SAN FRANCISCO- The Houston Dynamo finished their preseason trip to Northern California unbeaten, after earning a 0-0 tie against the San Jose Earthquakes tonight at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.
In what was the second contest between both clubs this week, and with a starting lineup made in its entirety of first-team players, Houston had its first opportunity to score at the 6th minute of play. It was then that Brian Ching sent a header just past Presto Burpo's right post after a free kick by Richard Mulrooney.
Ching had yet another opportunity to score at the 27th minute. Ching would go ahead and take the ball down the last quarter of the field, only to have Burpo deny him yet again by blocking his shot with his left hand. Dwayne de Rosario had a great individual play down the right side of the field at the 38th minute, which was quickly brought to a halt by Burpo.
Houston's best opportunity of the first half came at the 44th minute of play. On a corner kick from the right by Stuart Holden, Bobby Boswell put in a solid header, only to be denied yet again by a diving Burpo.
San Jose started the second half on the offensive, almost scoring the first goal of the game on a great header by second-half substitute Jason Hernandez at the 49th minute of play. Pat Onstad, however, denied Hernandez's header with a quick save. Both teams traded scoring chances during the remainder of the second half, with neither side being able to get ahead.
The game's last minutes were tense and physical. Brian Ching was ejected after he got his second yellow card of the game, following a hard foul on Matt Taylor. Still the Men in Orange held on to preserve the 0-0 tie
The Houston Dynamo will now travel to Hawaii on Sunday to participate in the Pan Pacific Championship. The Men in Orange will first face Sydney FC on Wednesday. Kickoff for this game is set for 12:30 a.m. CT.
Starting lineups:
Houston Dynamo:
Pat Onstad, Patrick Ianni, Eddie Robinson, Bobby Boswell, Stuart Holden, Ricardo Clark, Dwayne De Rosario, Richard Mulrooney, Corey Ashe (Jeff Cameron , 41'), Chris Wondolowski (Chabala, 76') Brian Ching.
San Jose Earthquakes:
Preston Burpo (Cannon, 45') Taylor Graham (Hernandez, 45') James Riley (Pozniak, 45', Ayres, 54'), Nick Garcia©, Eric Denton (Marlin, 64') Yuri Morales (Smarte, 79') Ramiro Corrales (Bohnenkamp, 84') Ned Grabavoy (Vide, 45'), Shea Salinas, Fabrice Noel (Taylor, 61'), Kei Kamara (Glinton 45').
Attendance: 4,113
Weather: Clear, 52 degrees.
