The Earthquakes finished last week strong, earning wins over both the A-League's Minnesota Thunder in the U.S. Open Cup and D.C. United in MLS play. The Quakes beat the Thunder in a penalty kick shoot-out to advance to the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup, and defeated D.C. United 2-0 in MLS regular season play. The Quakes continue their busy schedule with another two-match week on the road. The Earthquakes first take on the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. PT, followed by a match against the second-place Kansas City Wizards at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT. The game against the Fire will be broadcast on tape-delay at 7 p.m. PT on Wednesday on Fox Sports Net and on 1590 AM KLIV (English). The Wizards and Quakes match-up will air live on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT on ESPN2.
Injury Report/Suspensions
Out: Steve Cronin (R - hamstring strain); Chris Ronér (R - ankle surgery); Eddie Robinson (L - ruptured tendon of left hamstring); Jamil Walker (hip strain)
Last match
Earthquakes 2, United 0; Saturday, August 7, 2004; Spartan Stadium; San Jose, CA
The San Jose Earthquakes used a goal from Brian Mullan and a spectacular second-half strike from Dwayne De Rosario to defeat D.C. United 2-0 in front of a season high 19,324 fans at Spartan Stadium. Pat Onstad earned his second shutout of the season and his first since April 10 to help the Quakes in the win. Playing without suspended Landon Donovan and Troy Dayak, the Quakes (6-6-6, 24 pts.) defeated D.C. United and set an MLS record by extending their unbeaten streak to 46 games when scoring first at home. Mullan gave the Quakes a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute when he collected a loose ball on the right side of the United penalty box about 16 yards out after it bounced off several defenders. Mullan's low shot went across the goalmouth past United's diving goalkeeper Troy Perkins and toward the far post, where a sliding D.C. United defender attempted to save the sure goal, but knocked it into the net.
In the second half, the Quakes took a 2-0 lead on a spectacular goal by Dwayne De Rosario. Agoos hit Mullan with a pass on the right sideline, and the San Jose midfielder then sprinted into the right corner of the penalty area, beat his defender and then sent a perfect cross into the middle of the penalty box. De Rosario turned, jumped into the air and smashed a magnificent volley into the upper right corner of the net.
Last match vs. Chicago
Earthquakes 1, Fire 1; Saturday, June 19, 2004; Soldier Field; Chicago, Ill.
The San Jose Earthquakes came back from an early deficit to earn a 1-1 tie against the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field. After Nate Jaqua put the Fire up in the seventh minute, Brian Ching scored midway through the second half to help the Quakes earn a point on the road. Pat Onstad saved a late penalty kick from Ante Razov to preserve the tie. The Fire jumped onto the board first with a goal by Jaqua in the seventh minute. Logan Pause sent a cross into the box to Razov, who chested the ball down to Jaqua 10 yards from goal. Jaqua eluded two San Jose defenders before slotting the ball past Onstad for the 1-0 lead. In the 66th minute, the Quakes finally broke through to tie the game.
Jeff Agoos swung a corner kick into the goalmouth, where Ching beat his defender to the ball and headed it to the back post. Fire defender Evan Whitfield got a piece of it, but could not keep it out of the net and the game was tied, one goal apiece. In the 85th minute, Waibel was whistled for a foul on Razov in the box and the Fire was awarded a penalty. Razov drove the spot kick hard down the middle, but Onstad got his leg to the shot and deflected it away, before the ball was cleared by the San Jose defense. The penalty kick save was the second for Onstad against Razov, as he also stopped his penalty attempt in last season's MLS Cup Final.
Last match vs. Kansas City
Wizards 1, Earthquakes 1; Saturday, June 26, 2004; Spartan Stadium; San Jose, Calif.
The San Jose Earthquakes used a dramatic late goal from Richard Mulrooney to rally for a 1-1 tie against the Kansas City Wizards at Spartan Stadium. In the first match-up between the teams since the Quakes thrilling overtime win in the 2003 Western Conference Championship, San Jose was forced to come from behind yet again following an incredible Jose Burciaga Jr. goal that gave the Wizards the lead just seconds before halftime.
Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the final seconds of the first half on a goal by Burciaga Jr. At the top of the box, Chris Klein slipped a pass to an open Burciaga Jr. trailing the play on the left side of the box. Burciaga Jr. unleashed a one-time blast that soared over a diving Onstad and into the upper left corner of the net to give the Wizards a 1-0 lead.
The Quakes managed to tie the game at 1-1 in the 79th minute on Mulrooney's first regular season goal since June 8, 2002. Mulrooney received the ball in the middle of the field about 22 yards away from the Wizards goal following a string of beautiful passes by Donovan and Mullan. Mulrooney took a touch before hitting a rocket of a shot into the left corner past an out-stretched Meola to even the game at 1-1.
