This Week's Match-Up
With an 11-point lead in the Western Conference, the first-place Earthquakes return home to play the first of two straight matches against Club Deportivo Chivas USA. San Jose takes on Chivas USA on Saturday, September 10 at 7:00 p.m. PT at Spartan Stadium. The game will air live on the radio on 1590 AM KLIV (English) and 1370 AM KZSF (Spanish). The first 5,000 fans will receive a free soccer ball. The Quakes battle Chivas USA for a second time on Saturday, September 17 at The Home Depot Center at 7:00 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast live on Telemundo - 48 and on the radio on 1590 AM KLIV (English).
Earthquakes Schedule for the Week of 9/5/2005
Tuesday, September 6: 10:30 a.m. PT - Training at West Valley College
Wednesday, September 7: Off
Thursday, September 8: 10:30 a.m. PT - Training at West Valley College
Friday, September 9: 10:15 a.m. PT - Training at Spartan Stadium
Saturday, September 10: 7:00 p.m. PT - Earthquakes vs. Chivas USA, live on 1590 KLIV and 1370 KZSK (Spanish)
Injury Report/Suspensions
Out: Troy Dayak (L - ACL tear); Craig Waibel (R - LCL/ACL tear); Brad Davis (L - groin strain)
Probable: Brian Ching (R - hamstring strain)
Last Match
Earthquakes 2, FC Dallas 0; Saturday, September 3, 2005; Pizza Hut Park; Frisco, Texas
The San Jose Earthquakes extended their lead in the Western Conference to 11 points over FC Dallas behind second half goals from Ronald Cerritos and Alejandro Moreno as the Earthquakes cruised to a 2-0 victory and their seventh straight game without a loss at Pizza Hut Park. Pat Onstad tied his own club record with his ninth shutout of the year for the Quakes. Ricardo Clark had the Quakes best chance to score in the first half, as he executed a quick give-and-go near midfield with Ronald Cerritos in the 43rd minute. Clark then powered past his defender and headed up field. Clark dribbled into the Dallas penalty area where he beat another man before sending an open shot from close range wide to the left. Moments before halftime, David Wagenfuhr sent a cross from the left side into the penalty are that Eddie Johnson was able to head powerfully toward goal, but the shot was wide and to the right. The Earthquakes took the lead in the 50th minute on Cerritos' sixth goal of the year. After a Dallas defender headed a clearance up the left side, Mark Chung gathered the ball and fired a perfect cross to an open Cerritos near the far post about eight yards in front of the goal. Cerritos jumped and powerfully headed the ball back into the left corner past a helpless Scott Garlick for the 1-0 advantage. The Quakes would extend their lead to 2-0 just three minutes later in the 53rd minute. Moreno notched his team-leading seventh goal after receiving a pass from Chung near the right corner of the FC Dallas penalty area. With two defenders on him, Moreno dribbled into the center of the field, beating the defense to create enough room to send a wicked, low shot that found the left corner and beat Garlick for the 2-0 lead. Brian Ching made his return to the lineup in the 75th minute, as the Quakes 2004 leading goal scorer and U.S. National Team player appeared in his first game since June 25 against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Last Match vs. Chivas USA
Earthquakes 1, Chivas USA 1; Sunday, June 12, 2005; The Home Depot Center; Carson, CA
The San Jose Earthquakes played to a 1-1 tie with CD Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center. Alejandro Moreno scored his fourth goal of the season for the Quakes late in the first half, but CD Chivas USA responded with an Ezra Hendrickson goal in the 66th minute to tie the game. Dwayne De Rosario appeared to score the game-winner off a beautiful Moreno cross late in stoppage game, but the goal was disallowed due to a controversial offside call, ensuring the 1-1 draw as the Quakes earned a point on the road. In the 45th minute, Moreno gave the Earthquakes a 1-0 lead. Wade Barrett intercepted a CD Chivas USA pass in the Quakes penalty area, and then hit De Rosario with a ball near midfield. De Rosario turned and lofted a long pass over the Chivas USA defense to Moreno, who ran onto the ball and found himself with just Guzman to beat. Moreno settled the ball before firing a low shot into the right corner of the net for the 1-0 advantage. San Jose nearly extended their lead in the 63rd minute on a pretty combination from Barrett and Mark Chung. Barrett moved with the ball up the left sideline deep into the Chivas USA corner. Barrett sent a perfect cross to an on-rushing Chung, whose hard header bounced off the underside of the crossbar and out of danger. CD Chivas USA would tie the match at 1-1 on an Ezra Hendrickson goal in the 66th minute. Ramon Ramirez penetrated into the middle of the Quakes area before whipping a cross to the far post, where Hendrickson ran onto the ball and volleyed it past Onstad and the post to even the game. De Rosario and second half substitute Julian Nash had several strong opportunities to even the game in the final minutes, but it was Moreno's cross from the left side that De Rosario was able to re-direct into the goal that appeared to give San Jose the victory. However, De Rosario was controversially ruled offside on the play, and the match ended tied at 1-1.
