Shea Salinas, Earthquakes’ all-time leader in assists, to retire after 2022 season

A fixture of the San Jose Earthquakes over the last decade won’t be back next year as midfielder Shea Salinas announced Wednesday that he is retiring at the conclusion of this season.

Salinas, 36, has been a key piece of the Quakes’ team on the field over 13 seasons with the club: He’s San Jose’s all-time leader in assists (50), second only to longtime teammate Chris Wondolowski in games played (331) and third in minutes played (18,132).

The midfielder first joined the Earthquakes in 2008, making 23 appearances for the team in his first two MLS seasons, before being drafted to the Philadelphia Union and Vancouver Whitecaps in successive expansion drafts. He returned to San Jose in 2011 via trade from Vancouver.

“I am so grateful for the 15 years I got to play professional soccer,” Salinas said in a statement thanking the Quakes and their fans. “It was 15 more years than I had ever expected.”

Over his time with San Jose, Salinas made his impact on the Earthquakes’ biggest rivalry game, the California Clasico against the LA Galaxy. In 2013, he scored one of two stoppage-time goals for San Jose, which was down to 10 men on the field, to earn a 3-2 victory, and in 2017, he scored the game winner in stoppage time and celebrated by taking his shirt off and running around the Stanford Stadium pitch.

“The longevity, durability, and consistency he has displayed over his 15 seasons in MLS is remarkable,” Quakes GM Chris Leitch said in a statement. “Even more important is the positive attitude with which he impacted each and every locker room he was a part of, and the desire he had to give back to our local community.”

Salinas has two games left in his Quakes career with San Jose eliminated from playoff contention: Saturday night at home against Minnesota, and next Sunday afternoon at Seattle.