MLS San Jose Earthquakes

Earthquakes weekly update

Published on September 26, 2005 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


The Earthquakes clinched the number one seed in the Western Conference Playoffs with a 1-1 tie against FC Dallas on Saturday, securing home field advantage throughout the Western Conference Playoffs. The Earthquakes saw their six game winning streak come to an end with the tie, but still own the best record in Major League Soccer as they head into this weekend's anticipated match-up against the New England Revolution, who trail the Quakes by just two points. The game at Gillette Stadium kickoff at 4:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on 1590 AM KLIV.

Injury Report/Suspensions

Out: Troy Dayak (L - ACL tear); Craig Waibel (R - LCL/ACL tear); Brad Davis (L - groin strain); Eddie Robinson (red card suspension) Doubtful: Ronald Cerritos (L - ankle sprain)

Last Match

Earthquakes 1, FC Dallas 1; Saturday, September 24, 2005; Spartan Stadium; San Jose, Calif.

The San Jose Earthquakes clinched the number one seed in the Western Conference Playoffs with a 1-1 tie against FC Dallas at Spartan Stadium Saturday night. The Quakes (16-4-9, 57 pts.) came back from a 1-0 deficit to tie the game on a Brian Ching goal, as San Jose extended their home-unbeaten streak to 17 games, tying an MLS record, and pushing their 2005 unbeaten streak to 11 games. The Quakes have now secured home field advantage throughout the Western Conference Playoffs. Thirteen minutes into the second half, FC Dallas took a 1-0 lead on a Ramon Nunez penalty kick. In the 56th minute Alvarez flicked a ball over the Quakes defense that Thompson ran onto, getting by defender Danny Califf and into a one-on-one situation with Onstad. Thompson touched the ball around a diving Onstad, who made contact with the Dallas forward, bringing him to the ground. Nunez stepped up and buried the high penalty kick. In the 60th minute the game picked up intensity when a scuffle broke out on the left sideline, leading to the ejection of San Jose defender Eddie Robinson and FC Dallas midfielder Carey Talley, forcing both teams to play the rest of the match with ten men. The Quakes evened the match in the 68th minute on a hard-earned goal by Brian Ching. After controlling possession in the FC Dallas half of the field, Alejandro Moreno dished off a pass to Ricardo Clark on the right side at the top of the 18-yard box. Clark blasted a shot on goal that deflected off Dallas defender Chris Gbandi and into the penalty area near the end line. Brian Mullan sprinted to the loose ball and controlled it before sending a low cross across the Dallas goalmouth that a sliding Ching was able to re-direct into the net to tie the game at 1-1.

Last Match vs. New England Revolution

Earthquakes 2, Revolution 2; Saturday, April 2; Spartan Stadium; San Jose, CA

Despite first-half goals by Brian Ching and Ronald Cerritos staking them to a 2-0 lead, the Earthquakes were forced to settle for a 2-2 tie against the New England Revolution at Spartan Stadium. Brad Davis set up the game's first goal in the 13th minute. Davis whipped in an excellent cross to Ching, whose near-post header got past the diving Matt Reis for a 1-0 lead. San Jose pushed the lead to 2-0 on a penalty kick from Cerritos. Revolution forward Pat Noonan brought his team back into the game with a 52nd-minute strike to make it 2-1. New England tied it just three minutes after Eddie Robinson was ejected, as Taylor Twellman gathered in a long ball from second-half substitute James Riley, beat defender Troy Dayak and Pat Onstad with his first touch, and then rolled the ball into the empty net to make it 2-2.

Misc. Notes

Earthquakes Playoff Tickets On Sale Friday

Tickets for the San Jose Earthquakes first home playoff game in the Western Conference Semifinals will go on sale on Friday, September 30 at 10:00 a.m. PT. The Quakes, who were the first team in Major League Soccer to earn a playoff berth, clinched the top seed in the Western Conference Playoffs with a 1-1 tie Saturday with FC Dallas and will play their first home playoff game on Saturday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. PT or Sunday, October 30 at 1:30 p.m. PT. Ticket prices for the playoffs remain the same as regular season prices - $13, $16, $30 and $45. Tickets will be available by visiting the Earthquakes Ticket Office at 100 North Almaden Ave., by logging onto www.sjearthquakes.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. Discounted tickets for groups of 15 or more are available by calling 408-985-GOAL.