Reserve League
FC Dallas 4; Earthquakes 3; Sunday, September 4, 2005; Pizza Hut Park; Frisco, Texas
Arturo Alvarez, Oscar Pareja, Aaron Pitchkolan and Abe Thompson each had a goal and an assist on Sunday as the FC Dallas Reserves knocked off San Jose 4-3 at Pizza Hut Park. It took just 15 minutes for the Earthquakes to get on the scoreboard as Orlando Ramirez made it 1-0 for the visitors. Will Weatherly broke free down the right wing before cutting back inside a Dallas defender and playing a square ball across the top of the box for Ramirez whose first time shot beat FCD keeper Chris Gomez low to his left post, making the score 1-0 San Jose. That goal seemed to invigorate the home side as it found an equalizer 12 minutes later through Pitchkolan. FC Dallas won a free kick in San Jose's defensive third and played it quickly to Alvarez on the left wing. He whipped a cross to the back post for Drew Moor whose powerful header was tipped off the post by Earthquakes 'keeper Jon Conway. However, Pitchkolan was right there in the six-yard box to tap the rebound home to even the score at 1-1. The Earthquakes were back in front in the 44th minute with Weatherly this time turning goal scorer. Ramirez's low corner from the right found Julian Nash at the front post, and he cleverly flicked the ball past two FCD defenders and right into the path of Weatherly who lashed a low shot into the net, giving Gomez no chance and making the score 2-1 San Jose. But the Hoops would strike back once again just before the intermission as Pareja placed a right-footed volley past Conway from the center of the box, making the score 2-2. After the break the home side wasted no time in establishing its dominance, scoring a pair of goals in the opening 15 minutes to open up a 4-2 advantage. First, in the 50th minute, Pareja won the ball in the center of the park and skipped past one would-be tackler before playing the ball to Mario Torres at the top of the box. Torres then redirected the ball into the path of Abe Thompson who calmly beat Conway with a right-footed shot to give FC Dallas its first lead of the morning. It would double that lead 10 minutes later on the hour mark when Alvarez got in on the goal scoring against his former club. A quick interplay between Thompson and Torres just outside the box gave the latter a chance to lay the ball into the path of a streaking Alvarez who deked past one defender and slotted the ball just inside Conway's right post to make in 4-2 Dallas. The score would stay that way until the 84th minute when, despite having defender Chris Aloisi sent off just minutes earlier for a second bookable offense, Chris Wondolowski gave the visitors a glimmer of hope. Nash got free on the left wing and sent a low ball across the face of goal for Wondolowski to one-time past Gomez to make the score 4-3.
