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MLS San Jose Earthquakes

Earthquakes Earn Thrilling 4-3 OT Victory Over Seattle Sounders in U.S. Open Cup Match

July 18, 2002 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


Seattle, WA (Wednesday, July 17, 2002) - The San Jose Earthquakes pulled out a heart-stopping 4-3 victory over the A-League's Seattle Sounders in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night at Interbay Stadium in Seattle, WA. Ariel Graziani struck for the game-winning golden goal in the 109th minute to send the Quakes into the quarterfinals of the tournament, where they will have rematch of last season's Open Cup quarterfinal against the Los Angeles Galaxy. The location, date and time of the match will be announced at a later date. Ronnie Ekelund scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Quakes, while Dwayne De Rosario contributed a goal and an assist to the victory. San Jose twice recovered from one-goal deficits to earn the win in a game that saw each team have a player red-carded.

The Sounders jumped on the board first with a set piece goal in the 11th minute. After a foul at the left corner of the penalty box, Andrew Gregor of the Sounders curled a left-footed shot over the wall and into the near corner.

Ekelund found the back of the net in the 30th minute to tie the game at one goal apiece. Ramiro Corrales centered a low free kick from the left side of the field to Ekelund 30 yards from goal. Ekelund controlled the ball and then ripped a low shot that went straight into the lower right corner of Sounders goalkeeper Preston Burpo's net.

Ekelund created the Earthquakes second goal of the match with a looping pass for De Rosario, who got behind the defense and lobbed Burpo for a 2-1 lead. Ekelund received the ball in midfield from Chris Roner and then chipped a pass to De Rosario. De Rosario leapt and chipped Burpo with the outside of his right foot to move the Quakes in front in the 39th minute.

The Sounders retook the lead with two goals in two minutes in the early stages of the second half. On the first goal, Gregor took a free kick to the back post, where Scott Jenkins rose up and headed past Quakes goalkeeper Jon Conway. Two minutes later in the 60th minute, Brian Ching, who played for the Galaxy in 2001, got on the end of a cross at the far post and headed in the go-ahead goal. The pass came from second half substitute Nate Daligcon after a corner kick was cleared out.

Graziani earned a penalty kick in the 77th minute after receiving the ball inside the 18-yard box. Graziani got a pass from Wade Barrett and turned on Ryan Edwards of the Sounders, but Edwards grabbed Graziani and was whistled for a penalty. Ekelund converted the penalty by driving a strong shot to the upper left corner to tie the game.

One minute after the goal, Conway came up with an important save on Ching. Ching controlled a pass inside the Quakes six-yard box and hit a low shot, but Conway came off his line and blocked the shot to keep the game tied.

In the waning moments, Barrett made a strong defensive play to keep the Quakes in the match. Ching battled through Eddie Robinson on the left wing and moved in two-on-one with Darren Sawatzky. Ching crossed the ball to Sawatzky, but Barrett recovered to block his shot and send the game to overtime.

The Earthquakes scored the game-winner in overtime after a strong effort from De Rosario. De Rosario got a pass at the edge of the penalty box and turned on his defender and broke towards the goal. He attempted a low cross that Burpo blocked, but the rebound fell to Graziani. Graziani quickly poked the ball into the net to send the Quakes to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup.

The Earthquakes and Dallas Burn square off this Saturday night at Spartan Stadium for second time in a week, as the Quakes return to Major League Soccer action. The match kicks off at 7:00 p.m. PT. The Earthquakes host Hispanic Heritage Night (HHN), presented by Budweiser, that night at Spartan. As part of the HHN celebration, the Earthquakes will honor 20 area youth soccer coaches that are making significant contributions to the development of soccer in the Bay Area.

Notes:

-Richard Mulrooney left the match in the 20th minute with a left hip contusion. He will be re-evaluated when he returns to San Jose on Thursday.

-Zak Ibsen left the match in the 27th minute with a left hamstring strain. He will also be re-evaluated when he returns to San Jose on Thursday.

-Dwayne De Rosario scored for the third consecutive game with his 39th minute goal against the Sounders on Wednesday night.

Quotes:

Frank Yallop, on game: "If you are a neutral observer, talk about a great game to watch. Each team had numerous chances to score and the match had a little of everything. I think that a 3-3 tie for regulation was probably a fair result. In overtime, I felt like we got a little more control of the game, but they still had good chances."

Yallop, on players' effort: "I have to give full credit to the guys to come back twice from a goal down. We scored a late goal to tie it up and their strong spirit allowed us to get the win in overtime. I always felt positive about tonight's game and I thought that we would get the winner."

Ariel Graziani, on game-winner: "Dwayne (De Rosario) made a good play on the left side of the box, and he got off a tight-angled shot. The goalkeeper got a hand on it, but the rebound fell to my feet, and I was able to get my foot on it and put it in."

Ronnie Ekelund, on performance: "I always want to make an impact in the game, and tonight I was able to do that. I felt really good when I hit that first shot and it found the corner. Dwayne made a nice finish on the second goal. Overall, I think we did well, and we got the win."

Graziani, on Sounders play: "They are a strong team and they took advantage of their set pieces to get ahead. They made it difficult for us."

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