SAN JOSE, CA - The San Jose Earthquakes will continue play in the 2004 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals when they take on the A-League's Minnesota Thunder on Wednesday, August 4 at 5:00 p.m. PT at James Griffin Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Earthquakes advanced to the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over the A-League's Portland Timbers on July 14, while the Thunder moved past the fourth round with a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on July 20. The Quakes have now advanced to the quarterfinals six out of the seven years the team has participated in the tournament.
Last season marked the only year the Quakes did not appear in the quarterfinals, as the A-League's Seattle Sounders eliminated the San Jose team from the tournament in the fourth round with a 1-0 victory. In 2002, the Quakes fell to the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 in overtime in the quarterfinals. Overall in U.S. Open Cup play, the Earthquakes are 8-6 in their history. </p>
The Thunder, who are currently tied for second in the A-League's Western Conference with a 9-4-3 record (30 points), have faced the Earthquakes once before, though never in a U.S. Open Cup match. The Quakes beat Minnesota 2-0 in an exhibition game on July 14, 2002 in Blaine, MN. Dwayne De Rosario gave the Quakes the lead just before the half with a leaping side-volley, while former Quakes forward Luchi Gonzalez extended the San Jose lead to two in the second half.</p>
Dating back to 1914, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor long-time soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt. The tournament is open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer, and is a single-elimination format. At stake in the tournament is $180,000 in prize money, with the champion earning $100,000, the runner up $50,000 and $10,000 to the team that advances deepest in the tournament from each of the Division II, Division III and amateur levels. </p>