Scoring Summary: SJ - Orlando Ramirez (Will Weatherly) 15; DAL - Aaron Pitchkolan (Unassisted) 27; SJ - Will Weatherly (Julian Nash) 44; DAL - Oscar Pareja (Aaron Pitchkolan, Arturo Alvarez) 47+; DAL - Abe Thompson (Mario Torres, Oscar Pareja) 50; DAL - Arturo Alvarez (Mario Torres, Abe Thompson) 60; SJ - Chris Wondolowski (Julian Nash) 84.
FC Dallas Reserves - Chris Gomez, Chris Gbandi, Drew Moor, Clarence Goodson (Alex Woods 63), John Pulido, Ty Maurin, Oscar Pareja (Frank Bernal 71), Aaron Pitchkolan, Arturo Alvarez, Mario Torres, Abe Thompson.
San Jose Reserves - Jon Conway, Brett Rodriguez, Chris Aloisi, Ryan Cochrane (Matt Upton 64), Noah Merl, Will Weatherly, Aaron Lanes, Chris Wondolowski, Orlando Ramirez, Ian Russell (Brian Farber 14), Julian Nash.
Misc. Notes
Hurricane Relief Effort
The San Jose Earthquakes are working on a number of initiatives to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The team will be hosting a silent auction at the next Earthquakes home game on Saturday, September 10 versus Club Deportivo Chivas USA. Proceeds from the auction will benefit various disaster relief organizations. The Quakes have also teamed with KNBR 680 to auction off special one-of-a-kind items. The Earthquakes item will be one fully-catered luxury suite for 21 people for the Western Conference Semi-Final, on-field ceremonial coin toss, in-suite visit from team mascot "Q" and two Earthquakes players, one team-autographed Earthquakes jersey, one team-autographed soccer ball, pre-game press box tour, post-game exclusive autograph session with Earthquakes players and parking. Fans can visit the following link to bid beginning Tuesday, September 6: http://www.knbr.com/hurricaneKatrinaReliefAuction.html. The team has also joined forces with KEZR 106.5 for the Breakfast with Bill & Marla...Our Hurricane Relief Roadshow on Thursday, September 8 at the Sonoma Chicken Coop in Campbell. Defender Eddie Robinson will be in attendance to help the effort, which includes Quakes prizes and auction items. Fans can make donations to the American Red Cross at the event. Finally, the Earthquakes, along with the other 11 MLS teams, will be auctioning off game-worn autographed jerseys at mlsnet.com next week. Fans can bid on jerseys for Wade Barrett, Mark Chung, Ricardo Clark, Ronald Cerritos, Alejandro Moreno, Brian Ching and Brian Mullan.
Maggiano's Media Luncheon
The San Jose Earthquakes next media luncheon will be held on Tuesday, September 6 at 1:15 p.m. PT at Maggiano's Little Italy in Santana Row. Luncheons will be held monthly at Maggiano's throughout the 2005 Major League Soccer season. At each luncheon, the Quakes will announce the Maggiano's Earthquakes Player of the Month and the Earthquakes Goal of the Month. Head coach Dominic Kinnear and all the players and coaches will be available for interviews at the luncheons. Maggiano's is located at 3055 Olin Ave at Santana Row in San Jose. All future media luncheons are scheduled for the first Tuesday of every month.
De Rosario Returns From Spain
Quakes midfielder Dwayne De Rosario started and played 85 minutes for Canada on Saturday, Sept. 3, as the Canadians fell 2-1 to Spain in a match in Santander, Spain. De Rosario missed the Quakes game against FC Dallas, but will join his teammates for training on Tuesday. De Rosario has earned 34 caps and scored seven goals in his national team career.
Unbeaten Streak Reaches Seven Again
With their 2-0 victory over FC Dallas, the Quakes stretched their unbeaten streak to seven games, equaling their longest unbeaten streak of the season and their second longest of all-time. The Quakes are now 6-0-1 in their last seven matches. Earlier this season the Quakes strung together seven games without a loss (6/4 - 7/9). The club record unbeaten streak is 12 games, set from April 28, 2001 - July 4, 2001. In their past 15 games, San Jose has posted an 10-1-4 record.