Alejandro Moreno To Venezuela For World Cup Qualifying

Earthquakes leading goal-scorer Alejandro Moreno has been called in to the Venezuelan National Team for two upcoming key World Cup Qualifying matches. Moreno will join the Venezuelan team October 4 in preparation for the October 8 game against Paraguay in Caracas. Moreno will then stay with the team for an October 12 game in Brazil. Moreno has appeared three times in his career for Venezuela, playing against Australia in January 2004 and also appearing against Spain and Uruguay. Venezuela currently has a 5-8-3 record and 18 points in CONMEBOL Qualifying and still has an opportunity to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. In his first season in San Jose, Moreno leads the Earthquakes with a career-high eight goals and four assists in 28 games.

De Rosario Named MLS Player Of The Week

Earthquakes midfielder Dwayne De Rosario today was selected as the Honda MLS Player of the Week for Week 26, which ended on Sunday, September 25. De Rosario helped the Quakes clinch the Western Conference top seed heading into the MLS Cup Playoffs by scoring both goals in the midweek 2-0 win over the Chicago Fire and played a large role in the 1-1 tie vs. FC Dallas on Saturday night. This is De Rosario's second career Player of the Week honor, the first coming for Week 26 of the 2003 season. De Rosario continued his fine run of form on Wednesday night by scoring a goal in each half for the win. In the 14th minute, the Canadian international received a flicked on pass from Brian Ching in stride at the top of the box and after goalkeeper Zach Thornton advanced towards him, chipped the ball over the keeper for his fifth goal of the season. De Rosario would add a penalty kick goal in the second half to seal the victory. On Saturday, De Rosario's midfield presence and tireless work-rate helped the Quakes come back from a deficit to not only extend their home undefeated streak to a League-record tying 17 games, but the 1-1 tie also gave San Jose the top seed in the Western Conference.

All-Time Points Record

The Quakes tie against FC Dallas pushed their point total for 2005 to 57 points with a 16-4-9 record, breaking the club record for the most points earned in a single season. Dominic Kinnear's squad has broken the record of 51, set in 2003, when the team finished first in the Western Conference with a 14-7-9 record.

Quakes Unbeaten Run One Away From History

The Earthquakes unbeaten run reached 11 games with their 1-1 tie with FC Dallas on Saturday at Spartan Stadium. The streak, which started on July 20 against Colorado, marks the Quakes second longest unbeaten run in team history. The club record unbeaten streak is 12 games, set from April 28, 2001 - July 4, 2001. The Quakes are 9-0-2 in their last 11 games and 13-1-5 in their past 19 games.

Winning Streak Ends

The Earthquakes had won six games in a row for the first time in team history prior to Saturday's 1-1 tie with FC Dallas. The winning streak was the longest in club history. The Quakes winning streak started on August 20 against Real Salt Lake. The team had won four in a row on three occasions (3/27/1999 - 4/17/1999, 5/05/2001 - 5/23/2001, 07/19/2003 - 08/13/2003).

Road Winning Streak Nearing History

The Quakes have now won four straight road matches following their 2-1 win over Chivas USA on September 17, tying the team record for consecutive wins on the road. The Quakes started the streak with a win over the Colorado Rapids on July 20. The team previously accomplished the feat from Sept. 13, 1998 - April 17, 1999. A win on Saturday against the Revolution on the road would set a new San Jose club record for a road-winning streak. No MLS team has won five straight road games since DC United accomplished the feat in 1999, en route to the MLS record seven straight road victories. Also, the Earthquakes now have seven road wins in 2005, tying the team record for road wins in one season. The record was set in 2003 when the team went 7-3-5 on the road. The Quakes longest road unbeaten streak is seven games, set from June 14, 2003 - Aug. 16, 2003. That unbeaten streak is tied for the longest in league history.

