This Week's Match-Up
The Earthquakes stretched their MLS unbeaten streak to three games and recorded their third straight shutout with a 0-0 tie against the Colorado Rapids last Saturday. The team now hits the road this weekend as it travels to New England to take on the Revolution on Saturday, September 4 at 3:30 p.m. PT at Gillette Stadium. The match will air live on the radio on 1590 KLIV (English) and on same day tape delay on ESPN2 at 10:30 p.m. PT.
Earthquakes All-Time Record vs. New England Revolution
MLS Regular Season: 13-8-3
Home: 6-4-2
Away: 7-4-1
Shootout: 0-2 (1996-99)
Overtime: 0-0-3 (2000-2003)
Playoffs: 0-0-0; U.S. Open Cup: 0-0-0
All-Time Scoring: San Jose - 49, New England - 35
Injury Report/Suspensions
Out: Chris Ronér (R - ankle surgery); Probable: Troy Dayak (L - calf strain)
Last Match
Rapids 0, Earthquakes 0; Saturday, August 28, 2004
Spartan Stadium; San Jose, Calif.
The San Jose Earthquakes recorded their third straight shutout and extended their home-unbeaten streak to five games after a 0-0 tie with the Colorado Rapids at Spartan Stadium. San Jose goalkeeper Pat Onstad earned his fifth shutout of the season, as the Quakes dominated the action and out-shot the defensive-minded Rapids 13-8, but could not record the winning goal. The Quakes had a good chance to score in the 29th minute when Brian Ching got to a ball at midfield and popped up a pass over the Rapids defense that Landon Donovan was able to run onto. Donovan entered the Rapids box with only Cannon to beat, but the Colorado goalkeeper slid and knocked Donovan's high, hard shot away. The Quakes started the second half with a flurry of near-scoring chances. In the 49th minute Brian Mullan was set up on a breakaway on the right side of the field after a nice long ball from Ekelund. Mullan dribbled into the penalty area alone with only Cannon to beat, but he could not get around the Rapids goalkeeper. Just moments later, Cannon stonewalled a wide-open Ramiro Corrales from about 18-yards out after he was set up following a nice through ball from Donovan. San Jose had perhaps their best chance to score in the 75th minute when Ching received a pass in the middle of the field and turned at the 18-yard line, sending a low shot past a diving Cannon and just inches away from the left post.
Last Match vs. New England
Revolution 2, Earthquakes 2; Saturday, July 24
Spartan Stadium; San Jose, CA
The San Jose Earthquakes scored two goals in the game's final three minutes to pull out an improbable 2-2 tie against the New England Revolution at Spartan Stadium. Facing a 2-0 deficit and forced to play down a man due to Troy Dayak's 62nd minute ejection, the Earthquakes stormed back with goals by Landon Donovan and Brian Ching in the final three minutes to come from behind and amazingly tie the Revolution. The Revolution got on the board first in the 25th minute on a goal headed in by Pat Noonan. The Revs pushed their lead to 2-0 in the 53rd minute on a goal from Jose Cancela. Cancela beat a defender and sent a bending shot over a diving Onstad, off the far post and into the net. Already trailing 2-0, the Quakes faced even more trouble when defender Dayak was ejected for colliding with Shalrie Joseph in the 62nd minute as he battled for a header. With San Jose playing down a man for the final 28 minutes, the Quakes picked up the intensity and began bombarding the Revolution net. With the match heading into the final moments, both teams picked up the physical play. San Jose finally came through with a goal by Donovan in the 91st minute to make it 2-1. Donovan finished off a brilliant passing sequence with a hard shot from the left side past a sliding Reis. Richard Mulrooney started the play with a long pass from near midfield to Ching at the top of the penalty box. Ching slid a pass to a cutting Donovan on the left, who then powered the shot past Reis. With just a minute remaining in stoppage time, Ching scored his league-leading 10th goal to give the Quakes a 2-2 tie. Dunivant played a long ball out of the Quakes defense that Ching knocked down, allowing Donovan to control it at the 18-yard box. Donovan knocked a pass to his left to Ekelund, who slid and managed to pass the ball to De Rosario on the left wing in the penalty area. De Rosario's low cross found Ching in front of the goal, and he was able to re-direct the ball into the net for the tie.
