This Week's Match-Up
The Earthquakes achieved their first home victory of the season in an exciting 4-2 win over their archrival, the Los Angeles Galaxy, last Saturday at Spartan Stadium in San Jose. The Earthquakes hope to extend their winning streak to three games at Columbus Crew Stadium on Saturday, May 29 when they take on the Crew at 4:30 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast live on KLIV 1590 AM (English) and Fox Sports Net and HDNet.
Earthquakes All-Time Record vs. Columbus Crew
MLS Regular Season: 9-13-1
Home: 8-3-1
Away: 1-10-0
Shootout: 3-2 (1996-99)
Overtime: 1-1-1 (2000-2003)
Playoffs: 2-2-0; U.S. Open Cup: 0-0-0
All-Time Scoring: San Jose – 46, Dallas – 51
Injury Report/Suspensions
Out:
Chris Roner (Right ankle surgery)
Eddie Robinson (Ruptured left hamstring tendon)
Todd Dunivant (Left quadriceps strain)
Chris Brown (Left ankle sprain)
Questionable:
Troy Dayak (Upper back strain)
Ronnie Ekelund (Neck infection)
Last Match
Earthquakes 4, Galaxy 2; Saturday, May 22, 2004
Spartan Stadium; San Jose, Calif.
The San Jose Earthquakes earned their first home win of the season on Saturday, downing their archrival the Los Angeles Galaxy 4-2 behind two goals from Brian Ching and a record-setting night from midfielder Richard Mulrooney. Mulrooney established a new Earthquakes club record for assists with his second assist of the night, giving him 39 in his career, breaking the old record held by Ronald Cerritos. San Jose was rewarded with the first goal of the game in the 45th minute when Ching headed in a Mulrooney corner kick from the left corner directly past Hartman to give the Quakes the lead. San Jose started the second half strong, and pushed their lead to 2-0 in the 47th minute on another goal from Ching and a record-setting assist by Mulrooney. With the assist, Mulrooney set the Earthquakes' all-time club assist record with his 39th career assist. In the 54th minute San Jose extended its lead to 3-0 on a Brian Mullan goal. After the Quakes played a long ball up field, De Rosario flicked a header to an on-rushing Mullan open on the right side. Mullan carried the ball into the penalty box before firing a strong blast part Hartman. With the Earthquakes continuing to push forward and test the Los Angeles defense, the Galaxy managed to pull within 3-1 on a Andreas Herzog goal. Chris Albright sent a pass over the San Jose defense allowing Joseph Ngwenya to run onto it before sending a cross to an open Herzog on the left side of the box about 16 yards out. Herzog one-timed a blast past Onstad. Los Angeles closed the gap to 3-2 when Ned Grabavoy launched a free kick from the right side into the Quakes penalty area, where a leaping Ngwenya was able to head the ball into the goal. With the game picking up intensity, the Earthquakes extended their lead to 4-2 in the 79th minute on a brilliant effort from De Rosario. The Canadian international collected the ball at the left corner of the Galaxy penalty area surrounded by several L.A. defenders. De Rosario maneuvered past the defenders and then cut into the box, moving past the Galaxy's Ryan Suarez and then unleashing a wicked shot that beat Hartman to the near post to give San Jose a two-goal cushion.
Last Match vs. Crew
Earthquakes 2, Crew 1; Saturday, June 21, 2003
Spartan Stadium; San Jose, Calif.
The San Jose Earthquakes used a late goal from rookie forward Jamil Walker to defeat the Columbus Crew 2-1 Saturday night at Spartan Stadium. The Quakes were rewarded for their first-half offensive pressure with the first goal of the game on a Mullan strike in the 43rd minute to take a 1-0 lead. Dunivant sent a long ball over the Columbus defense on the left side of the field, allowing Mullan to win a foot race with Brian Dunseth and take the ball into the Crew penalty area. His rolling shot to the far post beat a diving Presthus, who had entered the game for an injured Busch in the 37th minute. The goal was Mullan's fourth of the season and marked the third straight game he has recorded a point. The Crew tied the match 10 minutes into the second half, as Brian West found Paule unmarked inside the 18-yard box. Paule fired a low shot that Onstad blocked, but the rebound fell to McBride who touched the ball into the empty net to make the score 1-1. Two minutes after the goal, tempers flared as Manny Lagos and Columbus defender Mike Clark got into a shoving match, resulting in red cards for both players. The teams each played the rest of the game with only ten men. The Earthquakes secured the win in the 77th minute when Walker, who entered as a second half substitute in the 70th minute, finished off the splendid combination from Mulrooney and Russell. Surrounded by Crew defenders along the right sideline, Mulrooney spun and back-heeled a pass up the wing to a streaking Russell. Russell entered the Columbus penalty box on the left side, and then sent a cross right to the Santa Clara University product Walker, who put the ball away for his second goal in as many games and a 2-1 Earthquakes lead.
