SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES vs. HOUSTON DYNAMO
BUCK SHAW STADIUM, Santa Clara, Calif.
Sept. 13, 2008 | 7 p.m. PT (CSN-BA; Ch.55/43)
WEEK # 25 | GAME # 164
It's certain to be another emotional meeting when the Houston Dynamo take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Buck Shaw Stadium, but now because the playoff race has heated up, as the hottest teams in MLS play a home-and-home series over the next two weeks. The Dynamo have moved seven points clear atop the Western Conference with a five-game winning streak, while the Earthquakes are riding an eight-game unbeaten run that has propelled them to fourth place in the division, just two points out of a postseason berth entering the round.
REFEREE:
Silviu Petrescu. SAR (bench): Corey Rockwell; JAR (opposite): Peter Balciunas; 4th: Richard Heron
MLS Career: 8 games; FC/gm: 37.6; Y/gm: 4.1; R: 3; pens: 0
INJURY REPORT:
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES - OUT: MF Ramiro Corrales (L knee MCL sprain); FW Gavin Glinton (R adductor release surgery) ... HOUSTON DYNAMO - OUT: FW Geoff Cameron (R hamstring strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES:
none
SUSPENDED:
none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: SJ: Ramiro Corrales, Eric Denton, Jason Hernandez, James Riley ... HOU: Bobby Boswell
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: SJ: Nick Garcia, Kelly Gray ... HOU: Wade Barrett, Stuart Holden
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (1 meeting): Earthquakes 1 win, 2 goal ... Dynamo 0 wins, 1 goal ... Ties 0
AT BUCK SHAW STADIUM (1 meeting): Earthquakes 1 win, 2 goal ... Dynamo 0 wins, 1 goal ... Ties 0
• This is the second of three meetings between the clubs this season that share their ancestry, and the first of two on back-to-back weekends in a home-and-home series. They meet next Saturday in Houston.
• The San Jose Clash were one of the founding clubs of Major League Soccer in 1996, changing their name to the Earthquakes for the 2000 season. In 2006, the club relocated to Houston, but the name, colors and competition records of the Earthquakes were retained for the expansion team that began play this season.
• Coaches record: Frank Yallop v HOU: P7 W3 L2 D2 ... Dominic Kinnear vs. SJ: P1 W0 L1 D0
LAST MEETING (MLS)
5/22: SJ 2, HOU 1 (Kamara 67, Guerrero 81 - Ching 88)
• The Houston Dynamo went to the Bay Area for the first time since the club's move from there to south Texas, and saw the San Jose Earthquakes win for the first time at home in their return to the league on May 22.
• It was somewhat of a homecoming for the Dynamo, featuring 10 players and coach Dominic Kinnear who had gone with the club to south Texas when it left after the 2006 season.
• The Earthquakes took the lead in the 67th minute. A deflected cross from Ronnie O'Brien was flicked over his head by Ned Grabavoy, finding Kei Kamara deep in the box. His quick shot on the turn not only beat Dynamo defender Patrick Ianni, but goalkeeper Pat Onstad as well, giving the Quakes the lead.
• San Jose doubled the margin in the 81st minute. On the counter, Ivan Guerrero played Ryan Johnson through on the right side of the box, and while Onstad did well to parry his blast, Guerrero was on hand to slot home the rebound.
• The Dynamo pulled a goal back two minutes from the end when Brian Ching volleyed home a Brad Davis cross at the near post for his second goal on the season, but they could get no closer and San Jose was able to celebrate a victory in front of their home fans for the first time in three years.
• Here's Yallop's team (4-1-3-2): Joe Cannon - Jason Hernandez, Ryan Cochrane, Nick Garcia, Eric Denton - Ramiro Corrales - Ronnie O'Brien (Shea Salinas 78), Ned Grabavoy, Ivan Guerrero - Ryan Johnson, Kei Kamara (Jovan Kirovski 80). Substitutes Not Used: Dan Benton, John Cunliffe, Kelly Gray, James Riley, Joe Vide
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Richard Mulrooney, Bobby Boswell, Eddie Robinson (Patrick Ianni 64), Wade Barrett - Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden (Brad Davis 75) - Dwayne De Rosario - Franco Caraccio (Kyle Brown 55), Brian Ching. Substitutes Not Used: Chris Wondolowski, Tony Caig, Geoff Cameron, Craig Waibel
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
The San Jose Earthquakes moved into fourth place in the Western Conference, winning for the fourth time in five games in a 2-1 win against D.C. United. Saturday night at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Earthquakes now have 28 points from 23 matches, two behind third-place Chivas USA, and one ahead of the Colorado Rapids.
