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MLS San Jose Earthquakes

Earthquakes Weekly Update

July 29, 2002 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


The Earthquakes have this week off prior to the 2002 Pepsi MLS All-Star game August 3 in Washington, D.C. The 12:30 p.m. PST match features the U.S. National Team against the MLS All-Stars and will air live on ABC. Six Earthquakes players and head coach Frank Yallop will be in attendance as the game will feature starter Richard Mulrooney, and reserves Ariel Graziani, Joe Cannon, Wade Barrett for the MLS squad. Earthquakes defender Jeff Agoos and forward Landon Donovan will play for the National Team. The Quakes enter the all-star break with the best record (12-7-2) in MLS. San Jose returns to action Wednesday, August 7 for a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match against the L.A. Galaxy at 7:00 p.m. PST at Spartan Stadium. The Open Cup match will be broadcast live on Fox Sports World and Fox Sports Espanol.

Last Match

Kansas City Wizards 2; Earthquakes 1; Saturday, July 27, 2002; Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.

The Kansas City Wizards needed a late goal by forward Igor Simutenkov to come from behind and defeat the MLS Champion San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 before 11,530 at Arrowhead Stadium. The loss ended the Earthquakes (12-7-2) two game winning streak and was just the second time San Jose lost in 2002 after scoring the first goal. Kansas City (7-6-7) scored the game-winner in the 86th minute when midfielder Kerry Zavagnin lofted a long-ball from the midfield to an on-rushing Simutenkov in the Earthquakes penalty box. Simutenkov was able to get to the ball and send a roller past defender Zak Ibsen and through the legs of goalkeeper Joe Cannon for the 2-1 final margin. San Jose scored first on a picturesque Eddie Robinson header in the 25th minute. After forwards Ariel Graziani and Dwayne De Rosario combined to force a corner kick, San Jose all-star Richard Mulrooney sent the ensuing corner kick towards the front of the Wizards net. Robinson charged towards the goal and buried a header past Wizards goalkeeper Tony Meola for the 1-0 lead and his first career MLS goal. The score was the Earthquakes first in Arrowhead Stadium since July 31, 1999. The Wizards applied pressure on the San Jose goal throughout the first 30 minutes, and were finally rewarded when forward Stephen Armstrong gathered in a long Chris Klein pass at the top of the San Jose 18-yard box. Armstrong turned to his right, evading two San Jose defenders and launched a shot past Cannon's dive to even the score at 1-1. It was the first goal the San Jose defense has allowed in two games. The Wizards continued to press San Jose in the second half, as Armstrong beat his defender near the left corner of the 18-yard box and saw his shot deflect off the crossbar and post before Cannon picked it up. Ronnie Ekelund provided some offense for the Quakes in the 54th minute when he stole the ball and fired toward the Kansas City net from 23-yards out, forcing Meola to making a jumping save. The match took on a physical tone in the second half, as San Jose defender Jeff Agoos came on at halftime to steady the Earthquakes defense against a strong Wizards presence in the San Jose end. Kansas City had numerous chances to score in the first half, the best coming when Cannon preserved the tie when he punched a Simutenkov header over the crossbar after a fine cross from Armstrong in the 44th minute. The attack was an extension of the Wizards earlier efforts after Meola stuffed a Graziani shot in the fourth minute. The Wizards responded quickly when midfielder Fransico Gomez sent a rocket from 25-yards out that barely sailed over the crossbar in the fifth minute.

Misc. Notes

Open Cup Hosts

The Earthquakes will host the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Aug. 7 at Spartan Stadium at 7:00 p.m. PST. San Jose will take on the Los Angeles Galaxy in a rematch of last year's Open Cup quarterfinal won by the Galaxy on penalty kicks. The Quakes defeated the A-League's Seattle Sounders 4-3 in overtime July 17 to reach the quarterfinals, while L.A. advanced with a win over the Minnesota Thunder of the A-League.

Century Mark

Earthquakes forward Ariel Graziani registered his 100th MLS point Wednesday, July 24 in the Quakes 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire when he scored the game-winning goal. The goal was also his sixth game-winner of the season, a new San Jose club record.

