Injury Report
Eddie Robinson (concussion/nasal fracture) - Out
Misc. Notes
Rally in Downtown San Jose
In conjunction with the San Jose Sports Authority and Soccer Silicon Valley, the San Jose Earthquakes will introduce the 2005 edition of the team at a kick-off rally on Thursday, March 31 at Cesar Chavez Park in downtown San Jose at 5:00 p.m. PT. The Earthquakes open their tenth season in San Jose on Saturday, April 2 against the New England Revolution at 7:00 p.m. at Spartan Stadium. City of San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales and City of Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan will both be in attendance at the rally. As part of the weeklong Quakes festivities leading up to the game, the club will introduce the 2005 Quakes as well as unveil the team's new adidas uniforms at the rally. Fans will have an opportunity at the rally to meet and get autographs from all of this year's Quakes players and coaches, including old favorites Ronald Cerritos and Wade Barrett, who return to the team this season, and emerging stars Brian Ching and Brian Mullan. Quakes play-by-play announcer John Shrader will emcee the event, which will include giveaways, and a post-event party at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant for those attending the rally.
Quakes Knock off United 2-0
The San Jose Earthquakes took advantage of two first half goals by midfielder Brad Davis and defeated D.C. United 2-0 in the first game of the preseason Carolina Challenge Cup. The Earthquakes took the lead in the 14th minute on a fine strike by Brad Davis. Alejandro Moreno ran onto a through ball on the right wing before launching a cross across the United goalmouth. The Quakes Ricardo Clark charged in towards the net and attempted to volley the ball home, but it deflected backwards off his foot and went directly to a waiting Davis, who buried a hard shot in the air to the right of stunned DC goalkeeper Troy Perkins. Four minutes later, in the 18th minute, the Quakes extended their lead to 2-0 on another Davis goal. As Moreno raced for a loose ball near the right edge of the penalty box, he was brought down by a hard, sliding tackle from David Stokes, setting up a free kick. Davis stepped up and struck a superb ball, curling his shot around United's two person wall and into the open near side of the goal past Perkins. Earthquakes goalkeeper Pat Onstad made several difficult saves throughout the night, preserving the Quakes shutout with one of his best stops in the 24th minute with a sliding save on a Santino Quaranta breakaway. In the 70th minute, DC United was forced to finish the contest with ten men after Nana Kouffer received a red card for a hard, sliding challenge on Brad Davis along the sidelines. Just two minutes later, however, the Quakes were reduced to ten men as well when Danny O'Rourke was given his second yellow card of the game for a sliding tackle of Freddy Adu near midfield. Eddie Robinson suffered a nasal fracture and a concussion with under five minutes to go in the match and was forced out of the game.
Quakes Preseason Continues
The Earthquakes have played 11 preseason matches with six taking place at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., four at The Home Depot Center and one at the Carolina Challenge Cup. The team has posted a 6-2-3 record in those matches. The Earthquakes have two games remaining in the preseason as they play Columbus March 23 at 5:00 p.m. PT and finish up the Carolina Challenge Cup with a game against the Battery on March 25 at 3:00 p.m. PT.
Preseason Schedule and Results (6-2-3)
Feb. 13 - 1-0 loss vs. Real Salt Lake
Feb. 14 - 1-1 tie vs. United States Under-20s (Ronér)
Feb. 16 - 2-0 win vs. Chicago Fire (Davis, Levesque)
Feb. 17 - 1-0 loss vs. MetroStars
Feb. 20 - 1-1 tie vs. Kansas City Wizards (Wondolowski)
Feb. 22 - 6-2 win vs. U.S. Under-17 team (Jallow (4), Barrett, Moreno)
Mar. 3 - 2-1 win vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (Moreno, Wondolowski)
Mar. 4 - 3-0 win vs. CD Chivas USA (Hart, Levesque, Nash)
Mar. 6 - 0-0 tie vs. U.S. national team
Mar. 8 - 7-2 win vs. UCLA (Robinson, Cerritos, Ramirez, Nash (2), Levesque, Wondolowski)
Mar. 19 - 2-0 win vs. D.C. United (Davis (2))
Mar. 22 - Earthquakes vs. Columbus Crew at 3:00 p.m. PT
Mar. 25 - Earthquakes vs. Charleston Battery at 3:00 p.m. PT
Earthquakes Back With KLIV
The San Jose Earthquakes announced last week the largest English language radio package in team history, as the club renewed its partnership with 1590 KLIV to broadcast all 32 regular-season MLS games for the first time ever. The local San Jose radio station aired 26 Quakes games in 2004, and previously broadcast San Jose games from 1996-1998. The Quakes first game on KLIV will be the home opener on Saturday, April 2 against the New England Revolution at 7:00 p.m. PT at Spartan Stadium. Following that game, KLIV will air every single Quakes game featuring the play-by-play of John Shrader. Last season's 26 game broadcast package on KLIV was previously the club's biggest radio package before the agreement to air all 32 home and away matches for 2005. From 1996-1998 and in 2003, only San Jose road games were available on the radio.