LAST MATCH
• The Earthquakes came in riding a seven-game unbeaten run since early in July, winners of three of their last four, while United were coming off a midweek victory in the U.S. Open Cup Final, breaking a string of alternating wins and losses in a draw with New York the week before in league play.
• Against injury-hit United, the Quakes took the lead in the 18th minute. Darren Huckerby won the ball on the left side and centering for Arturo Alvarez, who steamed in to lash a left-footed shot inside the right post for his third goal in five games since coming to San Jose.
• Huckerby doubled the Earthquakes' lead after the break. Eric Denton's long ball freed Scott Sealy down the left flank, and he found Huckerby coming in from behind, who drove home a shot inside the left post for his fourth goal in six games since joining the league.
• United pulled a goal 14 minutes later, as Rod Dyachenko intercepted the ball and fed Santino Quaranta, who skipped through a pair of defenders before curling a shot home past Quakes 'keeper Joe Cannon, but D.C. could get no closer.
• Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop made no changes to the team that grabbed a late 2-1 victory against the Kansas City Wizards the previous weekend.
• Here's Yallop's team (4-4-2): Joe Cannon - James Riley, Jason Hernandez, Nick Garcia, Eric Denton - Ronnie O'Brien, Ned Grabavoy (Ryan Johnson 58), Francisco Lima, Darren Huckerby - Arturo Alvarez (Jovan Kirovski 68), Scott Sealy (Kelly Gray 81). Substitutes Not Used: Ryan Cochrane, John Cunliffe, Michael Gustavson, Shea Salinas
TEAM NEWS
• The Earthquakes' unbeaten streak stretched to eight games, the longest in MLS this season. The club record is still quite a ways away - a 14-game streak that stretched to the end of the club's final season before the two-year hiatus, from July 20-Oct. 15, 2005.
• "I think Frank (Yallop) and (general manager) John (Doyle), from day one, wanted to put together a good defensive unit," defender Nick Garcia said. "Defense is what's going to lead us to a championship. I think we've had it all year, we've finetuned it, and we've done better and better. Tonight, we would've liked to have shutout, but a win's a win, as pretty or as ugly as it might be."
• After the win against D.C. United, San Jose sports the second lowest goals-against total in the league (tied with Houston), allowing 1.17 goals per game. In the 10 games since a 3-1 loss at D.C. on June 22, the Quakes have allowed just seven goals.
• "We don't seem to give up many easy chances. That's the sign of a good back four and goalkeeper," Yallop said. "But the team defends as a team. It starts with the guys up front, and then the guys in midfield have to work real hard to make it difficult for the opposition to play. Then obviously our back line is solid and strong and brave, and we have probably the best goalkeeper in the league right now. Things are good at that end."
• Whether the Quakes can remain in the hunt for a playoff spot will certainly be tested over the next two weeks, in the home-and-home series with the Dynamo that should be sure to bring all the emotion of their initial meeting on May 22.
• "We control our destiny. We have two important games coming up, Houston home and away, and for us, two big games," Garcia said. "Our destiny is in our hands. We've got the guys to do it. We've got to keep on fine tuning things, and work hard. If we do that, we should be in the playoffs."
• Said goalkeeper Joe Cannon: "If we come out like we did tonight against a Houston team that's on all cylinders, it's not going to be pretty. So this week, we're going to have to get back to our blue-collar ways, spend a little more time at the office, and win some games."
• For the second consecutive match, Darren Huckerby and Arturo Alvarez provided the firepower, each scoring the San Jose goals. Since his arrival in San Jose, Huckerby has been involved in eight of the Earthquakes' 12 goals (four goals, four assists); Alvarez has scored three of San Jose's 11 goals since his arrival from FC Dallas.
• "Since the new guys have come, we've played great at home. And now we've got an absolute war with the best team in our league coming up," Cannon said. "It's good to test what we're about against the best and see what we can do at home against those guys. They're playing really well right now, and we're playing pretty well right now."