Misc. Notes
In September
The Earthquakes all time record in the month in September is 17-17-0.
Donovan, Ching to Represent U.S.
After helping the U.S. come back to tie Jamaica on August 18 1-1 in Kingston, Jamaica, Brian Ching and Landon Donovan have been called in again by head coach Bruce Arena for two upcoming World Cup Qualifying matches, against El Salvador on Saturday, September 4 and against Panama on Wednesday, September 8. Ching and Donovan have traveled to New England and will train with the U.S. this week in preparation for the game this weekend at Gillette Stadium against El Salvador. The match will be the first of a doubleheader that also features the Quakes vs. the Revolution. The U.S. match kicks off at 1:00 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on Telemundo and Fox Sports World. The second match against Panama will take place at Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City, Panama at 6:00 p.m. PT on September 8. The Panama match will air live on Fox Sports World and on tape delay on Telemundo at 11:30 p.m. PT. Against Jamaica on August 18, Ching scored the tying goal in the 89th minute on an assist from Donovan. Ching has appeared three times in his career for the U.S., while Donovan has played in 53 games. Both players will miss the Quakes matches on September 4 and September 8.
De Rosario, Onstad With Canada
Quakes goalkeeper Pat Onstad and forward Dwayne De Rosario will miss the next two Quakes matches also, as they represent Canada in World Cup Qualifying. Canada will take on Honduras on Saturday, September 4 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta at 6:00 p.m. PT and then travel to San Jose, Costa Rica to face Costa Rica on Wednesday, September 8 at Saprissa Stadium at 6:00 p.m. PT. The pair both played 90 minutes for Canada on August 18 in a 2-0 loss to Guatemala in their first qualifying match. Onstad currently has 42 caps for Canada, while De Rosario has 22. The pair will return to the Quakes on September 9.
Shutout Streak
Following their 0-0 tie against the Rapids, the Earthquakes have now posted three consecutive shutouts to equal a club record and now own a 279 minute shutout streak. Last season, San Jose had two separate three-game shutout streaks, April 26 - May 10 and July 26 - August 16.
Unstoppable Onstad
After recording just one shutout on the season through July, Quakes goalkeeper Pat Onstad has been on fire recently, recording shutouts in four of the Quakes past five matches, including three consecutive shutouts. He has a 279-minute shutout streak. Last season, he posted two shutout streaks of 399 minutes and 344 minutes. Joe Cannon holds the club record of 410 minutes from Sept. 22, 1999 - March 25, 2000. With his recent string of fine play, the 2003 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year has lowered his goals against average to 1.30, good for fourth in MLS. He posted four shutouts in the month of August, making him a leading candidate for MLS Player of the Month. Of his 14 career shutouts, seven have occurred in August. In 10 career games in August, he has allowed just five goals for a 0.49 GAA, including a 6-2-2 all-time record in the month.
Dangerous Duo
Earthquake forwards Brian Ching and Landon Donovan have been an unbeatable pair up top for the Quakes in 2004. The Quakes are undefeated in the seven games the two have started together as forwards, posting a 4-0-4 record. In six of those eight games, Ching and Donovan have both registered at least one point. The duo has combined for a total of 33 points in their eight games up top together this year, Donovan with six goals and seven assists and Ching with six goals and three assists. All six of Donovan's goals in 2004 have come with Ching as his partner. When both Ching and Donovan missed the July 10 match vs. the MetroStars to train with the U.S. National Team, the Quakes lost by two goals, their largest goal deficit this year.
Donovan, Ching Among Leaders
Landon Donovan and Brian Ching are both in the top 10 in scoring in MLS. With 11 goals and four assists, Ching is second in MLS with 26 points, while his 11 goals places him in a tie for first. Donovan is tied for seventh in scoring with six goals and nine assists for 21 points and his nine assists are tied for first. Donovan is now one assist shy of his career high of 10, set in 2001.
