AMSTERDAM – Jermaine Jones was the star of the day among Americans playing in Europe, netting a highlight-reel goal in Schalke's 3-0 home win over Stuttgart.
With 11 minutes remaining in the contest, Jones rifled a shot on the bounce into the top corner from just over 20 yards for his first league goal since September of last year. Winners in three of four, the Miners rose to fifth place.
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, FC Nürnberg suffered a 3-0 loss at Bayer Leverkusen despite another decent outing from Timothy Chandler.
Though the right back was among the men beaten on Leverkusen's opener, Chandler nearly tied the game with a strike from distance just after intermission. Unfortunately, Bayer netminder Bernd Leno acrobatically denied the American and his teammates scored their second at the other end a moment later.
Chandler also rung up a number of good defensive plays in his own end, but it was not enough to save Der Club from their third defeat in four.
Fabian Johnson made a late cameo in Hoffenheim's wild 4-4 share with guests Werder Bremen. The US international entered on 87 minutes as the home side snapped a three-game losing slide to move up to 13th place.
Over in the Premier League, the top two American netminders each added to their Premier League clean sheet total on Saturday, with Tim Howard backstopping a 4-0 Everton cruise past a pair of US teammates dressed in the colors of visiting Stoke City.
The man in the No. 24 shirt made three saves look easy in a game that remained scoreless until close to halftime. His best save came on a Peter Crouch breakaway early in the second half. In addition to extending his Goodison Park unbeaten run to 16 league games, Howard also moved into a three-way tie atop the EPL shutouts chart with his seventh on the season.
Meanwhile, Geoff Cameron worked a trying 90 minutes at right back for Stoke, picking up a yellow card along the way. Club and country mate Brek Shea made his made his first league appearance since March, having little impact in 30 minutes off the bench.
The result tentatively lifted Everton into fourth place, while Stoke lost for the first time in five to slip to 16th.
Around the league, Brad Guzan was strong in goal as Aston Villa nudged into the table's better half with a 0-0 home draw against Sunderland.
With Jozy Altidore watching from the away dugout, Guzan needed two saves to post his third shutout in the last four games. Though vulnerable to being passed by three Sunday combatants, Villa currently stand 10th with a four-game undefeated streak.
One flight down in the Championship, Tim Ream had a rough day at the office as Bolton's three-game winning run came to an end with a tough 1-0 loss at Middlesbrough.
The Wanderers center back conceded the foul on Marvin Emnes that allowed Grant Leadbitter to bag the game's only goal from the penalty spot eight minutes from time. After Jermaine Beckford missed a last-minute spot kick at the other end, 16th-placed Bolton were saddled with their first defeat in nine.
Queens Park Rangers defender Oguchi Onyewu remains in wait of his club debut after going unused in a 2-1 defeat at Doncaster. Despite their first loss in five, QPR held firm in third place.
Duane Holmes was an unused sub as Huddersfield Town knocked visiting Burnley from the top with a 2-1 victory. By starting their first win streak of the season, the Terriers climbed a spot in the standings to 12th.
Across the Channel in Ligue 1, Alejandro Bedoya went 83 minutes as Nantes fell 1-0 away to regional rivals Guingamp.
The US attacker enjoyed an excellent first half, when a top-notch save from the home goalkeeper kept him from notching an assist on what would have been the opening goal on 32 minutes. Having lost two straight for the first time since August, Nantes slipped to sixth place.
Finally, in the Danish Superliga, Babajide Ogunbiyi worked a full shift and Mike Grella 15 minutes in Viborg's disappointing 2-2 home draw against SønderjyskE.
Grella nearly grabbed a late winner, only to watch his header flash wide. The sixth place Greens blew a lead in each half, but still managed to halt a three-game losing streak.