Chung On Top

Earthquakes midfielder Mark Chung is now tied with Columbus midfielder Chris Henderson for the most games played in MLS history with 282. A 10-year veteran who joined the Quakes in the middle of this season, Chung is third all-time in MLS with 270 games started and second in all-time minutes played, with 24,302 minutes played in his career.

Levesque In Championship; Goldthwaite And Dombrowski Return

Earthquakes forward Roger Levesque, who was loaned to the USL First Division Seattle Sounders on April 29, put the Sounders into the championship match for the second year in a row when his 90th minute goal allowed Seattle to upset Montreal 2-1 on Sunday. Levesque has been a vital cog in the Sounders run to the championship game, and will rejoin the Quakes following Seattle's October 1 match-up with the Richmond Kickers. The Quakes other two players who were on loan to USL First Division teams, Kevin Goldthwaite and Tighe Dombrowski, have both returned to the Quakes. Dombrowski joined the Quakes in Los Angeles prior to the September 17 game vs. Chivas USA, and Goldthwaite was back in San Jose for the Quakes September 21 match-up with Chicago.

Tough D

Despite allowing one goal against FC Dallas, the Quakes continue to lead MLS with the fewest goals allowed (28). The Earthquakes also have the best goals against average (0.97). The Earthquakes 11 shutouts in 2005 are a new team record.

Onstad Makes Case for Goalkeeper of Year

Quakes goalkeeper Pat Onstad allowed just one goal in two games last week and earned his league-leading 16th win against the Chicago Fire on September 21. Onstad is now first in MLS in goals against average (0.97) and shutouts with a club-record 11. Onstad now has 26 career shutouts in San Jose, tying him with Joe Cannon for the all-time club record. Onstad is second in MLS with saves percentage; his 77.2 percentage is behind only Jonny Walker (77.5).

De Ro Stretches Lead

Quakes midfielder Dwayne De Rosario continues to lead MLS in assists with 12 and he has two more assists than his next closest competitor. The Canadian international is two assists shy of the team's all-time season record. Eddie Lewis holds the record of 14, which he set in 1999.

Dominating the West

The Quakes have had good success against conference opponents this season as they have posted a 10-1-7 record against Western Conference foes, including wins in five of their last six games against the West. Their only loss came on May 21 against Los Angeles (2-1). The Quakes are 5-3-3 against the Eastern Conference.

Vote For The San Jose Earthquakes All-Time Best XI At sjearthquakes.com

In celebration of the 10th season of the team, San Jose Earthquakes fans have the opportunity to select the club's all-time Best XI team. Fans can log onto www.sjearthquakes.com to vote for the best all-time team in Earthquakes/Clash history. Players who had appeared in 25 MLS games by July 15, 2005 are eligible for selection in a 4-4-2 formation. Fifty-three players are available to choose from, including four goalkeepers, 15 defenders, 23 midfielders and 11 forwards. All the players' career stats are available at sjearthquakes.com simply by clicking the players' name. San Jose has been the home to some of the top players in Major League Soccer and this team will feature some of the most legendary players to have ever donned a San Jose jersey. Joe Cannon currently leads the goalkeeper voting, while Jeff Agoos leads the defenders and Landon Donovan leads the forwards. Richard Mulrooney leads in midfield and in overall voting, garnering 80 percent of the votes.

Tight Games

This season, San Jose has now had 23 of their 29 games either decided by one goal or finish in a tie. Also, 18 of the 29 games that the Quakes have played in 2005 have entered the halftime break with the teams tied.

One-Goal Games

In 2004, San Jose had the worst record in MLS in one-goal games, posting a 2-9 record. The team has turned that around in 2005, as they are now 11-3 in one-goal games.

Record Home Unbeaten Streak

The Quakes currently have a 17-game unbeaten streak at Spartan Stadium, as they have not lost since Sept. 8, 2004 in their home stadium. The streak is now the longest home-unbeaten streak in team history. The club had two 15-game unbeaten streaks at Spartan (8/21/99 - 7/4/00 and 8/25/01 - 9/7/02). San Jose is now tied for the MLS record for most consecutive games at home without a loss, tying the Galaxy's record of 17. The Galaxy's previous record was set from 7/4/04 - 7/16/05. The Quakes have posted a 9-0-8 record at Spartan during the streak. The Quakes are the only MLS team without a loss at home in 2005, posting a 9-0-6 record.