Road Wins
The Quakes have now won three straight road matches following their 2-0 win over FC Dallas on Saturday. The Quakes started the streak with a win over the Colorado Rapids on July 20. The longest road win streak in team history is four games, set from Sept. 13, 1998 - April 17, 1999. The Quakes longest road unbeaten streak is seven games, set from June 14, 2003 - Aug. 16, 2003. That unbeaten streak is tied for the longest in league history.
Tough D
Following another shutout, the Quakes remain tied with the fewest goals allowed in MLS with 26. The Earthquakes are tied with the New England Revolution for the fewest amount of goals allowed and the best goals against average (1.04).
Onstad Ties Record
Quakes goalkeeper Pat Onstad earned his ninth shutout of 2005 on Saturday against FC Dallas, placing him in second in MLS in shutouts. The shutout also tied his own team record of nine shutouts in a season, which he set in 2003 when he was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. Onstad now has 24 career shutouts in San Jose, placing him just two behind Joe Cannon for the all-time club record.
Vote For The San Jose Earthquakes All-Time Best XI At sjearthquakes.com
In celebration of the 10th season of the team, San Jose Earthquakes fans have the opportunity to select the club's all-time Best XI team. Fans can log onto www.sjearthquakes.com to vote for the best all-time team in Earthquakes/Clash history. Players who had appeared in 25 MLS games by July 15, 2005 are eligible for selection in a 4-4-2 formation. Fifty-three players are available to choose from, including four goalkeepers, 15 defenders, 23 midfielders and 11 forwards. All the players' career stats are available at sjearthquakes.com simply by clicking the players' name. San Jose has been the home to some of the top players in Major League Soccer and this team will feature some of the most legendary players to have ever donned a San Jose jersey. Joe Cannon currently leads the goalkeeper voting, while Jeff Agoos leads the defenders and Landon Donovan leads the forwards. Richard Mulrooney leads in midfield and in overall voting, garnering 80 percent of the votes.
Quakes on the Road vs. Dallas
By winning 2-0 over FC Dallas on Saturday, the Earthquakes are now unbeaten in their last six straight matches on the road against FC Dallas. The Quakes last loss in Dallas came on July 13, 2002 when they fell 2-1. The team holds a 4-0-2 record in those games.
Tight Games
Despite winning for just the third time this season by more than a goal on Saturday, San Jose has now had 21 of their 25 games either decided by one goal or finish in a tie. Also, 15 of the 25 games that the Quakes have played in 2005 have entered the halftime break with the teams tied.
One-Goal Games
In 2004, San Jose had the worst record in MLS in one-goal games, posting a 2-9 record. The team has turned that around in 2005 as they are now 10-3 in one-goal games.
Unbeaten At Home
The Quakes currently have a 14-game unbeaten streak at Spartan Stadium as they have not lost since Sept. 8, 2004 in their home stadium. The 14-game streak is the third longest in team history. The club has two 15-game unbeaten streaks at Spartan (8/21/99 - 7/4/00 and 8/25/01 - 9/7/02). The team has posted a 7-0-7 record at Spartan during the streak. The Quakes are the only MLS team without a loss at home in 2005, posting a 7-0-5 record.
Pitching In
Through 25 games, the Quakes have scored 38 goals and the goals are coming from the entire team. Thirteen different players have scored a goal for San Jose. Also, the team has never had one-player score two goals or more in a single game this season.
Moreno Team Leader
Ronald Cerritos tied Alejandro Moreno for the team lead in goals with a strike in the 50th minute against FC Dallas, but Moreno retook the lead just three minutes later with his seventh goal of the campaign. Seven goals is a career high for Moreno, who is in his fourth MLS season.
