SAN JOSE — The Earthquakes lug a 16-game winless streak into Seattle’s CenturyLink Field on Saturday for another early season crucible.

Sounders FC forwards Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins and Co. might be too much too soon for a talented group of defenders still getting to know each other.

But don’t tell the Quakes after holding FC Dallas scoreless until the 92nd minute in a 1-0, season-opening defeat last weekend.

San Jose opened the season with a new goalkeeper and potential starting defenders Clarence Goodson and Jordan Stewart sidelined with injuries. Yet, the backline handled the pressure until a miscue at the end.

“I feel like we’ve been together for some time,” new right back Marvell Wynne said this week. “I feel very comfortable back there. I feel we can only improve.”

One of the defense’s signature moments came in the 22nd minute when new Portuguese center back Paulo Renato stepped in front of the line to clear a sure goal by Blas Perez, who eventually scored the winner.

Renato, 27, was playing in place of Goodson and reserve Ty Harden, who spent part of last week on the East Coast for Major League Soccer contract negotiations. Renato might have found a home after spending much of his decade-long career playing in Portugal’s lower divisions.

“His awareness was good,” Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear said. “When we had the ball under pressure he seemed composed and seemed to make the right pass.”

Speaking through a translator, Renato said he tries to remain calm on the backline.

“It is important to have this trait when anchoring the central defense,” he said.

Did he expect to clear Perez’s shot with young goalkeeper David Bingham off his line?

“Eeeeeh,” Renato said, with no translation needed.

The 6-foot defender said his positioning comes from experience.

“Over the years you learn where a ball might end up,” he explained. “When I saw the position of the player I knew the highest percentage and went to that area. These moments are important.”

Renato landed in San Jose because he shares the same agent as speedy midfielder Yannick Djalo, who spent last season here while on loan with S.L. Benfica. Djalo and Renato also were part of Lisbon’s Sporting CP, though not on the same roster. Renato said Djalo, now on loan with Russian club Mordovia, talked up his MLS experience. Renato will be ready for Dempsey and Martins, but he doesn’t know much about the rest of the talented Sounders. “I hope to limit the amount of the attack,” Renato said. “That’s my goal no matter what team I am playing.” He’s also not worried about integrating into the Bay Area because he has spent much of his life away from home after joining Sporting’s famed youth academy at 19. “Coming here is a new challenge but with so many Spanish speakers, and the people being so welcoming” it hasn’t been a problem, he said. “I’m a professional, this is what I do.”

At some point it’s going to happen: the Earthquakes will play their three prized designated players together. Plans for such an intersection derailed three weeks ago when Swiss striker Innocent Emeghara suffered a left shoulder injury during a preseason game. Emeghara made his MLS debut Saturday in the waning minutes of the defeat at Frisco, Texas, while DP’s Matias Perez Garcia and Chris Wondolowski started. The 5-7 forward looked as if he were protecting his shoulder during practice Tuesday. “We don’t want to put him in a position to hurt him again,” Kinnear said. “With training this week he’s just trying to get back to match fitness.” Kinnear sounded as eager as anyone to see Emeghara teamed with Perez Garcia and Wondolowski, a trio that could turn San Jose into a MLS Cup playoff team. “It’s kind of exciting, but right now it’s not 100 percent clear” when it will happen, Kinnear said.

Bingham took the blame for a communication foul up in stoppage time that led to Perez’s goal. Unlike his predecessor Jon Busch, Bingham likes to come out of the net to kill crosses and bat down potential scoring threats. But he got tangled with center back Victor Bernardez on the play that left the net empty for Perez’s header. “It’s not just communication,” Quakes goalkeeper coach Tim Hanley said. “I know that has been bandied about. It’s just a feel for whether these guys know what he is like in there. Where he kicks it, what his tendencies are. What he comes for, what he doesn’t come for, what you can feel comfortable with. If I pass to his left is he OK with that? It’s a partnership of the back five, not just the back two. Once we get those same guys playing a lot they will understand more about him.”