MLS San Jose Earthquakes

Earthquakes Weekly Update

Published on May 6, 2003 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


This Week's Match-Up

The Earthquakes maintained the best start in team history with a 2-0 win over the New England Revolution last Saturday. A Revolution own goal and a Brian Ching header were all the Quakes would need to improve to 3-0-1. San Jose attempts to remain unbeaten this Saturday, May 10 when they face the Chicago Fire in Naperville, Ill. The game starts at 5:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on tape delay on Fox Sports Net at 7:00 p.m. PT. The game can be heard live on Talk 910 AM KNEW. The Quakes were unbeaten against the Fire in 2002, beating them 1-0 in San Jose and tying 1-1 in Chicago.

Earthquakes vs. Fire All-Time
MLS Regular Season: 5-6-3
Home: 4-2-1
Away: 1-4-2
Shootout: 1-0 (1996-99)
Overtime: 0-0-3 (2000-03)
Playoffs: 0-0-0; U.S. Open Cup: 0-0-0
All-Time Scoring: San Jose - 18, Chicago - 23

Injury Report/Suspensions
Player Injury Status
Jon Conway Broken Ankle (Right) Questionable
Dwayne De Rosario Torn LCL (Right) Out
Ronnie Ekelund Ankle Surgery (Right) Out
Roger Levesque Torn ACL (Right) Out
Eddie Robinson Strained Hamstring (Right)
Questionable
Ian Russell Achilles Tendonitis (Left) Doubtful

Last Match

Earthquakes 2, Revolution 0; Saturday, May 3, 2003; Gillette Stadium; Foxboro, Mass.

The San Jose Earthquakes won their second consecutive match on Saturday afternoon defeating the New England Revolution 2-0 at Gillette Stadium. Brian Ching scored his second goal of the year and helped force an own goal to lead the Quakes to their fifth straight win against the Revolution.

Goalkeeper Pat Onstad earned his second shutout in a row, making four saves as the Quakes continued their best start in club history. With the win, San Jose remains in first place in the Western Conference. The Quakes moved into the lead just three minutes before the halftime whistle on an own goal by Carlos Llamosa. Agoos curled a free kick to the penalty spot, where Ching was battling for position with Llamosa. The ball took a deflection off Llamosa and found its way past Revs goalkeeper Adin Brown to put the Quakes up 1-0. 11 minutes after halftime, the Quakes had two chances to push the lead to two goals. On the first, Richard Mulrooney found Troy Dayak at the back post and Dayak headed past Brown, but the Revolution defense recovered to clear the ball away. Ching was successful moments later in giving the Quakes a two-goal advantage. Mullan took down a long ball in the right corner and moved toward the net. He spotted Ching inside the area and served a hard cross that found Ching alone in front. Ching headed past Brown and the Quakes had a 2-0 lead with 34 minutes to go.

Last Match vs. Fire

Earthquakes 1, Fire 1; Sunday, May 26, 2002; Cardinal Stadium; Naperville, IL

The San Jose Earthquakes overcame a 1-0 deficit to earn a 1-1 tie on Sunday night against the Chicago Fire at Cardinal Stadium in Naperville, IL. The Quakes fell behind in the 10th minute, but came back to equalize in the second half and with the point, San Jose moved back into first place overall in MLS. Eddie Robinson and Wade Barrett played together for the first time in central defense and helped slow down the potent Fire attack, while Ronnie Ekelund scored the lone Quakes goal on a penalty kick. The Fire jumped out to an early lead behind a goal from rookie Kelly Gray in the 10th minute.

Gray collected a loose ball at the midfield stripe and sprinted towards the Quakes goal. Just outside the Earthquakes penalty area, Gray unleashed a right-footed shot that found the back of the net at the near post. Ekelund brought the Quakes even with a goal on a penalty kick in the 60th minute. De Rosario drew the penalty after being brought down in the penalty box by Fire defender C.J. Brown. Lagos played a through ball to De Rosario to the left of Thornton's goal, and Brown slid in to take down De Rosario, resulting in a penalty kick. Ekelund then drove a shot to the lower left corner to tie the game. In overtime, neither team could break through, as both defenses tightened up and the match finished in a 1-1 draw.

Misc. Notes

Snapped

Landon Donovan had his three-game point streak snapped last Saturday against the Revolution. He had scored at least a point in each of the Earthquakes first three games on his way to being named the Major League Soccer Player of the Month for April. Despite having his streak snapped, Donovan is still tied for third in points in MLS with four.

Double Brian

For the second time this season, Brian Mullan set up Brian Ching for a goal. In the season opener Mullan found Ching 53 seconds into the match and on Saturday Mullan set Ching up for a 56th minute goal against the Revolution. Both Ching and Mullan are now tied for third in MLS in points with four. Ching has two goals while Mullan has a goal and two assists.

In May

With their victory over the Revolution last Saturday, the Earthquakes pushed their record in the month of May in their history to 15-15-5. May of 2001 was the best month in San Jose history when the team went 4-0-2.

Camping Out

Earthquakes forward Landon Donovan and midfielder Richard Mulrooney are in training camp with the U.S. National Team this week as the United States prepares for its Thursday, May 8 match against Mexico in Houston, Texas. Donovan and Mulrooney joined the rest of the U.S. National Team in Houston following the Quakes 2-0 win over the Revolution on Saturday. The Quakes duo will join the club in Chicago on Friday and both will be available for the match vs. the Fire on Saturday.