League Leaders
• Dwayne De Rosario is tied with FC Dallas' Ronnie O'Brien and Kansas City's Josh Wolff for first in MLS in assists with nine.
• Brad Davis and Ronald Cerritos are tied for fourth in assists with eight.
• De Rosario is tied for the league lead in game-winning assists with four.
• Pat Onstad is third in the league in goals against average with a 1.04 GAA. He is second in MLS with nine shutouts on the season and is leading the league in save percentage (77.7).
• Opponents have fouled forward Alejandro Moreno 77 times this year, placing him first in the league in fouls suffered. Brian Mullan is tied for fourth in the league with 58 fouls suffered.
• The Earthquakes are second in MLS with 45 assists.
Fouls Committed, Fouls Suffered
After 24 games in 2005, San Jose leads MLS in fouls suffered (465) and fouls committed (429). However, the Quakes have only received 41 cautions in 2005, ranking ninth in MLS. In their season opener against New England on April 2, San Jose set the team record with 30 fouls committed.
Quakes In September
All-time in the month of September, the Earthquakes are 19-20-1 in MLS games. September has been the most prolific month for Ronald Cerritos in his career, scoring 15 goals and registering nine assists in 26 games. Dwayne De Rosario has five goals and one assist in 10 career September games, while Mark Chung has three goals and 10 assists in 30 games.
Earthquakes - Chivas USA Connections
Chivas USA midfielder Victor Arbelaez was drafted by the Earthquakes in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft and participated in a portion of preseason training before the Quakes traded his rights to Chivas USA...Chivas USA defender Ezra Hendrickson was a seven-year member of the Los Angeles Galaxy, playing with current Quakes Danny Califf, Brian Ching, Alejandro Moreno, Brian Mullan and Craig Waibel...Francisco Gomez of Chivas USA is from Watsonville, Calif.
Top Chivas USA Players vs. Quakes
After the Quakes two meetings with Chivas USA, Thiago Martins, Hector Curados, and Douglas Sequiera all have one goal against San Jose while with Chivas. Orlando Perez, Ezra Hendrickson, and Antonio Martinez notched assists in the match. Hendrickson has now played 21 games against the Quakes in his MLS career with two goals and four assists, while Martinez has two assists against the Quakes in nine games.
Top Quakes Performers vs. Chivas USA
In just one game against Chivas USA, Brad Davis has scored a goal and notched two assists...Alejandro Moreno has scored one goal against Chivas USA.
Quakes Set Unbeaten Streak Record At Home
The Earthquakes set an MLS record with their August 7, 2004 win against D.C. United, extending their unbeaten streak at home to 46 games when scoring first. That streak now stands at 54 games after San Jose's 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on August 27, 2005. It started on April 3, 1999.
Quakes Above .500
The Earthquakes have now gotten their all-time MLS record above the .500 mark. The Quakes all-time regular season MLS record is 129-125-45.
Haltime Success
Despite relinquishing a halftime lead on June 12, 2005 against Chivas USA in a game that ended 1-1, the Earthquakes remain amongst the best in league history in holding on to a half-time lead. Since the beginning of the 2000 season, the Earthquakes are 47-0-7 in games when leading at the half, including 8-0-1 in 2003, 7-0-1 in 2004 and 5-0-2 in 2005.
Making The First One Count
The Quakes scored first and earned a 2-0 victory over FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park on Saturday to continue their incredible run over the past 68 games when scoring first. Dating back to the 2000 season, the Earthquakes own a 57-3-8 record in their last 68 matches when they score the first goal of the game. In 2005, San Jose remains undefeated at 10-0-4 when scoring first. 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 went 8-1-1 when scoring first, the top mark in MLS. The Quakes gave up their lead and lost to Los Angeles on July 4, 2004 for the first time since July 27, 2002 against Kansas City. The Quakes are also impressive in the playoffs when scoring first, posting a 6-0-0 record.
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.
