on his return to his one-time home -- tried to head the ball back to his 'keeper, but instead powered it high over his head and into the goal.
• The Earthquakes were kept to just a single shot on goal for the entire match, that coming in the 90th minute. They went close again in the game's final minute, but Ramiro Corrales saw his drive ring off the crossbar.
• Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop made two changes to the team that lost 3-2 to the Columbus Crew the weekend before. Ryan Cochrane returned from injury, but came in for Nick Garcia, who was out to injury. Peguero Jean Philippe was also out injured, as Joe Vide came into the lineup in his place.
• Here's Yallop's team (4-4-1-1): Joe Cannon - James Riley (Shea Salinas 57), Ryan Cochrane, Jason Hernandez, Eric Denton - Ronnie O'Brien (Ryan Johnson 46), Ramiro Corrales, Joe Vide, Ivan Guerrero (John Cunliffe 82) - Ned Grabavoy - Kei Kamara. Substitutes Not Used: Preston Burpo, Nick Garcia, Matt Hatzke, Jamil Roberts
• "We didn't do ourselves any favors by coming out so flat," Quakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon said. "One of the problems with this team is that we're a little bit too reactionary with our actions. We wait for something to happen before we do something about it."
TEAM NEWS
• Coming into the season, the strength of the Earthquakes was expected to be their defense. But after conceding just five goals in their first five games, including two clean sheets in a three-game span, San Jose has allowed five goals in their last two games.
• "You go away from home and give up a goal early and you tend to think you're in for a long night. Both goals were preventable, to be honest. It was a free kick into the box that wasn't dealt with by our defenders and then an own goal. (It was just a) bad start," Yallop said.
• Trying to get back into the game, Yallop changed his tactics. He went to back three, moving James Riley to a wide right-sided role while tucking Ronnie O'Brien inside, along with Joe Vide and Ramiro Corrales.
• "We had to change the system a bit to try to get to grips with it. We sort of seemed to get a bit better," Yallop said. "It wasn't a good performance. At least we didn't roll over and die at the end. That was important."
• While Ryan Cochrane was back from injury, Nick Garcia was out with a groin strain. More troubling: In a team short on attacking options, Yallop was missing both Gavin Glinton and Peguero Jean Philippe to injury, who have 26 career MLS goals between them.
• "I said to everyone at halftime that it's about character," Yallop said. "We're not going to win every game. We don't have a full squad. Nick Garcia being out was a challenge for us. That's probably the worst we've played since the LA game. We're disappointed. We need to pull up our socks and be ready to go."
• It also was not the homecoming Riley had envisioned. After three seasons in a Revolution uniform, going to three consecutive MLS Cup Finals, Riley moved to San Jose in the expansion draft. But on his first game back in his old stadium, he looped a header past Cannon for an own goal.
• "I don't really know [how it happened]," Cannon said. "He finished it pretty well. Give him credit. I was off my line a little bit and he put a lot of power on it. Unfortunately, he put it into our net. At that point, it was kind of the exclamation point of the half."
• After the break, Yallop tried to inject some life into his team with a pair of changes, bringing on Shea Salinas as he went with two out-and-out strikers and also bringing on Ryan Johnson, who scored his first career goal the weekend before against Columbus.
• "Johnson and Salinas did a good job," Yallop said. "There were some bright spots from our subs, but New England was cruising at that point. They weren't too worried that we were going to get back in the game at that point."
HOUSTON DYNAMO
The Houston Dynamo came back for their second win in as many matches, getting a late winner for a 2-1 win on the road at Chicago Fire on Saturday evening. The Dynamo have 10 points from eight matches and now sit in third place in the Western Conference, just a point behind second-place LA Galaxy and two behind division leader Colorado Rapids.
LAST MATCH
• The Fire had won three games in a row and five of their last six, entertaining a Houston Dynamo team that finally put an end to their six-game winless run to start defense of their title the weekend before.
• The Dynamo took the lead after 17 minutes. Ricardo Clark let fly from outside the area; his shot deflected off the boot of Fire midfielder Chris Rolfe and Dwayne De Rosario instinctively poked out his head to divert it again, Jon Busch left completely helpless as the ball flew into the goal.
• But the Fire levelled the score in the 28th minute. Cuauhtemoc Blanco swung in a free kick from the right corner and Calen Carr rose up to powerfully head down, the bounce taking the ball past Pat Onstad and over the clearing attempt of Wade Barrett.
• In the second half, the rain began lashing down in Bridgeview and the Dynamo scored the winner eight minutes from the end. Richard Mulrooney hooked in a quick free kick from the right flank and Bobby Boswell got up to nod home a looping header for his first goal since joining the Orange.
• Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear kept the same team for the second consecutive week, the same one that recorded a 2-1 draw against Colorado at home the weekend before.
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Richard Mulrooney, Bobby Boswell, Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett - Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden - Dwayne De Rosario - Franco Caraccio (Kyle Brown 68), Brian Ching. Substitutes Not Used: Chris Wondolowski, Tony Caig, Geoff Cameron, Patrick Ianni, Guy-Roland Kpene, Craig Waibel
• "I think our attacking group played well. From the first minute their movement, they created some good chances," Kinnear said. "Like last week, we didn't finish our chances, but at the same time it's good that you can create these new chances, and it's going to turn where you do finish them."
TEAM NEWS
• Playing in a constant, sometimes driving rain, against a Fire team that was enjoying its best season start ever, the Dynamo would not have been blamed for playing for the draw. But they had the run of play in the second half and put five shots on goal to just one for the Fire in the second 45 minutes.
• "(The winning streak) is a reward for how the team is working," Kinnear said. "Before that, we had some games we were playing well, playing on top of teams, and we just didn't get the result. The results are going our way now."
• The Dynamo hit for two goals against a Fire team that had allowed just three in its first seven games - and one of those through an own goal.
• "This is a team where we are capable of winning every game we step on the field," Boswell said. "We don't come in here to destroy the game and play for a draw. We want to win. We have our goals, to score goals and not give them up."
• The first Dynamo goal was originally credited to Clark. However, video evidence showed the ball took two deflections on its way to goal, first hitting Fire midfielder Chris Rolfe before De Rosario thrust out his head to touch it again - something confirmed later by both players. "I'll take it," De Rosario said. "I don't get easy goals anymore."
• Despite the talk of it being the second-poorest start for a team defending its MLS title, the Dynamo have now pulled into a .500 record and sit within striking distance of taking over the Western Conference lead by the end of the weekend.
• "I think we have just been unlucky with our results early in the year," Boswell said. "The breaks just weren't going our way. Or we were making one mistake here or there. But things are going to even out over a matter of time."
• For 10 Dynamo players, this will be their first match back in San Jose since the club left northern California and they went with it: goalkeeper Pat Onstad; defenders Wade Barrett, Eddie Robinson and Craig Waibel; midfielders Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis, Dwayne De Rosario and Brian Mullan; and forwards Brian Ching and Chris Wondolowski.
• Eight players were part of teams that won MLS Cups in each city. De Rosario won all four MLS Cups in the timeline of the club - with San Jose in 2001 and 2003, and Houston in 2006 and 2007. Richard Mulrooney won three (2001 and '03 with SJ; 2007 with HOU), as Barrett (2001 with SJ; 2006, '07 with HOU), and Ching, Mullan, Onstad, Robinson and Waibel won three different ones (03, 06, 07).