Misc. notes
In August
With the 2-0 win over D.C. United on August 7, the Quakes evened their all-time record for the month of August to 19-19-3. The Earthquakes will now look for a career winning record in the month during MLS regular season play.
Earthquakes advance to semifinals of U.S. Open Cup after defeating Minnesota Thunder on penalties
The San Jose Earthquakes advanced to the semifinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the first time in club history with a dramatic victory in a penalty kick shootout against the A-League's Minnesota Thunder Aug. 4 at James S. Griffin Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota. The two teams finished the match tied 2-2, with Brian Ching and Landon Donovan scoring for the Earthquakes and Melvin Tarley and Dustin Branan scoring for the Thunder.
After a half-hour of scoreless overtime, the Earthquakes won the penalty kick shootout 5-4 as Todd Dunivant provided the winning attempt for San Jose. The Quakes will now face the Kansas City Wizards in the semifinals on Aug. 24 in Kansas City. The Thunder took an early 1-0 lead with Tarley scoring in the fourth minute. The Earthquakes tied the game in the 24th minute on a goal from Brian Ching.
The Quakes started off the second half on the offensive with the addition of Dwayne De Rosario to the lineup in place of Agoos, before taking the lead on a Landon Donovan goal in the 64th minute. Ramiro Corrales crossed a ball from the right side to Ching near midfield. Ching one-timed a pass to a streaking Donovan, who broke in alone against Thunder goalkeeper Warren. Warren made the initial save on Donovan's shot, but the rebound bounced right back to the Quakes forward, who placed a shot into the open net.
Minnesota managed to tie the match at 2-2 in the 77th minute when Dustin Branan headed a Jeff Matteo corner kick past Jon Conway. With the match still deadlocked after 120 minutes, San Jose was forced to rely on penalty kicks to pull out the victory. The Quakes made all five of their attempts, with Donovan, Ching, Richard Mulrooney and De Rosario converting their attempts. The Thunder scored their attempts as well, except Conway forced the Thunder's second shooter, Jay Alberts, to loft his shot over the crossbar. Dunivant then placed the winning attempt low and to the right, past a diving Warren.
Quakes set unbeaten streak record
The Earthquakes set an MLS record with their August 7 win against D.C. United, extending their unbeaten streak at home to 46 games when scoring first.
Mullan earns Honda MLS Player of the Week award
San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Brian Mullan was selected the Honda MLS Player of the Week by the Professional Soccer Reporters Association (PSRA) for the week ending August 8, 2004 (Week 19). Mullan, earning his first career Player of the Week honor, opened the scoring for his team and set up Dwayne De Rosario's blistering world-class volley late in the match that sealed the three points for the Earthquakes in a 2-0 home win over D.C. United on Saturday, August 7.
The four-year veteran earns his first career MLS Player of the Week award and is the third Earthquakes player to win the award this year (Pat Onstad - Week 2 and Week 7, Brian Ching - Week 16). Mullan was selected ahead of Dallas Burn goalkeeper Jeff Cassar and MetroStars forward John Wolyniec for this week's award. The Honda Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected every week throughout the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from the PSRA.
Onstad earns shutout
With the Quakes 2-0 win over D.C. United, goalkeeper Pat Onstad earned his second shutout of 2004. The Canadian international last earned a shutout on April 10, 2004 against Chicago in a 0-0 tie. Of his 11 career shutouts, four have occurred in the month of August. In 2003, Onstad earned nine shutouts on the year.
Mullan stellar at home
Earthquakes midfielder Brian Mullan scored a goal and notched an assist for a total of three points against D.C. United on August 7. The match marked the first time Mullan registered a point against D.C. in his career, and was just the third time that he scored at least three points in a single mach in his MLS career. As a member of the San Jose Earthquakes over the past two seasons, Mullan has scored nine goals, eight of which have been scored at Spartan Stadium.
Record crowd watches Quakes beat United
On August 7, the Earthquakes played in front of the biggest San Jose crowd of the year. 19,324 fans packed into Spartan Stadium to watch the Quakes take on Freddy Adu and D.C. United. Before the August 7 game, the highest attendance of 2004 in San Jose stood at 17,667 on May 1 when Adu visited Spartan Stadium for the first time.
D.C. drought
With the Quakes 2-0 win over United, D.C. has not beaten the Earthquakes at Spartan Stadium since June 3, 1998. The Quakes have remained unbeaten in six straight home games against United.
Ching on top of league scoring charts
Quakes forward Brian Ching is currently second in the league in points with 10 goals and three assists on the year for 23 points. He sits behind only Amado Guevara of the MetroStars with 28 points. Ching is also tied for first in the league in goals with Guevara and Carlos Ruiz of the Los Angeles Galaxy. Ching, however, has scored all of his goals in the run of play, while Ruiz has netted two penalties and Guevara six penalties, among their 10 goals.
