San Jose Earthquakes rookie midfielder Chris Wondolowski scored in the 88th minute to lift the Quakes to a 2-1 victory against the rival Los Angeles Galaxy Thursday at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
The Earthquakes struck first through forward Alejandro Moreno in the seventh minute. Moreno, who came to the Quakes in a trade from the Galaxy in January, ran onto a long ball sent forward by Brad Davis and then chipped a shot over Galaxy 'keeper Steve Cronin.
The Galaxy struck back 10 minutes before the halftime break. Former Earthquakes defender Todd Dunivant played a long ball of his own to Galaxy striker Alan Gordon, who calmly settled the ball and to pull his team level.
With just two minutes to play, Wondolowski stepped up to play the hero by knocking in a rebound from a free kick. Quakes defender Kevin Goldthwaite took a free kick that was deflected and forced Cronin to make a save. He couldn't hold the ball though, and Wondolowski was there to clean up for his second goal of the preseason.
Three a magic number for Metros, Deportivo Quevedo: The MetroStars drew 3-3 with Deportivo Quevedo Thursday in Quevedo, Ecuador, with trialists scoring all three goals for the Red-and-Black.
Deportivo Quevedo got the ball rolling early on, with Oswaldo Cohener latching onto a long ball from Javier Molina and beating Metros 'keeper Zach Wells to his right in just the seventh minute. The Metros answered quickly though, evening the match just four minutes later as Lopez Ederson beat Quevedo 'keeper Pico Robin on a breakaway.
The visitors took their first lead of the game in the 23rd minute, as Fernando Silva knocked home a Chris Leitch cross with a diving header. The Metros' lead last a bit longer than Quevedo's original advantage had, but the local side equalized in the 59th minute. Molina received a pass at the top of the box Julio Baldivieso and blasted a shot that beat Metros second-half 'keeper Henry Ring to his left.
The Metros answered two minutes later with their third goal of the match, as Pascal Nouma chipped the Quevedo 'keeper from just six yards out, but Cohener notched his second of the match on a penalty kick in the 68th minute to leave the match level.
The next match for the MetroStars comes on Tuesday against Barcelona SC in Guayaquil, Ecuador at 8 p.m. ET.
Chicago drops first match of Mexico trip: The Chicago Fire fell to Mexican Primera Division side Atlas 4-2 Thursday in the first game of their preseason trip to Mexico. Thiago and Chad Barrett each scored and registered an assist for the Men in Red.
Atlas took a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute, but Barrett and Thiago gave the Fire a slim advantage after 25 minutes. Thiago started off the first scoring play in the 23rd minute by sending midfielder Justin Mapp down the left side, who whipped in a cross for Barrett and he buried the ball with one touch. Barrett turned provider for Thiago just two minutes later, playing a give-and-go with his Brazilian teammate, who then scored on an 18-yard blast.
Unfortunately for the Fire, the home side bounced back quickly and took a 3-2 lead into halftime, the locals scoring in the 27th and 33rd minutes. Another Atlas goal just four minutes from time completed the scoring.
The Fire will continue to train in Mexico in advance of a Tuesday friendly against CD Guadalajara (Chivas), the sister club of Chivas USA, at 10:30 a.m. CT.
That's a hat trick, Holmes: New England Revolution rookie forward Jamie Holmes scored a hat trick as the Revs topped the Bermuda national team 3-2 Thursday in Hamilton, Bermuda.
The home side got on the board first in the 17th minute with a goal from forward Khano Smith, but Holmes struck back for the Revs 14 minutes later. The rookie pounded a seven-yard shot inside the near post after receiving a cross from the right by fellow first-year player Ryan Latham.
Bermuda snatched the lead back two minutes later, as Domico Coddington rounded 'keeper Matt Reis and slotted home after receiving a pass from Shaun Goater and carrying the ball up the middle.
Just before halftime, Holmes scored and leveled the match once again. This time, Holmes ran onto a diagonal ball played into the box from midfielder James Riley and hit a one-timer past Bermuda 'keeper Tim Figueiredo.
Revs coach Steve Nicol tried to substitute Holmes with second-year player Luke Vercollone in the 66th minute, but Vercollone was denied entry by the fourth official because of a jewelry violation. Holmes re-entered the field and immediately got back into the action, sprinting into the box and knocking in a Connelly Edozian cross from six yards out to complete his hat trick and the Revs' comeback victory.
The Revolution will now return to New England prior to departing for Guayaquil, Ecuador on March 11 for a two-week stay in South America.
FC Dallas draw with Fredrikstad FK: In their fourth of five matches in Spain, FC Dallas played to a 1-1 tie with Norwegian club Fredrikstad FK Friday in La Manga.
Midfielder Ronnie O'Brien gave FC Dallas the lead late in the first half, finishing off a nice play that started with Richard Mulrooney. The veteran midfielder found forward Bobby Rhine with a pass in the middle of the field, and Rhine then sent the ball to the left for O'Brien. The Irishman curled a shot over the goalkeeper's head and just inside the right post.
FC Dallas looked to have the match locked up, but Fredrikstad got a one-time goal from Brenne in second half added time to leave the match tied.
"Fatigue, being against the wind and the conditions of the game took their toll on us. I still thought we looked solid," Clarke said. "I'm disappointed in the end result but we will definitely take the positives out of this one. It was most of the players' first time playing 90 minutes this spring and I thought they did a good job of defending and working hard."
Rapids, RSL Cup competition has a name: The Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake will contest the inaugural Rocky Mountain Cup in 2005, as the name of the competition was announced Friday.
More than 500 fans voted online to decide the name of the competition between the new rivals, and "Rocky Mountain Cup" took the competition hands down, more than doubling the total of the next closest vote-getter.
The competition, which was organized by the two clubs and the "Committee of 10," a fan group consisting of supporters of both clubs, will be contested over the course of the regular season. The teams will play each other four times during the year, and the winner of the most games will take home the trophy.
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
