MLS San Jose Earthquakes

CONCACAF Champions Cup Continues March 26 at Spartan Stadium

Published on March 24, 2003 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


Following a 4-2 loss to CSD Municipal Sunday, March 16 in Guatemala City, Guatemala in the away leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the Earthquakes host the home leg of the Round of 16 on Wednesday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. PT at Spartan Stadium. Following the 4-2 loss, the Quakes need to beat Municipal at home by at least three goals to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup. If San Jose wins by two goals on March 26, the teams will play two 15-minute golden goal overtime periods to decide the winner. If neither team scores in the overtime, the series will be decided by penalty kicks.

In the away leg on March 16, the Quakes fell behind 4-0 before using two-second half Manny Lagos goals to cut the deficit in half. Following an evenly matched first 30 minutes, the Quakes gave up three goals in the final 15 minutes of the first half to trail 3-0 at halftime. Municipal's first goal came from midfielder Gonzalo Romero on a free kick at the edge of the penalty area, and Romero struck again on a rebound shot seven minutes later to make it 2-0. In the 40th minute, the lead grew to three as Carlos Figueroa got behind the defense and was able to chip the ball over Onstad and into the net. Eight minutes after halftime, the Quakes went down 4-0 after Selvyn Ponciano connected on a penalty kick. Lagos started the Quakes comeback with a strong finish in the 61st minute after a good build-up from Landon Donovan and Richard Mulrooney. Lagos struck again 11 minutes later with Donovan providing the assist. Troy Dayak and Richard Mulrooney were ejected after each received their second yellow cards in the final minutes of the match, forcing the Quakes to finish the game with nine men against Municipal's 10. Municipal's Figueroa was sent off in the 59th minute for a hard tackle on Jeff Agoos.

The Champions Cup is comprised of four MLS teams, four Mexican teams, two Guatemalan teams, and one team each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica. Round of 16 matches must be completed by March 27 and the quarterfinals by April 17. The semifinals must be played before June 15 and the finals are scheduled for sometime in August or September. The Earthquakes qualified for the 2003 event after finishing with the second-best record in MLS in 2002. The Quakes are joined by MLS clubs the Los Angeles Galaxy, New England Revolution and the Columbus Crew.

Municipal Media Availability

CSD Municipal, the Earthquakes opponent in the CONCACAF Champions Cup on Wednesday, March 26 will hold a training session that will be open to the media on Tuesday, March 25 at Spartan Stadium at 4:00 p.m. PT. Media who wish to attend CSD Municpal's practice should contact the Earthquakes Media Relations department at 408-260-6366 to confirm practice times.

International Action

Earthquakes forward Landon Donovan and goalkeeper Pat Onstad will be in action with their respective national teams on Saturday, March 29. Donovan will appear in Seattle, WA with the U.S. National Team in a friendly match against Venezuela at Seahawk Stadium. The newly signed Onstad will continue his involvement with the Canadian National Team by appearing in a friendly match against Estonia also on March 29 in Talinn, Estonia. Both players will play for the Earthquakes in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup on Wednesday, March 26 against CSD Municipal before joining their squads. Donovan and Onstad will both leave to join their national teams on Thursday, March 27 following the Champions Cup match. The U.S. was originally scheduled to play Japan on March 29, but because of Japanese concerns about traveling due to the world situation, the Japan Football Association canceled the trip and the Venezuelan National Team will take part in the first international soccer game to be played at Seahawk Stadium.

Donovan is the only U.S. player to be called up to the National Team for every match (20) in 2002, including the World Cup. The 21-year old was named the Honda Player of the Year in 2002 and will be looking to make his 30th international appearance on the 29th. Onstad has been involved with the Canadian National Team since 1988, making 35 appearances. The 35-year old goalkeeper last played for Canada Feb. 12, 2003 against Libya. Onstad has proven himself at the international level, playing with Quakes head coach Frank Yallop on the Canadian National Team from 1988-1997 and holding down the number one goalkeeper job in all eight 2000 World Cup Qualifying games.

Levesque in Town

Quakes third round draft pick Roger Levesque, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee prior to the 2003 MLS SuperDraft, has joined the team in San Jose and is doing rehabilitation on his knee. Levesque injured the knee while playing with the United States Under-23 National Team in Portugal just days before the 2003 SuperDraft. Levesque ended his Stanford career with 30 career assists and 88 points, putting him in sixth place on the Stanford all-time list.

Earthquakes Kick Off 2003 Home Schedule With April 19th Doubleheader at Spartan Stadium

The San Jose Earthquakes will open its 2003 home schedule with a doubleheader spectacular featuring the Earthquakes against the Kansas City Wizards and the WUSA's San Jose CyberRays versus Washington Freedom at Spartan Stadium on Saturday, April 19. The CyberRays and the Freedom will play the first match at 4:30 p.m. PT, and the Quakes and Wizards will battle in the nightcap at 7:00 p.m. PT. The doubleheader marks the first time the Earthquakes and CyberRays have collaborated on a doubleheader event that brings both the 2001 MLS and WUSA champions together on the same field.

Individual tickets are on sale now for the doubleheader, and fans have a number of options for purchasing tickets. Individual tickets prices are $45, $25, $20, and $15 and tickets can be purchased by visiting the Earthquakes Ticket Office at 3550 Stevens Creek Blvd., by logging on to www.sjearthquakes.com, by calling Ticketmaster at 408-998-TIXS, or by visiting any Ticketmaster outlet, including Towers Records, Rite Aid, and Ritmo Latino. Groups of 20 or more receive a substantial discount. To purchase group tickets, fans can call the Earthquakes Ticket Office at 408-985-GOAL or the CyberRays Ticket Office at 408-260-3900.

Earthquakes Season Tickets

San Jose Earthquakes season tickets for the 2003 season are now on sale. Season ticket prices for 17 Earthquakes home matches start as low as $170 for Rumble seats. The 2003 season ticket package includes 15 regular season Major League Soccer matches and two bonus matches (playoffs, special internationals, or other competitions). Season ticket prices for the 2003 season are $595 - Epicenter, $374 - Core, $229.50 - Shaker, and $170 - Rumble. To order season tickets today, contact the Earthquakes Ticket Office at 408-985-GOAL or log onto www.sjearthquakes.com.

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Major League Soccer Stories from March 24, 2003


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