Weekly update: Chillin' out

Off
Wednesday, July 27 -- Off
Thursday, July 28 -- Off
Friday, July 29 -- Off
Saturday, July 30 -- Off
Sunday, July 31 -- 1:00 p.m. PT - Training at West Valley College

Injury Report/Suspensions
Out: Troy Dayak (L - ACL tear)
Craig Waibel (R - LCL/ACL tear)
Brian Ching (R - hamstring strain)

Last Match

Earthquakes 2, MetroStars 1; Saturday, July 23, 2005; Spartan Stadium; San Jose, Calif.
The San Jose Earthquakes used a dominating performance and goals by Mark Chung and Dwayne De Rosario to earn a 2-1 win over the MetroStars at Spartan Stadium and move into a tie for first place in the Western Conference with FC Dallas. The Earthquakes put plenty of pressure on the MetroStars in the games first 15 minutes, and had a breakaway opportunity in the 15th minute when Brian Mullan ran onto a long ball behind the Metros defense by Chung. MetroStars defender Jeff Parke was able to catch up and disrupt him, allowing goalkeeper Tony Meola to gather the ball. The action opened up in the 32nd minute, with the MetroStars taking a 1-0 lead on an own goal. Eddie Gaven started the play when he dribbled with the ball into the left corner before hitting Ryan Suarez at the corner of the penalty box. Immediately after Suarez hit a cross toward goal, Quakes midfielder Ricardo Clark jumped to block it. The ball deflected off Clark and straight into the air toward the goal, where it popped over goalkeeper Pat Onstad and into the net for a 1-0 lead. The Quakes answered almost immediately with a goal from Chung. With the ball in the right side of the MetroStars penalty area, Moreno slipped a pass back to Dwayne De Rosario standing near the top of the box. De Rosario chipped a ball over the defense to an on-rushing Chung at the far post. Chung beat his defender and headed the ball home past Meola to put the finish on a beautiful attack to tie the game 1-1. A quick flurry of action early in the second half culminated in the Quakes taking a 2-1 lead on De Rosario's third goal of the year. In the 52nd minute, Clark sliced a fine through ball to an open Wade Barrett in the middle of the Metros penalty area. Barrett took a touch and fired a ball toward goal, but Meola was able to make the save. The MetroStars responded just seconds later and forced Onstad to make a terrific save when Sergio Galvan Ray slotted a pass to Ibrahim open near the top left side of the Quakes six yard box. Onstad was able to kick away Ibrahim's low shot. A minute later, the Quakes grabbed the advantage on a quick attack up the field in the 53rd minute. Kelly Gray sent a ball to Chung, who headed it up field to himself before slicing a terrific low ball through the defense to an on-rushing De Rosario. De Rosario touched the ball forward and dribbled alone into the penalty area before calmly sending a low shot the right of a diving Meola for the 2-1 lead.

Misc. Notes

Winning Streak Starts Again
After having a seven-game unbeaten run ended on July 15 against D.C. United, the Earthquakes have quickly started another winning streak. The Quakes defeated the Colorado Rapids on July 20 and the MetroStars on July 23 to start a two-game winning streak.

Nine Wins
In 2004, the Earthquakes won nine games and earned 38 points on the season. Following their win over the MetroStars on Saturday, the team has matched last season's win total and earned 34 points on the season after just 20 games.

First Place, But No All-Stars

Despite the fact that the Earthquakes are currently tied for first place, no San Jose players will be present at the 2005 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game. This year the Quakes have not relied on a single player this season, as fourteen different players have contributed to the club's success by scoring a goal in 2005. This is the first year in MLS history that at least one member of the Earthquakes was not voted to the All-Star game. The most San Jose players selected to the team is six, a record set in both 2001 and 2002.

Tight Games

With two one-goal victories last week, San Jose has now had 17 of their 20 games either decided by one goal or finish in a tie. Also, 12 of the 20 games that the Quakes have played in 2005 have entered the halftime break with the teams tied.

