SAN JOSE, Calif. - There was a whole lot of shaking going on during Fatai Alashe bobblehead night.
Alashe, who filled in at center back for the injured Victor Bernardez, made his night extra-special with a goal in a 1-1 draw against the Seattle Sounders FC.
After scoring in the 70th minute off a Matias Perez Garcia set piece, Alashe, a rookie out of Michigan State, delivered a rousing "nae nae" dance and a bobblehead-style shimmy shake as the Avaya Stadium crowd quaked with delight.
Alashe's goal on his night rekindled memories of Steven Lenhart's hair-raising finish in stoppage time on "Steven Lenhart Wig Night" in 2012, when he clinched a 1-1 draw with Chicago at Buck Shaw Stadium.
This time, the Sounders equalized on an Obafemi Martins' follow-shot in the 82nd minute, after David Bingham made a strong save on a header by Seattle midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz.
The draw puts added emphasis on Wednesday's game against Didier Drogba and the Montreal Impact, when the Quakes need three points to get over the hump in the playoff race.
"Wednesday is a very important game," coach Dominic Kinnear said. "We are in the mix for the playoffs. … Winning this game would have put us in a great spot, and a tie is not the result that we would desire. A win on Wednesday puts us in good spot."
Alashe, 21, played some center back at Michigan State, but Saturday's challenge took things to another level. He had to deal with the lethal attacking duo of Clint Dempsey and Martins, who scored for the fifth time in five games.
"I thought it was all right," Alashe said of his play. "Obviously, there's a few things I can work on and get better at, but for a first time I thought it was pretty good. Having a guy back here like 'Clay (Clarence Goodson)' helped me out a lot."
The veteran Goodson was impressed with Alashe's effort.
"I thought Fatai did a good job," Goodson said. "Covers a lot of ground. I thought he did a good job listening and a good job communicating with the guys around him. Obviously he got a goal, which is great. You can see his qualities."
The Quakes, who improved to 2-0-1 against the Sounders this season, celebrated the return of Anibal Godoy and Marc Pelosi from international duty. The Quakes are 4-0-1 with Godoy, the Panama international, on the field.
"They cover a lot of ground," Goodson said of Pelosi and Godoy. "I think they're both comfortable on the ball, and you could see we had good spells of possession throughout the game. We had them sitting back pretty deep, especially in the second half."
Interestingly, Alashe's goal came on Perez Garcia's first touch of the game. The Argentine came on for Pelosi in the 70th minute and took the kick from just outside the box, after Cordell Cato drew a yellow card from Oniel Fisher. His left-footed inswinger was well-placed near the six-yard stripe, and with Chris Wondolowski shielding a defender in front of him, Alashe completed his near-post run with a flicked header into the far corner.
With a knack for the big moment, Alashe also scored the first goal in Avaya Stadium history in a 2-1 win over Chicago on March 22, after an MPG corner kick pinballed around the box.
But Alashe knows where his bread is buttered. He credited Perez Garcia, who has a team-high seven assists, with another deft delivery against Seattle.
"He's great at set plays and he's been whipping in good balls all season," Alashe said. "So you know if you get yourself in a good spot, there's a good chance he'll put in a great ball for you and all you have to do is get a touch on it. So, all credit to him for playing in a great ball."
Wondolowski nearly gave the Quakes a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute. After Godoy chipped a pass into the box, Wondo created space with a quick turn to his left, but his shot hit off the far post.
In the 20th minute, Goodson made the defensive play of the game for the Quakes with a remarkable sliding stop on a shot by Dempsey, who found a seam, took aim and fired from straight-on in the box.
Things improved in the second half for the Quakes, who began working the ball better out wide. San Jose took command for a spell after Alashe's goal, when a second goal seemed almost inevitable.
"We got better as the game went on," Kinnear said. "The second half with a little better play. We were getting ourselves in better areas and we were stringing some passes together. Great goal by Fatai and a good ball by Matias. We had a little slip up at the end, so it is unfortunate to get a point. Now Wednesday becomes real important."