Ching Is Back In A Major Way

Earthquakes forward Brian Ching made his first start on Wednesday, September 21 against Chicago since a May 14 game against FC Dallas at Spartan Stadium. Ching missed a total of 14 games with a right hamstring injury before returning Sept. 3 in Dallas. Ching has proved that he is ready to contribute, recording an assist on September 21 and then scoring the game-tying goal on September 24 against Dallas. Ching has now scored a goal or registered an assist in four straight games.

Century Club For Gray

Earthquakes defender Kelly Gray appeared in his 100th MLS game on September 21 against Chicago. Gray joined the Quakes in a trade with Chicago early in the season.

Pitching In

Through 29 games, the Quakes have scored 46 goals and the goals are coming from the entire team. Thirteen different players have scored a goal for San Jose.

In the Community
Date: Monday, September 26th
Time: 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
Who: Eddie Robinson, Danny Califf, and Craig Waibel Details: The San Jose Earthquakes players are participating in a golf tournament for PAL at the Villages Golf & Country Club in San Jose.

Date: Monday, September 26th
Time: 5:15 pm to 6:15 pm
Who: Mark Chung
Details: Mark Chung will be visiting the youth soccer players of De Anza Youth Soccer League at Creekside Park in Cupertino. Mark will be signing autographs and answering questions

Date: Tuesday, September 27th
Time: 1:20 pm to 2:00 PM
Who: Brian Mullan
Details: Brian Mullan will be kicking off the Get A Kick Out Of Reading program at Casell Elementary by reading to Ms. Williams 1st grade class. Brian Mullan is the San Jose Earthquakes Read Team Spokesman for the program.

Date: Tuesday, September 27th
Time: 1:20 pm to 2:00 PM
Who: Wade Barrett
Details: Wade Barrett will be kicking off the Get A Kick Out Of Reading program at Matsumoto Elementary by reading to Mrs. Shin's 3rd grade class.

Date: Tuesday, September 27th
Time: 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm
Who: Ronald Cerritos
Details: Ronald Cerritos will be at PW Supermarket off Saratoga Avenue and Prospect in Saratoga signing autographs from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm.

Date: Friday, September 30th
Time: 1:20 pm to 2:00 PM
Who: Craig Waibel
Details: Craig Waibel will be kicking off the Get A Kick Out Of Reading program at Cedar Grove Elementary by reading to Mrs. Li's 1st grade class.

Date: Friday, September 30th
Time: 1:20 pm to 2:00 PM
WHO: Aaron Lanes
Details: Aaron Lanes will help kick off the Get A Kick Out of Reading program at Matsumoto Elementary by reading to Mrs. Brooks-Schulke's 3rd Grade Class.

League Leaders

-Dwayne De Rosario leads MLS in assists with 12.
-De Rosario is tied for the league lead in game-winning assists with five.
-Pat Onstad is first in the league in goals against average with a 0.97 GAA. He is first in MLS with 11 shutouts on the season and is second in the league in save percentage (77.2).
-Opponents have fouled forward Alejandro Moreno 95 times this year, placing him first in the league in fouls suffered. Brian Mullan is tied for third in the league with 71 fouls suffered.
-The Earthquakes are tied for first in MLS with 56 assists.
-The Earthquakes are first in MLS in fouls suffered with 550.
-The Earthquakes are first in MLS in game-winning assists with 25. Fouls, Fouls Suffered

After 29 games in 2005, San Jose leads MLS in fouls suffered (550), and is second in fouls committed (479). However, the Quakes have only received 46 cautions in 2005, ranking 10th in MLS.

PK Day

When Dwayne De Rosario buried a penalty kick in the 50th minute on September 21 to put San Jose up 2-0, it was just the second penalty the Quakes have had this season. San Jose is one of two teams (New England and Kansas City are the others) to have only two penalty kicks in 2005. The MetroStars and DC lead MLS with seven penalties in 2005.