De Rosario Heads to Portugal
Quakes forward Dwayne De Rosario has been called in to the Canadian National Team for the team's match against Portugal on Saturday, March 26 in Barcelos, Portugal. The game will be played at 8:30 p.m. local time. De Rosario joined his national team teammates in Portugal on Sunday, March 20 for training prior to the match and did not travel with the Quakes to Charleston for the Carolina Challenge Cup. De Rosario has appeared in 28 matches for Canada and scored seven goals. He last played against Northern Ireland on February 9 in a 1-0 win.
Mullan, Ching with National Team
Earthquakes forward Brian Ching and midfielder Brian Mullan have been training with the U.S. National Team since late February. Both Quakes stars appeared for the U.S. in a 3-0 win against Colombia on March 9 in Fullerton, Calif. Mullan made his first appearance for the national team last year, but played the full 90 minutes against Colombia as a right defender. Ching came on as a substitute and played the final 19 minutes of the game against Colombia up top, as he replaced Eddie Johnson. On Saturday, the U.S. defeated Honduras 1-0 in Albuquerque, NM with Ching playing the full 90 minutes at forward alongside Eddie Johnson. Mullan did not see action against Honduras. Ching now has seven caps, while Mullan has earned two in his career.
Quakes Announce Player 29 Winner
The San Jose Earthquakes announced that the club has signed lucky fan Joe Pate to become the Quakes "Player 29" on the roster for the 2005 season. Pate is the winner of an incredible sweepstakes that the Earthquakes conducted to find a fan to be the 29th player on the roster for the upcoming season. "I'm very excited to win this contest, it is hard to express my feeling in words," Pate said. "I would like to thank the Earthquakes for bringing me in and I hope that I can help contribute to the teams success in 2005." As part of the contest, Pate participated in a special signing ceremony with Earthquakes President & General Manager Alexi Lalas, and will receive his own official game jersey, including name and number, and will be introduced along with the rest of the team on the field at the Quakes season-opener on April 2 at Spartan Stadium. Pate will then watch the Quakes take on the New England Revolution from a special bench seating area and will receive an official Earthquakes warm-up suit. Pate will also be featured in the club's official 2005 team photo and media guide. Pate has been an Earthquakes season ticket holder since 1999, and first attended an MLS game at Spartan Stadium in 1998. The engineer is coming off a 24-year hiatus from his soccer career to become "Player 29". All Earthquakes season ticket holders as of February 28, 2005 were automatically entered into the contest, while fans could also enter to win online at the Quakes website or by picking up an official entry from the Earthquakes Front Office in downtown San Jose.
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.
Season Tickets on Sale Now
San Jose Earthquakes season ticket packages for the 2005 season at Spartan Stadium are now on sale. The Earthquakes 2005 season ticket package features 18 games, including all MLS regular season games and special bonus games. The Quakes season ticket pricing once again consists of a Youth (14 and younger) and a Senior (60 and over) discount in three price levels. Prices for the 2005 season ticket packages are $198 adult ($162 youth/senior) for Endzone, $252 adult ($198 youth/senior) for East Sideline, $450 ($396 youth/senior) for West Sideline and $720 for VIP seats. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Earthquakes Ticket Office at 100 North Almaden Ave., by logging onto www.sjearthquakes.com or by contacting the Earthquakes Ticket Office at (408) 985-GOAL.
