After ending last within the MLS, the San Jose Earthquakes should look different next season.
With a high-profile latest coach already in place, the Earthquakes continued to reshape their roster with two transactions on Wednesday.
While San Jose said goodbye to long-time midfielder Jackson Yueill, the Earthquakes welcomed defender Nick Lima as the primary free agent signing under coach and athletic director Bruce Arena.
Lima signed a two-year contract with a club option for 2027, bringing the Castro Valley native back to where he began his skilled profession.
“I’m excited to have Nick on the team,” Arena said in a press release. “His experience in this league and versatility will help strengthen our defense. Nick grew up in the Bay Area and had a lot of success here through the Quakes system, so he is even more familiar with the club.”
Lima, 30, graduated from the Quakes Academy in 2016 and signed as a homegrown player with San Jose, where he played his first 4 skilled seasons. After moving from Austin FC to New England Revolution last season, he began 20 of 25 games and contributed one goal. In eight seasons, he scored nine goals and assisted on 20 more goals in 16,775 profession minutes, in addition to nine caps for the U.S. national team in CONCACAF competition.
“I’m really looking forward to returning to the Bay Area and playing in front of everyone again, especially friends and family,” Lima said within the press release. “I have made some great memories with the Quakes in the past and look forward to creating even better ones. I can’t wait to get back to work.”
Lima is the fourth former New England player to hitch the Earthquakes this offseason, after the club accomplished a trade last week to sign defenseman Dave Romney and midfielders Ian Harkes and Mark-Anthony Kaye from the Revolution.
And that's not all that's happening between the 2 clubs.
Yueill, who spent his first eight skilled seasons with the Earthquakes, signed a three-year contract with New England.
The 27-year-old attacker is from Minnesota and was named captain in 2021. He was one in every of the few vivid spots in an otherwise dark period for the Earthquakes, who posted a league-worst record of 6-25-3 in 2024. Yueill, a first-round pick in 2017, scored 13 goals and 19 assists in 232 profession games, the sixth-most minutes of any player in MLS since 2020.
The Earthquakes commemorated his time on the club with one Highlight video posted on social media.
From his first touch of the ball to his last goal, Jackson Yueill left his mark on the Quakes. 🖤💙
Thanks for the memories, Jackson! pic.twitter.com/OV2MauMzXa
— San Jose Earthquake (@SJEarthquakes) December 18, 2024
Originally published:
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