Preview: Wondo, Quakes host California rivals Chivas USA

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES vs CHIVAS USA
BUCK SHAW STADIUM, Santa Clara, Calif.
May 13, 2012 (WEEK 10, MLS Game #96)
7 p.m. ET (Galavision; CSN-CA)

A key meeting of Western Conference clubs is ahead on Sunday afternoon as the San Jose Earthquakes play host to Chivas USA at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Earthquakes fell out of top spot in the West and the MLS overall table, after their dramatic 2-1 loss at Vancouver last weekend. Chivas USA are still looking for a first home point this season, losing for a fifth time at The Home Depot Center in an equally dramatic 2-1 loss to the Chicago Fire.

REFEREE: Ricardo Salazar. SAR (bench): Mike Kampmeinert; JAR (opposite): Baboucarr Jallow; 4th: Mark Declouet
MLS Career: 151 games; FC/gm: 27.0; Y/gm: 3.5; R: 42; pens: 57

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INJURY REPORT:

• SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES - OUT: DF Victor Bernardez (L knee MCL sprain); MF Marvin Chavez (L hamstring strain); MF Joey Gjertsen (R knee surgery); FW Alan Gordon (L hamstring strain); MF Shea Salinas (L clavicle fracture); DF Tim Ward (L non-specific soft tissue injury)
• CHIVAS USA - OUT: MF Marvin Iraheta (L knee ACL); QUESTIONABLE: MF Ben Zemanski (R knee MCL sprain)

INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

SUSPENDED: CHV: Oswaldo Minda (yellow card accumulation; through May 13)

WARNINGS:

• SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
• SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: SJ: Steven Lenhart

HEAD-TO-HEAD

ALL-TIME (13 meetings): Earthquakes 3 wins, 17 goals ... Chivas USA 6 wins, 17 goals ... Ties 4

AT SAN JOSE (6 meetings): Earthquakes 2 wins, 10 goals ... Chivas USA 3 wins, 7 goals ... Ties 1

FUTURE MATCHES: 9/2 San Jose Earthquakes vs. Chivas USA, 6 p.m. PT (NBC SN); 9/15: Chivas USA vs. San Jose Earthquakes, 7:30 p.m. PT

LAST YEAR (MLS):

4/23: SJ 2, CHV 1 (Wondolowski 16 - Moreno 45; Trujillo 85)
7/6: CHV 2, SJ 0 (Zemanski 64; LaBrocca 84)

• Since San Jose came back into the league in 2008, the Quakes have defeated Chivas USA just once in nine meetings - a 3-0 home win in 2010. Chivas USA won both meetings between the teams a year ago.
• Coaches record: Frank Yallop vs. CHV: P3 W1 L0 D2 ... Robin Fraser vs. SJ: P2 W2 L0 D0

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

The San Jose Earthquakes saw their seven-game unbeaten streak come to an end in dramatic fashion, falling to a stoppage-time goal in a 2-1 defeat by Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday evening at BC Place. The Quakes are now tied for second place in the Western Conference with 22 points from 10 games.

HIGHLIGHTS: Quakes can't hang on in Vancouver
LAST MATCH

• San Jose took the lead after just 15 minutes. Marvin Chavez found an unmarked Chris Wondolowski lurking at the far post and put it on a platter for the league's leading scorer to head home. Vancouver goalkeeper Joe Cannon scrambled across but could only push the ball into the side netting.
• Whitecaps FC had an answer shortly before halftime, as Gershon Koffie used his head to level the score from a free kick generated by Omar Salgado down the left side. Camilo stepped up to take the set piece, whipping in a ball which Koffie met well for the 41st-minute equalizer.
• The game's decisive moment came in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Eric Hassli found himself alone on the left edge of the area and powered a low strike which Busch managed to get a hand on, before squeaking through and rebounding off the post and finding the back of the net.
• Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop made two changes to the team that rolled to a 5-3 win against D.C. United at Buck Shaw Stadium. Sam Cronin and Rafael Baca came back into the team for Khari Stephenson and Tressor Moreno.
• SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (4-4-2): Jon Busch - Steven Beitashour, Jason Hernandez (Ike Opara 45), Justin Morrow, Ramiro Corrales - Marvin Chavez (Tressor Moreno 75), Sam Cronin, Rafael Baca, Simon Dawkins (Khari Stephenson 63) - Chris Wondolowski, Steven Lenhart.

TEAM NEWS
Wondolowski: Week 9 Player of the Week

• The Quakes lost for the first time this season after scoring the first goal, which they had done in five games previously.
• "Both teams had chances. I think Vancouver played better in the second half, but we had some good chances to score as well, so that's what you got to look at," said Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop. "You have to look at the opportunities we had in front of the goal, usually a little cleaner and crisper, but you can't go and attack and score well against teams in our league, it doesn't work that way."
• "It's not been like us this year; we have been very strong mentally late in games,"Yallop said. "We've done a good job of making sure we don't do that, but tonight was different."
• Over his last 34 games (the current length of an MLS season), Chris Wondolowski has scored 25 goals. That would be the fourth-largest single-season total in league history (the record is 27, by Tampa Bay's Roy Lassiter in the league's inaugural season).
• Wondolowski now has a goal or an assist in eight consecutive games, three games shy of the all-time MLS record set by Lassiter in 1998 with D.C. United.
• "My goal means nothing with the loss. It was just unfortunate we let in two goals in the last five minutes of each half and that'll come back and bite you. We've got to stay a little bit mentally stronger," said Wondolowski.
• The Quakes were held to one goal or less for the first time since a 1-0 win against Seattle on March 31.
• "I honestly don't think we played our game that well. I don't think we played a well-rounded game," said Wondolowski. "Our possession was lacking, our offensive strikes were lacking and defensively. Compared to them, I thought they did well but I think it's more on us that we lost."
• The Quakes will be forced into at least one lineup change, after Marvin Ch·vez suffered a strained left hamstring that will put him out for an expected 2-4 weeks.
• "We'll be OK," Yallop said. "Simon [Dawkins] is good, Rafa [Baca] is good, Tressor [Moreno] is good. It's a shame not having Shea [Salinas] available, [since] he's kind of a direct replacement, with his speed and the way he plays. If he was fit now, it'd be good. We'll see how Marvin gets on. I don't think he's out too long. Hopefully, we won't miss him."
• The loss of Chavez and Salinas take away much of the pace the club has on the flanks. "You get some breathing room when you break away from people," Yallop said. "I think that was an important thing we addressed. Yeah, we're going to miss those guys, but we'll soldier on and make sure we do the right things to win games while they're not there."