Unbeaten At Home
The Quakes currently have an 11-game unbeaten streak at Spartan Stadium as they have not lost since Sept. 8, 2004 in their home stadium. The 11-game streak is the third longest in team history. The club has two 15-game unbeaten streaks at Spartan (8/21/99 - 7/4/00 and 8/25/01 - 9/7/02). The team has posted a 5-0-6 record at Spartan during the streak.

One-Goal Games
In 2004, San Jose had the worst record in MLS in one-goal games, posting a 2-9 record. The team has turned that around in 2005 as they are now 7-3 in one-goal games.

Pitching In
Through 20 games, the Quakes have scored 30 goals and the goals are coming from the entire team. 14 different players have scored a goal and no player has scored more than five goals. Also, the team has never had one player score two goals or more in a single game this season.

Equal Distribution
San Jose has scored 15 first half goals and 15 second half goals.

Comeback Kids
The Quakes gave up the first goal of the game against the MetroStars, but came back to score two goals and pick up a 2-1 win. San Jose is the only team in MLS in 2005 to win three games after allowing the first goal of the match. The Quakes have a 3-4-2 record when allowing the first goal.

Quakes Shutout Streak Snapped
The Earthquakes club-record home shutout streak was ended on Saturday against the MetroStars by an own goal in the 32nd minute. San Jose's streak reached 537 minutes. Earthquakes' opponents had not scored at Spartan Stadium since April 23, 2005 when Kansas City's Chris Klein found the net in the 34th minute of the Wizards' 3-2 loss to the Quakes. The previous record was 396 minutes, which was set from July 24 - Sept. 8 of 2004.

Chung, De Rosario Hot
Mark Chung and Dwayne De Rosario both scored and notched an assist in Saturday's win over the MetroStars at Spartan Stadium. Chung also scored against the Rapids on Wednesday night in the Quakes 2-1 win, while De Rosario had an assist in that match also. Chung now has three goals and two assists with the Quakes and four goals and two assists on the season. De Rosario notched his eighth assist of the season against the Metros, equaling his career high and moving him into a tie for first place overall in MLS for assists. All three of De Rosario's goals in 2005 have been game-winners.

Davis Earns First Cap

San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Brad Davis scored the winning penalty kick goal for the United States in his second-ever game for his country to help the Americans win their third CONCACAF Gold Cup title. Davis entered as a sub in the 84th minute and played the remainder of the game, before scoring the winning penalty kick against Panama. After a scoreless game against Panama, Davis was one of three U.S. shooters to score as the Americans won the shootout 3-1. Davis earned his first cap for the United States on Thursday, July 7 as he started and played 76 minutes for the U.S. in a 4-1 win over Cuba in the team's first match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Davis did not play again until the final, but made his presence felt with the penalty kick goal. Davis will rejoin the Quakes after the all-star break.

Cerritos Ties Mulrooney For Record
Forward Ronald Cerritos registered the 53rd assist of his nine-year MLS career when he notched an assist on July 9 against the Crew for his sixth of the season. The Quakes forward has registered 44 assists in his San Jose career, tying former Quakes midfielder Richard Mulrooney for first in club history. Currently the club's all-time goal scoring leader, Cerritos is looking to become the teams' all-time leader in both goals and assists. He has moved past John Doyle to have the second-most all-time appearances (138), starts (134) and minutes (11,749) for the San Jose club.

Quakes To Open Cup In Portland
The San Jose Earthquakes will take on the Portland Timbers of the USL First Division in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the second straight season. The Quakes and Timbers will meet in the fourth round of the tournament on Wednesday, August 3 at 7:00 p.m. PT at PGE Park in Portland, Ore. 2005 will mark San Jose's eighth year of participation in the U.S. Open Cup. Last season, the Quakes defeated the Timbers 3-0 in the fourth round of the tournament as Ronnie Ekelund, Ramiro Corrales and Dwayne De Rosario netted goals for the Quakes. San Jose eventually reached the semifinals of the tournament before falling 1-0 to the Kansas City Wizards. The Quakes had never advanced beyond the quarterfinals prior to last season. The Quakes possess a 9-7 overall record in Open Cup play and have outscored opponents 32-15 in the tournament. The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation's National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. It is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world.