All-Star Sparkler

Earthquakes forward Landon Donovan is scheduled to play in just his second Pepsi MLS All-Star game Saturday, but the 20-year old is already among the league all-star leaders in several categories. With his record four goal, eight point performance last season, Donovan is the games second all-time goal-scoring leader and the fifth all-time leading scorer.

All-Star Mainstay

Earthquakes defender Jeff Agoos is one of four MLS players to perform in every MLS All-Star game. Agoos joins Cobi Jones, Brian McBride and Preki as the only players to appear in seven all-star matches. Agoos has also played 349 all-star minutes, third on the all-time list.

Goals For Graziani

San Jose forward, Ariel Graziani, the Earthquakes leading goal-scorer in 2002 is making his third all-star appearance at the Pepsi MLS All-Star Game. Graziani registered a goal and an assist in last years game, his first start. Graziani has played 90 all-star minutes.

Joe All-Star

Earthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon will appear in his second all-star game. Cannon played 45 minutes in the 2001 match, registering an assist on Landon Donovan's third minute goal.

A Five-Year Break

Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop will make his MLS all-star coaching debut Saturday in Washington, D.C., but it is not his first trip to the all-star game. Yallop made the 1997 team as a defender for the East team when he played for the Tampa Bay Mutiny. Yallop played 45 minutes in relief of Alexi Lalas in the 5-4 East win.

Schedule Changes

The Earthquakes announced one game time change and one broadcast time change for their 2002 schedule. The Fox Sports Net broadcast on Saturday, August 31 will now be tape-delayed at 6:30 p.m. PST. Also, the Quakes Saturday, September 14 match against the Los Angeles Galaxy will now kick off at 8:00 p.m. PST instead of the originally scheduled 7:00 p.m. PST. The game will still be aired live on Action 36 Cable 6 (KICU).

Barclay Scores For The USA

The Earthquakes Devin Barclay scored a goal in the 37th minute as the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team opened up their participation in the U.S. Amateur Soccer Festival with a 2-1 win over the USASA East Region Team yesterday. Barclay and D.C. United's Justin Mapp scored eight minutes apart to give the U.S. a come-from-behind win. The East squad went up in just the 11th minute, before Barclay's 37th-minute tally and Mapp's 45th-minute score. The U.S., who is 1-1-1 in international play this year, will finish the tournament against Canada (Aug. 2) and Mexico (Aug. 3) after meeting the USASA South Region tomorrow (July 30). The Under-20s are using this tournament to prepare for their CONCACAF qualifying tournament in November. The Men's Group B bracket is comprised of Mexico's U-20 Men's National Team, USASA - Midwest Regional Team, USASA - West Regional Team and the Texas-South State Select Team.

Stellar At Spartan

The Earthquakes win over Chicago last Wednesday improved them to 10-0 at home in 2002. The victory was the Quakes twelfth straight at Spartan Stadium, dating back to an August 25, 2001. In that span, San Jose has out-scored opponents 32-7 at Spartan Stadium. The Earthquakes are three wins away from the MLS all-time home-unbeaten streak, a record they share with the Chicago Fire at 15 games. Since head coach Frank Yallop took over the Earthquakes prior to the 2001 season, San Jose is 21-2-3 at Spartan including regular season MLS games, playoff matches and F.C. Champions Cup play. In the past six home games, San Jose has outscored opponents 15-1.

Quick Notes

- Defender Jimmy Conrad will miss the Earthquakes next MLS match due to yellow card accumulation.

-Wade Barrett is number one in the league for minutes played (1910) starting and playing in every game this season (21).

-Ariel Graziani is the third leading scorer in the league with 12 goals and leads MLS in game-winning goals with six.

-Goalkeeper Joe Cannon is the leading goalkeeper in MLS. Cannon leads the league in goals against average (0.94), shutouts (8), and wins (11).

-Dwayne De Rosario is tied for fourth in MLS with eight assists and leads the league in game-winning assists (4).

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Major League Soccer Stories from July 29, 2002


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