MLS San Jose Earthquakes

Earthquakes Overwhelm Rapids in 4-1 Rout

Published on August 26, 2012 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes extended their Buck Shaw Stadium unbeaten streak to 14 games with a dominant 4-1 win against the Colorado Rapids Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,525.

With the win, the Earthquakes (15-6-5, 50 pts.) became the first team in MLS to 50 points while extending their Western Conference and Supporters' Shield leads. Next up in the Western Conference is Seattle Sounders FC (12-6-7, 43 pts.) and Real Salt Lake (13-10-4, 43 pts.) while Sporting Kansas City (14-7-4, 46 pts.) is the next closest in the Supporters' Shield Race.

The night started with an announcement from Club President Dave Kaval that the Earthquakes would break ground on their new stadium on Oct. 21. The evening got better soon after as Simon Dawkins put his team ahead early, firing a shot from the top of the box past Rapids goalkeeper Matt Pickens in the 11th minute. The score originated from the hold-up play of Alan Gordon; the target man chested a ball down, took a touch and then played Dawkins in open space just outside the area to pick up his third assist of the season.

The Dawkins-Gordon theme continued the rest of the way with both recording braces before the end of the night. Gordon struck next just before halftime, stepping in front of a Rafael Baca cross at the far post to give San Jose a 2-0 lead.

Colorado pulled one back in the 54th minute. Second-half substitute Tyrone Marshall rose higher than anyone on a Martin Rivero corner, snapping his header narrowly past Jon Busch for his second goal of the year.

The Earthquakes responded with strikes from Dawkins and Gordon in the 68th and 75th minutes to see out the match. Dawkins notched his after Sam Cronin received a throw-in from Ramiro Corrales near the top of the box. He then slid a pass to the British winger and watched Dawkins one-time his shot past Pickens. Gordon capped the scoring with a tidy finish inside the area after collecting a header over the Rapids back line by Corrales.

Dawkins recorded his second career brace in San Jose, the first coming in the Quakes' final game of 2011, a 4-2 win against FC Dallas at Buck Shaw Stadium on Oct. 22. Gordon's multi-goal performance was the fourth of his nine-year career and his first since June 11, 2011 against the LA Galaxy while with Toronto FC.

After Saturday's win, the Earthquakes are 8-0-3 at Buck Shaw Stadium this season and haven't lost since a 2-1 result against Colorado on Aug. 13, 2011. Including games at AT&T Park and Stanford Stadium, San Jose is 9-1-3 at home in 2012.

The club returns to action against Chivas USA on Sunday, Sept. 2 at Buck Shaw Stadium. The match kicks off at 6 p.m. PT on NBC Sports, 1590 KLIV and 1370 KZSF.

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Major League Soccer Stories from August 26, 2012


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