SAN JOSE, Calif. – It’s easy to call the most recent performance of San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Matias Perez Garcia his breakout game of 2015, given that he recorded his first goal and fourth assist of the season in a 2-0 victory against Seattle on Saturday.
The Quakes, however, would beg to differ with that viewpoint – if only because the 30-year-old has been building up to that kind of game for weeks.
“If we’re saying that’s a breakout game, I feel like that’s not fair to how valuable he’s been to the team all season,” Quakes midfielder JJ Koval told MLSsoccer.com this week.
Perez Garcia has bagged his second career MLS goal and notched three assists in his last four league matches, putting on a burst after a relatively slow start to the season, with one helper in 757 minutes.
“We’ve definitely seen more glimpses of that,” Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear told reporters Thursday. “You can point to the Columbus game [May 16, when Perez Garcia had a pair of assists]. Even before the [Crew] red card, I thought he looked the best player on the field. Even in the Dallas game [June 7], before our red card, I thought he looked very good. ... His play in the last month and a half has been right up there.”
Perez Garcia appears to be getting more acclimated to what Kinnear wants him to do as the fulcrum of the Quakes’ 4-1-4-1 setup, as well as settling into a groove in the wake of a 2014 debut half-season shredded by arthroscopic knee surgery.
“We’re finding his feet more,” Kinnear said. “We’re finding him in good spots. And remember, he only came and played [six] games last year. So I’m sure he’s feeling more comfortable with the league as well.”
Midfielder Shea Salinas pointed out that Perez Garcia has been critical at switching the Quakes from defending to attacking in quick enough fashion to set up scoring chances. He's San Jose's guy for potential "hockey assists" – the pass before a pass that leads to a shot on goal.
“He’s been a huge transition player for us this whole year,” Salinas told MLSsoccer.com. “I think Saturday was just – he was kind of due. I think he’s going to score more goals for us this season and he’s going to get a lot more assists.”
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That would likely raise Perez Garcia’s profile with fans around the league who have yet to be impressed with the Argentine’s raw top-line totals.
“A lot of people just look at certain stats and don’t watch whole games,” Quakes captain Chris Wondolowski said. “There have been times where people have said, ‘He needs to get more assists, he needs to get more goals and produce stuff,’ but I think he’s done a great job in every game. He just adds another dynamic. He opens up a lot of things for other players. That’s something special that he has.”
Said Salinas: “I guarantee you, when another team is playing against us, their coach has scouted us and know that [Perez Garcia] is the guy to look out for. I don’t think he’s been overlooked by our opponents.”
