MLS San Jose Earthquakes

Earthquakes Weekly Update

Published on July 23, 2012 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


The San Jose Earthquakes (13-5-4, 43 pts.) will host the Chicago Fire on Saturday, July 28 at Buck Shaw Stadium on Steven Lenhart Wig Night, presented by Cosmopolitan Catering. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. PT on Comcast SportsNet California, 1590 KLIV and 1370 KZSF.

Injury Report

Out:, Joey Gjertsen (R - knee surgery), Tim Ward (L - non-specific soft tissue injury); Questionable: Sam Garza (Fractured ribs), Steven Lenhart (concussion symptoms).

Earthquakes vs. Chicago Fire All-Time

MLS Regular Season: 8 -12-11

Home: 6-5-5 (20 GF, 22 GA)

Away: 2-7-6 (15 GF, 27 GA)

Playoffs: 1-0-0; US Open Cup: 0-1-0

US Open Cup Play-In: 0-1-0

All-Time Scoring: San Jose - 42, Chicago - 51

Chicago Fire Info

Chicago Fire Scouting Report

Chicago (9-7-4, 31 pts.) enters Saturday's match looking to bounce back from a pair of 1-0 losses last week at the New York Red Bulls and at home in a friendly against English Premier League side Aston Villa. Despite a strong performance by young goalkeeper Sean Johnson, New York found a winner through a spectacular volley from MLS All-Star Thierry Henry on July 18. Aston Villa blanked the Fire again three days later on July 21, although Chicago played a mixture of starters and reserves throughout the match. Ghanian forward Dominic Oduro and Guatemalan winger Marco Pappa lead the Fire with five goals. Sebastian Grazzini commands the Fire midfield and has contributed five assists on the year. Johnson, 23, is in the net for Chicago (54 saves, 1.14 GAA).

History of the Quakes-Chicago Fire Rivalry

The Earthquakes and the Chicago Fire have had a memorable rivalry since the Fire came into MLS in 1998 ... The most memorable game of the rivalry came in 2003, when Chicago and San Jose met for the MLS Cup at The Home Depot Center on Nov. 23 with the Quakes defeating the Fire 4-2 in Frank Yallop's final game as the head coach before he moved on to coach the Canadian National Team ... Landon Donovan scored two goals, while Ronnie Ekelund and Richard Mulrooney each netted a goal to lead the Quakes to the victory at MLS Cup ... That game was the only playoff meeting between two of the league's most successful clubs ... The two teams have played each other twice in U.S. Open Cup Play, during Chicago's inaugural season in 1998 and in a play-in game on May 24, 2011 ... The first Open Cup match was a quarterfinal that went to penalty kicks after goals from Lubos Kubik for Chicago and Jeff Baicher for San Jose led to a 1-1 tie through regulation and overtime ... The Fire prevailed in the PK shootout, 4-3, on their way to winning the title ... In May of 2011, a 2-2 tie with goals from Ellis McLoughlin and Justin Morrow for San Jose and Orr Barouch and Yamith Cuesta for Chicago led to another round of PKs. Chicago prevailed 5-4 in the PK shootout ... Chicago failed to win an MLS game against San Jose in 2011 for the first time in franchise history ... Fire defender Cory Gibbs robbed San Jose of a road win on May 28, 2011 with a late equalizer, after Ramiro Corrales and Chris Wondolowski scored for the Quakes ... Corrales and Wondolowski each scored again in the return fixture at Buck Shaw Stadium on September 10 to give San Jose a 2-0 win, their first home win against the Fire since a 2-0 win on September 21, 2005 at Spartan Stadium.

Earthquakes Leaders vs. Chicago Fire

Forward Chris Wondolowski has three goals in seven career appearances ... Midfielder Ramiro Corrales scored two goals in two appearances in 2011 ... Goalkeeper Jon Busch is 6-4-5 and four shutouts in 15 career appearances.

Chicago Fire Leaders vs. Earthquakes

Forward Patrick Nyarko has two goals and two assists in five appearances ... Midfielder Marco Pappa has two goals and one assist in five career appearances ... Midfielder Logan Pause has two assists in eleven career games ... Goalkeeper Sean Johnson is 1-1-1 with one shutout in three career appearances.

Earthquakes-Chicago Fire Connections

Quakes goalkeeper Jon Busch played with the Fire from 2007-09, where he won MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2008 ... Quakes defender Tim Ward played for the Chicago Fire from 2009-2010 before being traded to San Jose midway through the season... Jason Hernandez made his MLS debut on Oct. 5, 2005, playing for New York against the Fire at Soldier Field in Chicago ... Quakes defender Ike Opara and midfielder Sam Cronin played with Fire midfielder Corben Bone at Wake Forest, where they won a national championship together ... Opara and Chicago goalie Sean Johnson both played for the United States Under-23 team during CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying in March ... San Jose defender Victor Bernardez and Honduras played to a scoreless draw against Chicago midfielder Marco Pappa and Guatemala in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup ... San Jose midfielder Brad Ring grew up in the Chicago area and played his youth and high school soccer there ... Quakes defender Jed Zayner played for Chicago's PDL team, the Chicago Fire Premier, from 2003-2005 ... Chicago defender Jalil Anibaba attended Santa Clara University from 2007-2009

Miscellaneous Notes

Steven Lenhart Wig Night

The San Jose Earthquakes will hold their first Steven Lenhart Wig Night when the Chicago Fire come to Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday, July 28. 2,500 lucky fans will get blonde wigs to honor the Quakes' high-flying forward. Steven Lenhart Wig Night is presented by Cosmopolitan Catering.