Quakes In September

All-time in the month of September, the Earthquakes are 22-20-2 in MLS games. September has been the most prolific month for Ronald Cerritos in his career, scoring 15 goals and registering nine assists in 30 games. Dwayne De Rosario has seven goals and four assists in 14 career September games, while Mark Chung has four goals and 12 assists in 34 games.

Quakes On a Roll Against Revolution

The Quakes are 14-8-4 all-time against the New England Revolution in the regular season, and recently have dominated the series. The Quakes have not lost to New England in their last 11 games, putting together an 8-0-3 record since May 5, 2001. The Revs have not beaten the Quakes since July 22, 2000. San Jose has outscored New England by a 52-37 all-time total. The Quakes have also never lost at Gillette Stadium, home of the Revolution, posting a 4-0-1 record there since 2002.

Earthquakes - Revolution Connections

Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston and Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear were teammates on the Tampa Bay Mutiny from 1998 - 2000 ... Earthquakes forward Roger Levesque is from Portland, ME ... Earthquakes 2005 SuperDraft selection James Twellman is the younger brother of Revolution forward Taylor Twellman ... Revolution forward Felix Brilliant has played with the Earthquakes Dwayne De Rosario and Pat Onstad on the Canadian National Team.

Earthquakes Leaders vs. Revolution

Four Quakes players have enjoyed goal-scoring success against the Revolution. Mark Chung has eight goals and six assists in 28 games against New England. Ronald Cerritos, the Quakes all-time scoring and assist leader, has scored four goals and registered three assists in 12 games against New England in a San Jose uniform. Brian Ching has scored four times and registered one assist in five games vs. the Revs, while Dwayne De Rosario has scored three times and notched two assists in seven games against New England.

Revolution Leaders vs. Earthquakes

For the Revolution, forwards Pat Noonan and Taylor Twellman are the club's active leaders in goals scored against the Quakes, each recording three in their career. In five games against the Earthquakes, midfielder Jose Cancela has scored one goal and registered one assist.

Quakes Set Unbeaten Streak Record At Home

The Earthquakes set an MLS record with their August 7, 2004 win against D.C. United, extending their unbeaten streak at home to 46 games when scoring first. That streak now stands at 55 games after San Jose's 3-0 win over Chivas USA on September 10, 2005. It started on April 3, 1999.

Quakes Above .500

The Earthquakes have now gotten their all-time MLS record above the .500 mark. The Quakes all-time regular season MLS record is 131-125-46.

Halftime Success

Despite relinquishing a halftime lead on June 12, 2005 against Chivas USA in a game that ended 1-1, the Earthquakes remain amongst the best in league history in holding on to a half-time lead. Since the beginning of the 2000 season, the Earthquakes are 47-0-7 in games when leading at the half, including 8-0-1 in 2003, 7-0-1 in 2004 and 5-0-2 in 2005.

Making The First One Count

The Quakes scored first and won 2-0 over Chicago at Spartan Stadium on Sept. 21 to continue their incredible run over the past 70 games when scoring first. Dating back to the 2000 season, the Earthquakes own a 59-3-8 record in their last 70 matches when they score the first goal of the game. In 2005, San Jose remains undefeated at 12-0-4 when scoring first. 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 in 2002, losing 2-1 to Los Angeles on July 4 and falling 2-1 to Kansas City on July 27. The team continued that trend in 2003, possessing an 11-0-1 mark in the regular season when they scored the first goal. In 2004, the Quakes went 8-1-1 when scoring first, the top mark in MLS. The Quakes gave up their lead and lost to Los Angeles on July 4, 2004 for the first time since July 27, 2002 against Kansas City. The Quakes are also impressive in the playoffs when scoring first, posting a 6-0-0 record.

Individual Tickets Now on Sale

Individual tickets for 2005 San Jose Earthquakes games are now on sale. Individual ticket prices for the Earthquakes 2005 regular season are $45 (VIP), $30 (West Sideline), $16 (East Sideline and Corners) and $13 (Endzone). Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Earthquakes Ticket Office at 100 North Almaden Ave., by logging onto www.sjearthquakes.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. Discounted tickets for groups of 15 or more are available by calling 408-985-GOAL.

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Major League Soccer Stories from September 26, 2005


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