Quakes atop assist leader board
Quakes midfielder Richard Mulrooney remains in a tie with two other players atop the assist leader board with eight assists in 18 games played. Landon Donovan is currently tied for fourth in assists (7) with two other players. Mulrooney's career high in assists is nine (2000, 2001), while Donovan recorded a personal best 10 assists in 2001.
In the community
WHEN: Friday, August 13 - Noon to 1 p.m.
WHERE: Soccer Park in Santa Clara (5049 Centennial Blvd.)
DETAILS: A San Jose Earthquakes player will be signing autographs at the Sporting Tournament for the Santa Clara Youth Soccer League.
WHEN: Tuesday, August 10 - 10:30 a.m. to Noon
WHERE: Sherman Oaks Community Center in San Jose
WHO: Earthquakes mascot "Q"
DETAILS: "Q" will be visiting the summer camp kids at Sherman Oaks Community Center.
Limiting chances
The Quakes have allowed a league-low 197 shots against in 2004.
Starting line-up turmoil
Due to numerous injuries, national team duties and suspensions, the Earthquakes have had 16 different starting lineups in the 18 games they have played in 2004. Landon Donovan missed three games to play with the U.S. National Team, while Dwayne De Rosario and Pat Onstad both missed two games for Canadian National Team duty. Also, the team has lost 70-man games to injury over the first 18 games of the season.
Mulrooney is Quakes only constant
Earthquakes midfielder Richard Mulrooney is the only member of the San Jose roster who has started and played 90 minutes in all 18 games for the Quakes in 2004. In his 1,620 minutes of play, Mulrooney has scored one goal and notched eight assists for ten points, which is fifth highest for points on the Quakes.
Quakes find net at home
The Earthquakes have done well scoring in San Jose in 2004, scoring 22 goals in just ten appearances at Spartan Stadium this year, averaging 2.2 goals per game at home. The team is first in the league in goals scored at home.
Unstoppable Onstad
In his MLS career, Earthquakes goalkeeper Pat Onstad has never lost to either Chicago or Kansas City, the two teams the Quakes face this week on August 11 and August 14. Against the Fire, Onstad has achieved three shutouts in his four career appearances. He has only allowed one goal in four regular season games against the Fire, posting a 0.24 goals against average and 0-0-4 all-time record. The Canadian goalkeeper has his second best goals-against average against the Kansas City Wizards with a 0.57 GAA. Onstad has never lost to Kansas City, posting a 2-0-3 career record against the Wizards with two shutouts.
Donovan doing it against Kansas City
Earthquakes forward Landon Donovan has played ten career regular season games against the Wizards. Donovan has recorded four goals and two assists for ten points in those games, including the first hat trick in club history on Sept. 20, 2003. Donovan also scored the game-winning golden goal against Kansas City in the 2003 Western Conference Championship.
Quakes leaders vs. Fire
Midfielder Richard Mulrooney leads the Quakes against Chicago with one goal and two assists for four points. Landon Donovan has notched three assists against the Fire and has taken 11 shots. Jeff Agoos, Brian Ching, Ronnie Ekelund, Ian Russell, and Chris Ronér have each scored one goal against Chicago. Midfielder/forward Chris Brown scored four goals against the Fire as a member of the Kansas City Wizards before joining the Earthquakes.
Top Fire players vs. Earthquakes
Chicago forward Ante Razov, who is out following ankle surgery, has proven to be the most dangerous player against the Earthquakes as he has 17 points on six goals and five assists over 16 games against San Jose. Forward Nate Jaqua has scored a goal and midfielder Chris Armas has notched two assists vs. the Quakes.
History vs. Fire
The Quakes are 5-7-7 all-time against the Chicago Fire in the regular season, but San Jose defeated Chicago 4-2 in the most important match between the two teams, the MLS Cup Championship match in 2003 ... Since 2000 in the regular season, the teams have played to a draw seven times and only two matches have been decided by more than one goal ...C hicago has outscored the Quakes 30-24 all-time. Midfielder Richard Mulrooney netted his first career MLS goal against Chicago on July 23, 1999 ... Chris Ronér started his first game and scored his first goal against Chicago on May 31, 2003...Jamil Walker appeared in his first match on May 31, 2003 against the Fire...Pat Onstad earned MLS Player of the Week honors by making six saves and earning a shutout against Chicago on May 10, 2003 ... Landon Donovan earned his first MLS assist on May 26, 2001 against the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field...Onstad shut out the Fire offense again on April 10, 2004 and earned MLS Player of the Week honors for the second time in his career.
Earthquakes - Chicago connections
Chicago head coach Dave Sarachan coached the Quakes Jeff Agoos as an assistant at D.C. United in 1998-99 ... Chicago midfielder C.J. Brown is from Hayward, Calif. and played college soccer at San Jose State ... Chicago defender Kelly Gray is from San Jose ... Fire midfielder Jesse Marsch and Agoos were teammates on D.C. United from 1996-97.