MISC. NOTES
In May
San Jose possesses an 18-16-8 all-time record in the month of May. The Quakes were 2-1-1 in 2003 in May. In 2001, the Earthquakes went undefeated at 4-0-2 for the best month in club history.
Unbeaten in Four Straight
The Quakes have gone unbeaten in their past four matches with a 2-0-2 record. Last season, the Quakes had three separate six-game unbeaten streaks. The team record in that category is 12 games without a loss. The team also has two straight wins and the team record in that category is four.
Earthquakes Achieve First Home Victory of the Season
The Earthquakes pulled through with their first win of the 2004 season at Spartan Stadium in a 4-2 goal-fest against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday, May 22, 2004. Beginning the season with three ties at home, the team remains undefeated at Spartan Stadium this year with a 1-0-3 record.
Mulrooney Breaks San Jose All-Time Assist Record
San Jose midfielder Richard Mulrooney established a new Earthquakes club record for assists with two assists Saturday against the Los Angeles Galaxy. His second assist of the night, giving him 39 in his career, broke the old record held by Ronald Cerritos. Mulrooney's first assist of the game was a corner kick to Bring Ching in the 45th minute. His record-breaking assist came in the 48th minute, when he made a long pass to De Rosario, who in turn crossed the ball to Ching waiting in the box. Mulrooney's stellar night gives him seven career assists against Los Angeles, tying him with Eric Wynalda for the most San Jose all-time assists versus the Galaxy.
Three in a Row for Ching
Earthquakes forward Brian Ching extended his scoring streak to three straight games for San Jose, powering the ball past Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman in the 45th and 48th minutes on Saturday. With his multi-goal game on Saturday night, Ching is now ranked second among the Budweiser Scoring Leaders with five goals and eleven points on the season, tied with Alejandro Moreno of the Galaxy.
De Rosario's Big Night
Earthquakes forward Dwayne De Rosario contributed to San Jose's win over the Galaxy with one goal and two assists for a total of four points on the night. It was the first time since June 29, 2002 that the Canadian international had notched two assists in a game. De Rosario also set a Quakes club record with a career high eight shots in the game against Los Angeles.
Record Shattered
The Quakes set a team record on Saturday night against the Galaxy as they fired 29 shots. The previous record of 25 shots was set on August 26, 2000 against the Galaxy.
De Rosario and Onstad to Miss Columbus Match
Earthquakes forward Dwayne De Rosario and goalkeeper Pat Onstad will miss the Earthquakes' match-up against the Columbus Crew on Saturday, May 29 due to commitments with the Canadian National Team. The pair is currently in Wales preparing for a match on Sunday, May 30 against Wales at Wrexham, Wales. The kickoff for the game is 2:30 p.m. local time.
Conway to Start vs. Crew
Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Conway is expected to make his first start of the 2004 season in goal in place of Pat Onstad this Saturday against the Crew while Onstad plays with the Canadian National Team. In his last start on October 10, 2003, Conway made six saves to earn a shutout. Conway will seek his first personal victory against the Columbus Crew on Saturday, May 29.
Earthquakes - Crew Connections
Crew midfielder Manny Lagos recently played for the Earthquakes from 2001-2003 and is ranked sixth all-time in scoring with 45 points (14 goals and 17 assists) ... Columbus forward/midfielder Devin Barclay, a Nike Project-40 signee, was a member of the San Jose team during the 2002 season ... Eric Denton, a defender for the Crew, grew up in Manteca, California and played college soccer at near-by Santa Clara University ... Columbus midfielder Simon Elliot and rookie defender Chad Marshall attended Stanford University.
Home Field Advantage
The San Jose Earthquakes and the Columbus Crew have had a history of home field advantage during their matches. In the past two seasons, the home team in every Earthquakes vs. Crew regular season match-up has been victorious, with the visiting team not winning in the series since August 2, 2000 when the Crew defeated the Quakes 2-1 at Spartan Stadium. The Quakes did pull through with a 3-1 win at Crew Stadium on September 22, 2001 during an MLS Cup Playoff match, but they have not managed to win a regular season game in Columbus since July 20, 1996. The Crew beat the Quakes 2-1 at Spartan Stadium in the 2002 MLS Cup Playoffs.
