MLS San Jose Earthquakes

Earthquakes Earn 1-1 Tie With Viking Stavangar

Published on March 2, 2004 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


La Manga, Spain (Tuesday, March 2, 2004) - The San Jose Earthquakes earned a hard-fought 1-1 tie against Viking Stavangar (Norway) in the semifinals of the La Manga Cup, but lost the penalty kick shootout 5-3. The Quakes are now scheduled to play in the third place game on Friday, March 5 against Dynamo Kiev at 12 p.m. (local time). Dwayne De Rosario scored his second goal of the tournament to tie the game in the first half, but the Quakes could not break through in the second half.

The Quakes came out attacking early and created a few solid chances to take the lead. Five minutes into the match, De Rosario broke free on the right wing and shot low, but Viking goalkeeper Frode Olsen was there for the save. In the eighth minute, De Rosario sent Brian Mullan free down the right wing, but Mullan's cross just missed Jamil Walker at the back post.

Despite San Jose's early pressure, Viking scored the first goal of the match on a free kick. Mullan fouled a Viking player five yards outside the box and Frode Hansen stepped up to take the free kick for Viking. He drove the ball around the wall to the far upper corner off the fingertips of Quakes goalkeeper Pat Onstad and into the net.

Jeff Agoos nearly brought the Quakes back with a free kick just four minutes later. After a fake shot by Ronnie Ekelund, Agoos spun the ball over the wall, but Olsen scrambled to his right and made the save.

Good fortune smiled on San Jose in the 33rd minute as Jorgen Tengesdal got open at the right edge of the penalty box. He blasted a shot that beat Onstad, but it struck the crossbar and bounced in front of the goal allowing the Quakes to clear it away.

As the Quakes did last Saturday against Stabaek, they came back to tie the match with an excellent play between Mullan and De Rosario. In the 36th minute, Mullan collected a loose ball 40 yards from goal and cut to his right. He then spotted De Rosario at the far post and drove a cross in. De Rosario out-jumped his defender and nodded the ball past Olsen just inside the post to even the score at 1-1.

San Jose's best chance of the second half came less than one minute after the half kicked off. Walker got free at the top of the 18-yard box by dribbling past two defenders and then was fouled as he attempted to move past a third. Ronnie Ekelund took the free kick and bent it over the wall, but it hooked just wide of the near post.

The remainder of the match saw both teams struggle to create any clear-cut scoring chances, as the defenses clamped down. Onstad was forced to make one difficult save in the 80th minute as he dove to his right to block a long-range blast by Bjorn Berland.

After finishing 1-1 in regulation, the match headed directly to penalties to determine which team would move on to the final of the tournament. Viking was a perfect five-for-five from the spot, with Peter Kopteff scoring the game-winning penalty for the Norwegian club. The Quakes second shooter Jeff Agoos, was the only Quake not to score, as Olsen saved his shot to the lower right post, helping to send Viking into the final.

Notes

-Craig Waibel sat out the match with a red card suspension.

-Ryan Cochrane started his second straight match, this time at right back, after playing in central defense in the previous match.

-Rookie Tighe Dombrowski saw his first action at central midfield for San Jose when he came in for Ronnie Ekelund in the second half.

-Todd Dunivant and Troy Dayak both played 90 minutes against Viking without incident. Dunivant is returning from a left quad strain and Dayak is coming back from a stiff neck.

Quotes:

Dominic Kinnear, on game: "I thought that we started very well and we created some good chances that could have put us on top. However, I thought that we ended the game defending too much. I think the guys were a little tired today, but they played hard and earned a tie. They did a good job to get through the match."

Kinnear, on defending: "Some games you don't play your best, and I think that was the case today. But, if you are honest and hard working in defense then you can get something out of the match. Viking had us under some pressure today, but we defended very well, so we did not allow them any clear-cut chances. We defended very well in the box."

Kinnear, looking ahead to last match of La Manga: "I am going to give more minutes to the players who have not played as much so far. Some players have played a lot of minutes and need a little rest, so we will be making some changes to the lineup."

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