Robinson Back
Quakes defender Eddie Robinson appeared in his first match for the Quakes since April 24 last Saturday against the Rapids. Robinson was expected to be out for the season after rupturing the tendon of his left hamstring on April 24 against the Rapids. He had surgery on April 27 and after rehabilitation work with Quakes Head Athletic Trainer Bruce Morgan, Robinson recovered ahead of the original schedule and was cleared to play last week. He entered as a sub in the 80th minute.
Quakes On a Roll Against Revolution
The Quakes are 13-8-3 all-time against the New England Revolution in the regular season, and recently have dominated the series. The Quakes have not lost to New England in their last nine games, putting together a 7-0-2 record since May 5, 2001. The Revs have not beaten the Quakes since July 22, 2000. San Jose has outscored New England by a 49-35 all-time total. The Quakes have never lost at Gillette Stadium, posting a 3-0-1 record there since 2002.
Earthquakes - Revolution Connections
Earthquakes forward Chris Brown was a member of the Revs in 2003 and joined San Jose in a trade on April 8, 2004 ... Earthquakes President & General Manager Alexi Lalas played for the Revolution in 1996-1997 ... Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston and Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear were teammates on the Tampa Bay Mutiny from 1998 - 2000 ... Revolution defender Carlos Llamosa played with Earthquakes defender Jeff Agoos on D.C. United from 1997 - 2000.
Earthquakes Leaders vs. New England
Landon Donovan has scored 13 points on four goals and five assists in eight games against New England, Defender Troy Dayak is the Quakes second all-time leading scorer against New England. In 15 games against the Revs, Dayak has scored five goals and registered two assists for 12 points. Dwayne De Rosario has burned the Revs with three goals and two assists for eight points in his career.
Revolution Leaders vs. Earthquakes
Forward Joe-Max Moore leads New England with 15 points on five goals and five assists against San Jose in eleven career games. Taylor Twellman and Pat Noonan have four points against San Jose as each has scored two goals.
Quakes Finding the Net
The Earthquakes have done well finishing at home in 2004, scoring 25 goals in just 12 appearances at Spartan Stadium this year to lead MLS in scoring at home. The club record for all-time goals scored at home is 33, set in 2002, when the Quakes posted a league record 12-1-1 home mark.
Quakes Lead the League
The Quakes lead MLS with 1.64 goals scored per game and also are first in MLS with 39 assists. The team is tied for the best goal differential in MLS, plus eight, having scored 36 goals and conceded 28.
Quakes Set Unbeaten Streak Record At Home
The Earthquakes set an MLS record with their August 7 win against D.C. United, extending their unbeaten streak at home to 46 games when scoring first. That streak now stands at 47 games after San Jose's win over the Burn. It started on April 3, 1999.
Slim Losses
In all but one of their seven losses this year, the Earthquakes have only lost by one goal. The only game decided by more than one goal was on July 10 against the MetroStars in a 2-0 loss. However, forwards Landon Donovan and Brian Ching, the team's leading scorers, missed the game while traveling with the U.S. National Team.
Limiting Chances
The Quakes have allowed a league-low 236 shots against in 2004.
Mulrooney Is Quakes' Only Constant
Earthquakes midfielder Richard Mulrooney is the only member of the San Jose roster who has started and played 90 minutes in all 22 games for the Quakes in 2004. In his 1,980 minutes of play, Mulrooney has scored one goal and notched eight assists for ten points, which is fifth highest for points on the Quakes.
Quakes Closing In On .500
The Earthquakes are closing in on bringing their all-time regular season MLS record to the .500 mark. The Quakes all-time regular season MLS record is 115-118-33.
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 42-0-5 in games when leading at the half, including 8-0-1 in 2003 and 7-0-1 in 2004.
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 7-1-1 when scoring first. The Quakes gave up their lead to Los Angeles on July 4, 2004 for the first time since July 27, 2002 against Kansas City. Dating back to the 2000 season, the Earthquakes own a 46-3-4 record in their last 53 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.
