the league's most prolific attack this season -- just seven minutes to respond through Andreas Herzog, when he turned home a Joseph Ngwenya centering pass in the Earthquakes penalty area.
The goal re-energized the visitors, who forced Onstad into two key stops on a Victorine long distance effort (62nd minute) and another Herzog shot from the left (66th minute).
With the momentum shifting to the Galaxy direction, Herzog was injured on a collision in the box with rookie defender Ryan Cochrane and was forced to exit the match in the 72nd minute. His replacement, Ned Grabavoy, would play a key part on the play which reduced San Jose's lead further only two minutes later. The rookie curled a free kick into the box from the right side and Ngwenya nodded a header inside Onstad's left post for his second goal of the year to cut the lead to one.
However a spectacular play by De Rosario with just 11 minutes remaining sealed the victory for the Earthquakes. He dribbled through three defenders on the left flank before advancing into the penalty area where he beat another defender and fired low inside the near post to conclude a fine solo effort.
Both teams were cripped by injuries as MLS leading scorer Carlos Ruiz and strike partner Jovan Kirovski missed their second consecutive match for the Galaxy. The latest name to be added to San Jose's lengthy injury list was veteran central midfielder Ronnie Ekelund, who was hospitalized for three days this week with a neck infection.
Next Saturday, San Jose (3-2-3) travels to meet the Columbus Crew (7:30 p.m. ET) while the Los Angeles Galaxy (4-2-3) host the Dallas Burn at The Home Depot Center (10 p.m. ET - tape delayed broadcast on ESPN2 at 1:30 a.m. ET).
MLSnet.com Man of the Match: Brian Ching (San Jose Earthquakes)
Los Angeles Galaxy (4-2-3) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (3-2-3)
May 22, 2004 -- Spartan Stadium
Scoring Summary:
SJ -- Brian Ching 4 (Richard Mulrooney 2) 45
SJ -- Brian Ching 5 (Dwayne De Rosario 1, Richard Mulrooney 3) 48
SJ -- Brian Mullan 1 (Dwayne De Rosario 2) 54
LA -- Andreas Herzog 2 (Joseph Ngwenya 1, Chris Albright 4) 61
LA -- Joseph Ngwenya 2 (Ned Grabavoy 1) 74
SJ -- Dwayne De Rosario 2 (unassisted) 79
Los Angeles Galaxy -- Kevin Hartman, Chris Albright, Paul Broome (Ricky Lewis 57), Hong Myung-Bo, Ryan Suarez, Marcelo Saragosa, Cobi Jones (Arturo Torres 68), Sasha Victorine, Andreas Herzog (Ned Grabavoy 72), Joseph Ngwenya, Alejandro Moreno.
Substitutes Not Used: Dan Popik, Scot Thompson.
TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Andreas Herzog 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Andreas Herzog 3); FOULS: 18 (Ryan Suarez 4); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 4 (Andreas Herzog 4); SAVES: 5 (Kevin Hartman 5)
San Jose Earthquakes -- Pat Onstad, Wes Hart, Jeff Agoos, Ryan Cochrane, Ramiro Corrales, Brian Mullan, Landon Donovan, Richard Mulrooney, Ian Russell, Dwayne De Rosario, Brian Ching.
Substitutes Not Used: Arturo Alvarez, Jon Conway, Steve Cronin, Tighe Dombrowski, Craig Waibel, Jamil Walker.
TOTAL SHOTS: 29 (Dwayne De Rosario 8); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (Brian Ching 4); FOULS: 17 (Brian Ching 4, Brian Mullan 4); OFFSIDES: 2 (Dwayne De Rosario 1, Ian Russell 1); CORNER KICKS: 8 (Jeff Agoos 5); SAVES: 4 (Pat Onstad 4)
Misconduct Summary:
LA -- Andreas Herzog (caution; Reckless Foul) 35
SJ -- Brian Mullan (caution; Reckless Foul) 71
SJ -- Jeff Agoos (caution; Reckless Foul) 73
LA -- Marcelo Saragosa (caution; Reckless Foul) 88
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Referee's Assistants: -Thomas Supple; George Gansner
4th Official: Richard Heron
Attendance: 12,207
Time of Game: 1:50
Weather: Clear-and-64-degrees
All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.