CHIVAS USA

Chivas USA saw their losing skid at home to open the 2012 season continued in cruel fashion, the Chicago Fire getting a goal in stoppage time for a 2-1 come-from-behind win on Friday evening at The Home Depot Center. Chivas USA are in eighth place in the Western Conference with 9 points from 9 games.

HIGHLIGHTS: Goats take heartbreaking loss vs. Fire
LAST MATCH

• Chivas USA broke their scoring duck at The Home Depot Center in the 23rd minute after Chicago defender Austin Berry brought down Alejandro Moreno in the box, giving Chivas a penalty kick. Juan Pablo Angel stepped up to the spot and buried his chance for the club's first home goal the season.
• Berry got his redemption just two minutes later. From a throw-in, a Chivas defender cleared the ball out to Sebastian Grazzini, who launched a rainbow pass over the Chivas defense that the rookie defender redirected into the corner from close range.
• As the match seemed destined for a draw, Marco Pappa and Federico Puppo played a series of one-twos out of midfield, with Pappa eventually haring forward. From just beyond the restraining arc, Pappa lashed home a low shot that curled past Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy inside the right post for the game-winner, four minutes into stoppage time.
• Chivas USA head coach Robin Fraser made three changes to the team that dropped a 4-0 decision to the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. John Valencia came into the back four for Ante Jazic, and Alejandro Moreno and Jorge Villafana came into the midfield for Paolo Cardozo and Laurent Courtois.
• CHIVAS USA (4-4-2): Dan Kennedy - James Riley, John Valencia, Rauwshan McKenzie, Heath Pearce - Miller Bolanos (Ryan Smith 66), Oswaldo Minda, Nick LaBrocca, Jorge Villafana (Michael Lahoud 81) - Alejandro Moreno, Juan Pablo Angel (Jose Correa 70).

TEAM NEWS
Sights & Sounds: Chivas vs. Chicago

• Chivas fell to a fifth consecutive defeat at home to start the season; they and Toronto FC have each opened this season with five home defeats in a row. Dating back to last season, Chivas have lost six home games in a row; the MLS record is eight home losses in a row, set by the New England Revolution from May 16-July 29, 1998.
• "This is obviously not the scenario we were looking for. We need to make sure that we keep our heads high and we turn this around somehow," said Juan Pablo Angel. "At the end of the day, we are in it together, for better or worse, and we have to make sure that we get out of this as soon as possible."
• After running out his side with a lone striker for a number of matches, Fraser partnered Angel with Alejandro Moreno up top.
• "We need to look at different ways to go about doing it if the way that we're doing it isn't getting results," he said. "For us, it was a look at matching up against the way they play out of a diamond and ironically, they came in matched up playing out of a 4-3-3. But we need to look at things because, for sure, we couldn't keep doing the same things that we're doing, so for us it was an opportunity to try a different look."
• The Angel spot kick was the first penalty for Chivas since Aug. 7, 2010, and snapped a 382-minute goalless drought at The Home Depot Center.
• For Angel, it was his first goal of the season, in his fourth appearance of the season, after missing five matches with a concussion. Angel scored seven goals in nine games last season after coming across The Home Depot Center from the LA Galaxy.
• "I was really happy to score a goal, but very disappointed about the final outcome of the game," Angel said. "I think we played well for long periods of time, but at the end I'm disappointed that they found that goal in the last minute."
• There was also concern when Angel had a clash of heads with Fire defender Gonzalo Segares in the second half.
• "So far, I feel all right, I just have to make sure coming out of a concussion that everything is fine," Angel said. "It was a knock and if you see the replay, it was just a weird incident, but right now it's hard to assess, but hopefully it's just a simple knock."
• Jose Erick Correa made his Chivas and MLS debut, coming on for the final 20 minutes in place of Angel. "He had a bright few seconds of the game," said Fraser. "But after that, we really didn't do a whole lot in providing the forwards with service so it was difficult to assess him after that."
• "It's more of an up and down soccer, there isn't as much ball control, it's a type of soccer that is little more complicated, but I feel that with time I will adapt to the group, and will do things as best as I can so I can contribute well," said Correa.
• John Valencia made his first start in MLS, coming in central defense, and moving Heath Pearce to left back in place of Ante Jazic.
• "Certainly, we felt like it was a bit of a luxury to have a U.S. national team left back, a Canadian national team left back and you look for opportunities to get as many guys as you can opportunities to play," said Fraser. "We feel like we have some good left backs and we're going to make some changes, it's not a difficult switch to make given the caliber of the left backs. It was just an opportunity to see John play and opportunity to see Heath play at left back."