San Jose Earthquakes Close Preseason with 2-1 Win against FC Dallas

The Earthquakes wrapped up the round-robin event with a 1-0-2 clip, including a 3-3 draw against the Portland Timbers and a scoreless tie against AIK (Sweden).

Chris Wondolowski put the Earthquakes on the board early. Veteran defender Jason Hernandez lofted a ball over the FC Dallas back line that caught Wondolowski on the run perfectly. The reigning Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player smartly used his body to shield off a defender and elude a charging goalkeeper before sliding to tap the ball into an open net.

FC Dallas leveled in the 26th minute as Jackson blasted a shot from the top of the box that deflected off Earthquakes defender Victor Bernardez and into the goal.

San Jose didn't wait long in the second half to find the decisive goal. Mike Fucito tallied for the second time in the tournament to take the lead back the 49th minute. The offseason acquisition capitalized on a deflected cross, collecting and firing past FC Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz to give the Earthquakes a 2-1 advantage.

With the lead in hand, Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch made one of the plays of the game with a penalty save in the 79th minute. Non-roster invitee John Bostock was whistled for a spot kick after making contact with FC Dallas forward Blas Perez in the box. Busch dove to his left to make the save on Perez and keep San Jose's 2-1 lead intact.

The Earthquakes open their regular season against Real Salt Lake on Sunday, March 3 at Buck Shaw Stadium (7 p.m. PT / Comcast SportsNet California). The match will feature a Supporters' Shield tribute, including a giveaway of 5,000 commemorative pennants courtesy of Visa.

• Discuss this story on the Major League Soccer message board...
• Digg this story
• Add to Del.icio.us
Tweet

Major League Soccer Stories from February 23, 2013

• Revs claim third place in Desert Diamond Cup with goals from Nguyen, Bengtson - New England Revolution
• Timbers Close Preseason with a 1-1 Draw against Aik - Portland Timbers
• Sounders FC win 2013 FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup - Seattle Sounders FC
• Impact Beats Columbus 1-0 to Win the Disney Pro Classic - Montreal Impact
• Real Salt Lake Drops Desert Diamond Cup Final 0-1 to Seattle - Real Salt Lake
• Chicago Fire claim Carolina Challenge Cup - Chicago Fire
• Battery earn 2-1 win - Houston Dynamo
• Mattocks scores fifth goal of preseason after Miller draws penalty kick - Vancouver Whitecaps FC
• Chicago Fire Draw 1-1 with Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Preseason - Chicago Fire
• Chivas USA Routs the L.A. Blues, 5-1, in Preseason Finale - Club Deportivo Chivas USA
• San Jose Earthquakes Close Preseason with 2-1 Win against FC Dallas - San Jose Earthquakes
• Venue Change for Sunday's Inaugural Kirk Urso Memorial Match - Columbus Crew
• Union Fall to United in Final Preseason Matchup - Philadelphia Union
• Sounders FC Signs Djimi Traore - Seattle Sounders FC
• LA Galaxy close out preseason with 2-1 win over Colorado - Los Angeles Galaxy
• Galaxy ready for MLS after successful preseason - Los Angeles Galaxy
• Sounders FC play to scoreless draw - Seattle Sounders FC

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.