Can Hernan Lopez Turn the San Jose Earthquakes’ Season Around?

The San Jose Earthquakes paid a club record transfer fee to sign Hernan Lopez from Argentine side Godoy Cruz and the 23-year-old needs to hit the ground running to right the train wreck of a season.

The Earthquakes had a dismal start to the 2024 Major League Soccer season, winning just once in nine regular season games and suffering eight losses. Winger Cristian Espinoza has struggled to score as often as he did last season when he scored an impressive 13 goals, while he has only managed one goal so far this season. However, Espinoza has already recorded five assists – just eight fewer than he managed all of last season.

San Jose’s top scorer in nine games played is Jeremy Ebobisse with three goals, closely followed by Benjamin Kikanovic and Vitor with two goals each. Still, the Quakes scored the seventh-most goals in league play with 13, but lacked a creative force in midfield, where Lopez is supposed to operate.

The Western Conference side agreed to a $6 million transfer fee for Lopez, said to be the club’s record fee, and they have high hopes that he can team up with Espinoza, Ebobisse and Amahl Pellegrino. Lopez can play as a right winger as he is left-footed, but for most of his career he was used as an attacking midfielder with River Plate, Central Cordoba de Santiago and Godoy Cruz in Argentina.

Lopez’s time at River was rather brief – he scored one goal in one game for the South American giants between April 2019 and February 2021 – but a decent loan spell at Central Cordoba saw him join Godoy on a free transfer in January 2023.

The Villa del Parque Argentina native has reached new heights with Godoy as the team currently sits first in the Copa De La Liga Professional with 29 points, two points ahead of River. Lopez has done his part with two goals in nine appearances in midfield, after registering five goals and six assists in the previous season.

So can Lopez help lead San Jose to better days to turn their season around and make their second straight postseason appearance? Second-year Earthquakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez agrees.

“Hernan is an extremely talented player who we have our sights on, so we are really looking forward to bringing him on board and letting him have a creative influence in our midfield. His technical ability, his vision and his ability to both finish and create.” “Others will add further dynamism to our attack,” Gonzalez said.

Only time will tell if San Jose’s investment in Lopez pays off, but they have at least added another player for Gonzalez to use in attack. It looks like the Earthquakes are in a rebuilding process, and the addition of Lopez is without a doubt a step in the right direction. Don’t be shocked if San Jose gets a few results here and there with its new team of midfielders to lift themselves out of the basement of the Western Conference.