HOUSTON DYNAMO
The Dynamo won for the fifth consecutive home game, getting a pair of second-half goals from Nate Jaqua for a 3-1 victory against the Kansas City Wizards. The Dynamo extended their advantage atop the Western Conference, now seven points ahead of Real Salt Lake, five points behind East leader Columbus Crew for the best overall record in the league.
LAST MATCH
• The Dynamo had lost just once in league play since mid-June. winning of five of their previous six contests. The Wizards had won just once in their previous seven matches.
• On a hot, steamy afternoon, the Dynamo drew first blood. Kei Kamara chased down a long flick-on to the left of goal, and after holding up the ball, laid it back for Brad Davis to smash home first-time under the crossbar from just inside the area (28). For Davis, it was his second goal to go with six assists over the past seven league matches.
• After the break, the Dynamo blew the game open with a brace from Jaqua. First, Kamara corralled a long pass on the right flank and sent Stuart Holden racing into the area, and the young midfielder slid a pass to Jaqua to bang home in the 57th minute. The two assists on the afternoon for Kamara marked the first two of his MLS career.
• Then 12 minutes later, Jaqua struck again. Craig Waibel launched a perfect through ball from the midfield stripe and sent the big striker in alone on goal, and he finished with aplomb for his fourth goal in seven league games since his return to the league.
• The Wizards got a late consolation goal when Davy Arnaud charged down a clearance attempt by Wade Barrett, fought off the Dynamo fullback to reach the deflection and powered the ball home from close range, his second goal in as many games.
• With Pat Onstad, Ricardo Clark, Dwayne De Rosario and Brian Ching all away on international duty, Tony Caig came in between the posts, Craig Waibel came in along the back four, Stuart Holden came into the midfield and Kei Kamara started up top.
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Tony Caig - Craig Waibel, Bobby Boswell, Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett - Brian Mullan, Richard Mulrooney, Brad Davis (Corey Ashe 70) - Stuart Holden - Nate Jaqua (Geoff Cameron 83), Kei Kamara. Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Brown, Chris Wondolowski, John Michael Hayden, Patrick Ianni, Corbin Waller
• "We had a number of chances early in the first half. We deserved to be up 1-0 at the half and I told them at the break just to keep attacking, keep attacking," Kinnear said. "Today, I thought with the heat down there, that possession would be real important. With the upcoming schedule, it is important for us to get successful at home and we are. We have played some great attacking soccer in this stadium, and we have done it both with our best and while missing some key players."
TEAM NEWS
• With four first-choice players away on international duty, all four replacements contributed to the victory. Kamara recorded the first two assists of his MLS career, Waibel added an assist as did Holden, and Caig made two saves.
• "The way this team is going right now, we just have really good chemistry," Kamara said. "The way we are all moving the ball, I don't think it really matters who is in or who is out ... and those of us who have to spend some of the time on the bench, when it is our time to play, we are ready."
• Said Jaqua, who has has four goals and three assists in seven matches since his return to Houston: "We miss those guys, but we have a really deep team, and the other guys come off the bench and do great. I feel like our entire bench could be starting in this league, so we have an incredibly deep team. When injuries happen or people go away to the national team, other guys step in, and it's a good thing."
• After going 54 MLS matches without an assist, Kamara came up with two. "I promised myself that I needed to get one," Kamara said. "I was out there today to get one for sure and I was trying to do it and it all turned out perfectly."
• The Dynamo were looking to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the pack in the Western Conference, with play in the CONCACAF Champions League looming. The Dynamo will play their six group matches over the final seven weeks of the MLS regular season, beginning Sept. 17 when they play host to CD Luis Angel Firpo of El Salvador.
• "You need to be self-motivated and focused because you never know, things change from day to day. In this next seven-week stretch, it's important for them to be ready, and they have been so far," Kinnear said. "The team is successful and is playing well. If everyone wants to be a part of it, most importantly, when they step on the field, the standard cannot drop, and I think we have done that."
• With an 8-1-3 record at Robertson Stadium, the Dynamo's home mark is second-best in MLS, behind only Real Salt Lake's 7-0-5 mark in home games.
• "I think that we are playing well, especially at home. I don't feel like there is any team that can beat us here, and even on the road I feel like we are doing well, so we should keep on a roll," Jaqua said. "We have San Jose next week and want to keep it going."