History vs. Crew
The last duel between the Crew and the Quakes ended in a 2-1 victory for San Jose at Spartan Stadium on June 21, 2003...The Earthquakes and the Crew have met in a total of 27 games, including MLS regular season and MLS Cup Playoff matches...Columbus leads the all-time series between the two teams 13-9-1...The Earthquakes won their first-ever playoff series against the Crew in 2001 on the road to their eventual MLS Cup Championship...Earthquakes defender Chris Ronir made his MLS debut against Columbus on May 18, 2002 in a 2-0 loss...San Jose midfielder Ian Russell made his MLS debut against the Crew on March 25, 2000...The Earthquakes won the 2001 MLS Cup Championship at Columbus Crew Stadium in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Quakes Closing In On .500
The Earthquakes are closing in on bringing their all-time regular season MLS record to the .500 mark. After the 4-2 win on May 22 vs. the Galaxy, the Quakes all-time regular season MLS record is 110-113-29 with 321 points.
Earthquakes Leaders vs. Crew
Midfielder Ronnie Ekelund is currently the top Quakes player against the Crew with five points on two goals and one assist. Jeff Agoos and Brian Mullan also each have two goals vs. Columbus. Agoos, Landon Donovan, and Mullan have four points against the Crew.
Crew Leaders vs. Earthquakes
Jeff Cunningham is the Crew's current leading scorer vs. the Earthquakes with 24 points on nine goals and six assists over 15 career games. Brian Maisonneuve follows with nine points on two goals and five assists, while Edson Buddle has also been a major contributor for the Crew against San Jose with three goals.
League Leaders
Earthquakes forward Brian Ching is tied with the second highest point total in the league with 11 points on five goals and one assist...Forward Landon Donovan is currently tied for fourth in MLS with eight points...Ching is tied for second in the league with five goals...Donovan is tied for the league lead with four assists...Pat Onstad is tied for first in the MLS with 39 saves and 38 catch/punches...The Earthquakes are second in the league with 47 total points on 16 goals and 15 assists.
League Leaders
Earthquakes forward Landon Donovan is tied with the second-highest point total in MLS with eight points with two goals and four assists...Donovan is the MLS league leader with four assists ... Brian Ching is tied with the third highest point total in the league with seven ... Ching is tied for third in the league with three goals ... Pat Onstad leads MLS with 35 saves and 33 catch/punches ... The Earthquakes are second in the league with 35 total points on 12 goals and 11 assists
Halftime Success
If the Earthquakes enter the half-time break with the lead, recent history suggests they will keep it. Since the beginning of the 2000 season, the Earthquakes are 37-0-5 in games when leading at the half, including 8-0-1 in 2003.
Making The First One Count
The Earthquakes were 25-2-2 in 2001 and 2002 when finding the back of the net first. The Quakes only gave up leads two times in 2002, losing 2-1 to Los Angeles on July 4 and falling 2-1 to Kansas City on July 27. The team continued that trend in 2003, possessing an 11-0-1 mark in the regular season when they scored the first goal. In 2004, the Quakes are 2-0-1 when scoring first after beating Los Angeles 4-2 on May 22. Dating back to the 2000 season, the Earthquakes own a 41-2-4 record in their last 47 matches when they score the first goal of the game. The Quakes are also impressive in the playoffs when scoring first, posting a 6-0-0 record.
"We Believe" – The Story of the 2003 San Jose Earthquakes DVD on Sale Now
For the first time ever, Earthquakes fans can relive the Quakes incredible ride to the 2003 MLS Cup Championship with "We Believe, The Story of the 2003 San Jose Earthquakes." This special two-disc DVD set captures all of the drama and excitement from the Earthquakes unbelievable season. In addition to a 33-minute season in review that includes player interviews and game action, Disc One features an exclusive behind the scenes package as well as a highlight reel. Disc Two of this one-of-a kind set is the original television broadcast of the "Greatest Game In MLS History," the Earthquakes dramatic 5-2 win over Los Angeles in the Western Conference Semifinals on Nov. 9, 2003. Earthquakes fans can Believe Again with this extraordinary two-disc DVD set. Fans can purchase this special two DVD set on the Earthquakes website at sjearthquakes.com or by calling 408-985-GOAL.
