Marco Urena seemed a bit tentative about his role when he first signed with the Earthquakes.

Speaking with reporters during his introductory press conference in January, the forward viewed fellow striker Chris Wondolowski more as competition, almost as if he felt he needed to outperform him in training camp to win more playing time. That viewpoint has changed.

Now having played four games with Wondolowski, Urena could not be more pleased in his pairing up top with the captain.

“Game by game the companionship gets stronger,” Urena said. “Chris and I are similar in the fact that we leave it all out on the field. I think that’s why we’ve had so much success together early on. The last two games have not gone our way but I think we’re only going to get better and he’s been a great guy to learn from.”

The attacking combination had mostly benefited Wondolowski, who recorded two assists and a goal in the team’s first two games. In Saturday’s 2-1 loss to New York City FC, it was the Costa Rican forward who finally reaped the rewards as he scored six minutes into the match.

The goal came after Urena’s return from the Costa Rica national team for World Cup qualifying, an experience he said left him motivated upon his return to San Jose. While Urena thought he had played well in the previous matches, he said it felt good to actually get a number on the stat sheet.

“As a forward it’s always great to feel that sensation of scoring a goal,” Urena said. “But it’s not like I was putting pressure on myself to score. I’ve been playing relaxed and happy with the amount of minutes I have received. I expect to score more in the upcoming games. I always say the goals will come at the right time.”

Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear has seen a gradual increase in the quality of performance from Urena as the season has gone along.

“He’s fit into the team well. As he’s gotten fitter he’s played better,” Kinnear said. “The one thing we knew with him coming here was his ability to make good runs on both sides of the ball. So you match him and Chris, who have similar work rates, it’s a good front line for the guys to be behind.”

As they welcome Seattle Sounders FC, which features a dangerous striking duo of its own with Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris, Urena has quickly realized the importance of winning at Avaya Stadium, especially coming off back-to-back losses on the road.

“We have to make winning at home a habit,” Urena said. “Seattle is a championship quality team and it will be a tough game for us, but we know these are the games we are going to need to win in order to reach the playoffs.”

Earthquakes vs. Seattle Sounders FC

KICKOFF: 7:15 p.m. Saturday at Avaya Stadium.

TV: 10 p.m. on NBC Sports California (delayed).

RADIO: KTCT 1050.

RECORDS: Earthquakes 2-2-0, Seattle 1-1-2.