Earthquakes To Face Spanish First Division Club

The San Jose Earthquakes announced that the club will host Spanish First Division club Deportivo Alavés in an international exhibition match on Monday, August 8 at 7:30 p.m. PT at Spartan Stadium. The first ever match-up between the Quakes and a Spanish First Division opponent will serve as bonus game "A" for Earthquakes season ticket holders. A finalist in the 2001 UEFA Cup, Alavés cruised to the championship game led by Jordi Cruyff, where they dropped a memorable 5-4 decision to Liverpool FC. Based in the Basque capital of Vitoria, Deportivo Alavés was relegated to the Spanish Second Division in 2003, before earning promotion back to the First Division last month. A proud team that boasts ten years in the Spanish First Division, the 84-year old club made a triumphant return to the top league in 1995, eventually leading to the successful run to the UEFA Cup Final in 2001. The Earthquakes have a 13-13-5 all-time record against professional international opponents since 1996, including the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the preseason La Manga Cup and friendly matches.

League Leaders

Quakes All-Time in July

San Jose's all-time record in July is 20-26-6.

In the Community
Who: Chris Wondolowski and Brian Mullan

When: Wednesday, July 27; 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Location: McAfee Coliseum; Oakland, CA

Details: Earthquakes players Chris Wondolowski and Brian Mullan will be participating in the Oakland A's 6th Annual Mug Root Beer Float Day before and during the A's game on Wednesday afternoon. Wondolowski and Mullan will be scooping ice cream for root beer floats and signing autographs at the event. All proceeds go directly to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Who: Eddie Robinson

When: Saturday, July 30; Time TBD

Location: Gilroy Garlic Festival

Details: Eddie Robinson will be at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on Saturday, July 30th signing autographs. For the time, please contact our Community Relations Department at 408-288-2600.

MLS Camps
MLS Camps will be putting on youth soccer camps in seven different areas this week of July 18. MLS Camps will hold camps for the AYSO 64 - San Jose, AYSO 36 - San Mateo, Loomis, Benicia Youth Soccer League, Orangevale Youth Soccer League, Konocti Youth Soccer League and San Carlos Parks and Recreation.

Quakes Set Unbeaten Streak Record At Home
The Earthquakes set an MLS record with their August 7, 2004 win against D.C. United, extending their unbeaten streak at home to 46 games when scoring first. That streak now stands at 51 games after San Jose's 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids on June 29, 2005. It started on April 3, 1999.

Quakes Closing In On .500

The Earthquakes have now gotten their all-time MLS record to the .500 mark. The Quakes all-time regular season MLS record is 125-125-44.

Halftime Success

Despite relinquishing a halftime lead on June 12, 2005 against Chivas USA in a game that ended 1-1, the Earthquakes remain amongst the best in league history in holding on to a half-time lead. Since the beginning of the 2000 season, the Earthquakes are 45-0-7 in games when leading at the half, including 8-0-1 in 2003, 7-0-1 in 2004 and 3-0-2 in 2005.

Making The First One Count

The Quakes held on for a 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on July 20, continuing their incredible run over the past 63 games when scoring first. Dating back to the 2000 season, the Earthquakes own a 53-3-7 record in their last 63 matches when they score the first goal of the game. In 2005, San Jose remains undefeated at 6-0-3 when scoring first. 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 went 8-1-1 when scoring first, the top mark in MLS. The Quakes gave up their lead and lost to Los Angeles on July 4, 2004 for the first time since July 27, 2002 against Kansas City. The Quakes are also impressive in the playoffs when scoring first, posting a 6-0-0 record.

Individual Tickets Now on Sale
Individual tickets for 2005 San Jose Earthquakes games are now on sale. Individual ticket prices for the Earthquakes 2005 regular season are $45 (VIP), $30 (West Sideline), $16 (East Sideline and Corners) and $13 (Endzone). Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Earthquakes Ticket Office at 100 North Almaden Ave., by logging onto www.sjearthquakes.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at 408-998-TIXS, 415-421-TIXS, 510-625-TIXS, 925-685-TIXS, or by visiting any Ticketmaster outlet, including Tower Records, Rite Aid and Ritmo Latino. Discounted tickets for groups of 15 or more are available by calling 408-985-GOAL.