Road Start

After struggling last season with a 2-10-2 record on the road, the Quakes have opened the 2003 campaign with two straight wins away from home. This year's start on the road equals the team's best road start since 1999 when the team opened with victories over Kansas City and D.C. United. The Quakes have a chance to surpass the 1999 start with a win over Chicago this Saturday at Cardinal Stadium.

Success vs. Revs

With a 2-0 victory over the Revolution on Saturday, the Earthquakes moved to 5-0 under Frank Yallop against New England since the beginning of the 2001 season. During the current five-game winning streak, San Jose has outscored the Revs 14-3.

Number 30

Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop reached 30 wins for his career in San Jose with the team's win over New England last Saturday. He is now five wins away from the club record of 35 held by Brian Quinn, who coached parts of three seasons from 1997-99.

Back to Back

After giving up just two goals in the first two games, Quakes goalkeeper Pat Onstad has been even stingier in the last two games, as he has earned back-to-back shutouts. He now possesses a shutout streak of 206 minutes. With his current streak, Onstad has lowered his goals against average to 0.49, just behind Dallas' D.J. Countess (0.48), who leads MLS.

Making The First One Count

The Earthquakes were 25-2-2 in 2001 and 2002 when finding the back of the net first. The Quakes only gave up leads two times last season, losing 2-1 to Los Angeles on July 4 and falling 2-1 to Kansas City on July 27. The team has continued that trend in 2003, improving to 3-0 when they score the first goal this season.

Earthquakes In The Community

-Earthquakes defender Eddie Robinson made an appearance at the Almaden Valley Youth Soccer Registration at Casterillo Middle School in San Jose on Saturday, May 3. Robinson signed autographs and met the numerous players from the Almaden Valley Youth Soccer League. If you would like the Earthquakes to attend your soccer registration, please call Erika Guth at 408-260-6369.

-Robinson and defender Craig Waibel played in the San Jose Evergreen Rotary Club's Charity Golf Tournament at the San Jose Country Club on Monday, May 5. The Quakes defensive duo helped swing away for charity.

-Earthquakes midfielders Ian Russell and Arturo Alvarez will be appearing at the City of San Jose LEARNS after school program on Wednesday, May 7. Russell and Alvarez will sign autographs for the children and offer them soccer tips.

Leading Scorers vs. Fire

Richard Mulrooney is the Quakes current active leading scorer against the Fire with a goal and two assists in ten games. Jeff Agoos, Manny Lagos and Ian Russell all have scored one goal vs. Chicago in their careers.

Earthquakes - Fire Connections

Earthquakes midfielder Manny Lagos played 10 games for the Fire in 1998-99 ... Chicago head coach Dave Sarachan coached the Quakes Jeff Agoos as an assistant coach at D.C. United in 1998-99 ... Chicago midfielder C.J. Brown is from Hayward, Calif. and played college soccer at San Jose State ... Chicago defender Kelly Gray is from San Jose ... Fire midfielder Jesse Marsch and Agoos were teammates on D.C. United from 1996-97.

History vs. Fire

Landon Donovan recorded his first career assist vs. the Fire on May 26, 2001. Richard Mulrooney scored his first MLS goal against Chicago when he entered as a late-game substitute on July 23, 1999.

Fire To Watch

Fire forward Ante Razov has been solid against the Quakes, recording 14 points in 13 games against San Jose. Razov has five goals and four assists. Midfielder Chris Armas has five points on a goal and three assists, while newly acquired forward Rodrigo Faria has a goal and an assist vs. the Quakes.

Four's A Charm

Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop started the same lineup for the fourth straight game May 3. Due to injuries, suspensions and national team commitments, Yallop was only able to use the same starting lineup back-to-back eight times in 2002, and never used the same lineup three games in a row.

Club America - El Salvador

The San Jose Earthquakes announced last week that Mexican League powerhouse Club America will face the El Salvador National Team in an international friendly at Spartan Stadium on Wednesday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m. PT. Club America is currently in second place in Group 1 of the Mexican league with a 5-4-5 record and one point behind the leader Atlas, while El Salvador has put together a 3-2-2 record so far in 2003, including a 3-2 record in Gold Cup qualifying matches as the team prepares for this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup. Tickets for the May 7 game will go on sale Wednesday, April 16 at 10:00 a.m. Ticket prices for Club America vs. El Salvador are $25, $35, $40 and $60. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Earthquakes Ticket Office at 3550 Stevens Creek Blvd., by logging on to www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at 408-998-TIXS, 415-421-TIXS, 510-625-TIXS, 925-685-TIXS, or by visiting any Ticketmaster outlet, including Tower Records, Rite Aid, and Ritmo Latino.

U.S. versus Wales at Spartan

The United States Men's National Team will return to Spartan Stadium for the first time since 1998 when it hosts Wales in a Memorial Day match-up on Monday, May 26 in San Jose at 7:00 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and the Radio Unica network. The United States will meet Wales for the first time in history as the U.S. National Team continues to prepare for the FIFA Confederations Cup in France in June. This will be only the third time the U.S. National Team has played at Spartan Stadium, playing to two 0-0 draws in 1998 against Macedonia and Australia. U.S. National Team head coach Bruce Arena made his debut at Spartan Stadium in the Nov. 16 match against Australia. Tickets for the match range from $25 to $70 and go on sale Monday, April 7 at 10:00 a.m. PT. 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, 415-421-TIXS, 510-625-TIXS, 925-685-TIXS or by visiting any Ticketmaster outlet, including Tower Records, Rite Aid, and Ritmo Latino. Group discounts of 20 or more are available by calling 408-985-GOAL.

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Major League Soccer Stories from May 6, 2003


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