Quakes leaders vs. Wizards
Forward Landon Donovan is the Quakes current leading scorer against the Wizards, scoring four goals and registering two assists in 10 games for 10 points...Midfielder Richard Mulrooney has two goals and five assists for nine points in 21 regular season games...Dwayne De Rosario has two goals and four assists in 10 career games and Brian Mullan has three goals and two assists in nine regular season games.
Top Wizards players vs. Quakes
Wizards midfielder Preki has scored a total of 31 regular season points against the Quakes in 27 games...Josh Wolff has three goals and two assists in 10 career regular season games...Chris Klein has one goal and six assists in 23 career games vs. the Quakes...Francisco Gomez has one goal and two assists for four points against the Quakes in 15 games.
Quakes vs. Wizards history
The Quakes lead the all-time regular season series between the two teams 15-13-4...Earthquakes defender Eddie Robinson scored his first career MLS goal against the Wizards on July 27, 2002 ... Earthquakes midfielder Ramiro Corrales was ejected for the first time in his MLS career against the Wizards on June 20, 1999 while with the MetroStars ... Corrales scored the game-winning goal against the Wizards in a 2-1 Quakes win on June 29, 2002... Brian Ching scored his first career goal and notched his first career assist against the Wizards on June 13, 2001 while with the Galaxy...Landon Donovan scored the Quakes first-ever hat trick on Sept. 20, 2003 in a 4-1 win at Arrowhead Stadium.
Earthquakes vs. Wizards match-up
The Earthquakes took the season series from Kansas City 2-0-2 in 2003...The Earthquakes own a 9-4-3 all-time record over the Wizards at Spartan Stadium...The Wizards last defeated San Jose on July 27, 2002 in a 2-1 game...Kansas City last won a game at Spartan Stadium on August 16, 2000 in a 3-0 win... Since 1996, San Jose has out-scored Kansas City 42-39 in regular season games...The Earthquakes out-scored the Wizards 6-2 in four regular season games in 2003.
Earthquakes - Kansas City connections
Earthquakes forward Dwayne De Rosario played for the A-League's Richmond Kickers in 1999 under current Wizards General Manager Curt Johnson, who served as the GM for the Kickers...Kansas City defender Jimmy Conrad played in 84 games in four seasons with San Jose before joining the Wizards in a trade in January, 2003...Kansas City midfielder Francisco Gomez is from Watsonville, Calif...Earthquakes defender Jeff Agoos and Wizards goalkeeper Tony Meola were teammates at the University of Virginia in the late 80's and were long-time teammates on the U.S. National Team...Richard Mulrooney and Kansas City's Carey Talley were teammates for the Memphis FC club team.
Quakes closing in on .500
The Earthquakes are closing in on bringing their all-time regular season MLS record to the .500 mark. The Quakes all-time regular season MLS record is 113-117-32.
Halftime success
If the Earthquakes enter the half-time break with the lead, recent history suggests they will keep it. Since the beginning of the 2000 season, the Earthquakes are 40-0-5 in games when leading at the half, including 8-0-1 in 2003.
Making the first one count
The Earthquakes were 25-2-2 in 2001 and 2002 when finding the back of the net first. The Quakes only gave up leads two times in 2002, losing 2-1 to Los Angeles on July 4 and falling 2-1 to Kansas City on July 27. The team continued that trend in 2003, possessing an 11-0-1 mark in the regular season when they scored the first goal. In 2004, the Quakes are 5-1-1 when scoring first. The Quakes gave up their lead to Los Angeles on July 4, 2004 for the first time since July 27, 2002 against Kansas City. Dating back to the 2000 season, the Earthquakes own a 44-3-4 record in their last 50 matches when they score the first goal of the game. The Quakes are also impressive in the playoffs when scoring first, posting a 6-0-0 record.
"We Believe" - The story of the 2003 San Jose Earthquakes DVD on sale now
For the first time ever, Earthquakes fans can relive the Quakes incredible ride to the 2003 MLS Cup Championship with "We Believe, The Story of the 2003 San Jose Earthquakes." This special two-disc DVD set captures all of the drama and excitement from the Earthquakes unbelievable season. In addition to a 33-minute season in review that includes player interviews and game action, Disc One features an exclusive behind the scenes package as well as a highlight reel. Disc Two of this one-of-a kind set is the original television broadcast of the "Greatest Game In MLS History," the Earthquakes dramatic 5-2 win over Los Angeles in the Western Conference Semifinals on Nov. 9, 2003. Earthquakes fans can Believe Again with this extraordinary two-disc DVD set. Fans can purchase this special two DVD set on the Earthquakes website at sjearthquakes.com or by calling 408-985-GOAL.
