham said. “I’m ready to hopefully step in and fill that role.”
The choice to go with Bingham was one of incoming coach Dominic Kinnear’s earliest moves. Bingham agreed to a new contract with the Quakes in early December, a move he likely wouldn’t have made if the team hadn’t already moved on from Busch, who was later exposed in the Re-Entry Draft and eventually wound up signing in Chicago.
“Obviously, it was a tricky offseason, trying to figure out what everyone was doing and the situation,” Bingham said. “Once we figured it out, it was a very easy choice for me. This is my hometown club. I plan on opening up the new stadium, standing in goal.”
Actually, there might not be that much standing in goal by Bingham, who at 6-foot-2 plays a style that’s almost the polar opposite of the 5-10 Busch. Whereas Busch would stay on his line and depend on his savvy and reflexes to smother shots, Bingham charges out at nearly every opportunity, trying to cut off passes before they find opposing forwards in the first place.
“I’m coming out for stuff,” Bingham said. “I’m not going to wait for balls to come to me. So that’s a huge change for [San Jose’s defenders].”
That style also plays into the Quakes’ desire to switch gears from defending to attacking more quickly, including playing the ball out of the back rather than simply lumping it forward. Bingham has honed his abilities with the ball at his feet during European loan stints, including last year to Strommen IF in Norway’s second division. Strommen were clawing desperately to rise up the table when Bingham arrived in August, and eventually pulled themselves up to 10th in the 16-team league, safe for another year.
- Get more San Jose Earthquakes news at SJEarthquakes.com
In Kinnear’s assessment earlier in the year, one of Bingham’s biggest tasks entering preseason was “to become a communicator” with the backline, and it seems there’s still work to be done on that front. Bingham and center back Victor Bernardez had a couple of noticeable, animated discussions after attacks by the LA Galaxy in the Quakes’ final preseason match last weekend – including one following a free kick that bounced untouched between Bernardez and Bingham inside San Jose’s six-yard box.
“A goalie can’t do it on his own,” Kinnear said. “You have to think that this is your goal, this is your chance to not get scored on. And you have to make sure the guys are in the right position. ... It comes from experience, but some of it comes from desire and want and respect.”
So far, Bingham has earned that last item from his teammates for his work.
“He’s been amazing this preseason,” Quakes captain Chris Wondolowski told MLSsoccer.com. “He’s been making a couple saves a game that are pretty remarkable. Last game, they had a lot of crosses in his box, and he commanded his box. There was one really cool picture where he’s above Omar Gonzalez, grabbing a ball. That’s something pretty cool to have.”