Wondolowski, Beitashour, Corrales, and Morrow Selected to AT&T MLS All-Star Game Day Roster

San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski and defenders Steven Beitashour, Ramiro Corrales, and Justin Morrow will face European Champion Chelsea in the 2012 AT&T MLS All-Star Game on July 25 at PPL Park (5:30 p.m. PT/ESPN2, TeleFutura) after the four were named to the game day roster by coach Ben Olsen. Morrow was a late addition to the squad as Olsen added the third-year left-back on July 19 following an injury to New York Red Bulls defender Heath Pearce. San Jose now leads the MLS with four players on the All-Star team. The last time the Earthquakes had three or more players selected to the MLS All-Star game was in 2004 when Jeff Agoos, Brian Ching, Landon Donovan, Richard Mulrooney and Pat Onstad made the list.

Gordon Stays Hot

Quakes forward Alan Gordon continued his torrid form of late with the Quakes lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Sunday at BC Place. Gordon scored for the third straight game on Sunday, his second three-game goal scoring streak of the season. He netted a goal against Real Salt Lake on July 14, before scoring the game-winner vs. FC Dallas on July 18. Earlier this season he scored in three straight against Chivas USA on May 13, Columbus Crew on May 19 and LA Galaxy on May 23. He now has a career high nine goals in 2012. Gordon is now tied for sixth in MLS in goals scored.

Chavez Piling up Assists

Quakes midfielder Marvin Chavez set up Alan Gordon for the Quakes only goal on Sunday against Vancouver Whitecaps FC. He now has nine assists in 2012 to place him in a tie for second place in assists in MLS. He is one behind league leader, Dwayne De Rosario of D.C. United.

Iron Men

Quakes all-star defenders Steve Beitashour and Justin Morrow have now appeared in all 22 games for San Jose this season, following their 90-minute performances against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Sunday. They are both tied for the league lead in games played, while Morrow leads MLS with 1,980 minutes played. Beitashour ranks third in minutes played at 1,965.

Quakes First in the Western Conference, Supporters' Shield Standings

The Earthquakes (13-5-4, 43 pts.) retained their spot atop the Western Conference and Supporters' Shield standings despite dropping a 2-1 match to Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Sunday. San Jose is four points clear of Real Salt Lake (12-7-3, 39 pts.) for the Western Conference lead. RSL also currently holds second-place in the Supporters' Shield, with the New York Red Bulls (11-5-5, 38 pts) sitting a point back of RSL and five back of the Quakes. San Jose has a game in hand over New York.

Earthquakes Remain Undefeated at Buck Shaw Stadium

The Earthquakes are 6-0-2 at Buck Shaw Stadium this season after defeating FC Dallas 2-1 on July 18 and the team is 7-1-2 when playing in the Bay Area. San Jose has also played home MLS matches at AT&T Park (1-0 loss vs. Houston on March 17) and Stanford Stadium (4-3 win vs. LA Galaxy on June 30).

Wondolowski Approaching MLS Single Season Record for Game-Winning Goals

Chris Wondolowski is one game-winning goal away from tying an MLS record that he shares with former LA Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz. Wondolowski (2010) and Ruiz (2002) have each recorded nine game-winning goals in a single season. San Jose's striker has scored the game winner in eight of San Jose's 13 victories to date. The Earthquakes have 12 games remaining for Wondolowski to try and match the record.

Wondolowski Closing in on Club Scoring Mark

Chris Wondolowski is seven goals away from matching Ronald Cerritos' club record for career goals scored. Cerritos scored 61 goals in 148 games over six seasons in San Jose. Meanwhile, Wondolowski has 54 goals in 94 games over five seasons for the Earthquakes. Additionally, with 17 goals this year, Wondolowski is one goal away from tying his own record for goals in a single season. He scored 18 goals in 2010.

Top of the League

Through 22 games, the Earthquakes are No. 1 in MLS with 44 goals scored and 47 assists. With 27 goals conceded, the Quakes are also No. 1 in the league with a +17 goal differential. The Quakes also lead MLS with six road victories and 28 second half goals.

Single Season Goals Record

The San Jose Earthquakes have now scored 44 goals in 2012 to lead MLS. The team has scored more goals this year than any season since returning to MLS in 2008. The all-time team record for goals scored in a season is 55, set in 1997.

Wine & Dine with the Earthquakes Set for Sept. 9 at Guglielmo Winery

The club will host its Wine and Dine with the Earthquakes wine tasting and fundraising event on Sunday, Sept. 9 at the Guglielmo Winery in Morgan Hill. The event includes wine tasting, VIP catering and the opportunity to mingle with Earthquakes players, coaches and front office members. Tickets to the event are available to all Earthquakes fans starting at www.sjearthquakes.com /wine . Tickets for this exclusive event are $100 per person or a table of eight for $800. You can also purchase one of five VIP tables for eight guests for $1,200 and have Chris Wondolowski, Steven Lenhart, Jon Busch, Alan Gordon or Frank Yallop as the guest at your table. Guests must be 21 years of age or older in order to attend. No one under the age of 21 will be admitted. All proceeds will benefit the Earthquakes Community Fund.

Earthquakes Set to Host Swansea City on July 31

The San Jose Earthquakes have announced their 2012 international friendly, with Welsh side Swansea City of the English Premier League coming to Buck Shaw Stadium on Tuesday, July 31, for a 7:30 p.m. kick-off. Individual tickets for the match are on sale now, and can be purchased by visiting sjearthquakes.com or by calling Tickets.com at (800) 225-2277. Season ticket holders should use their Bonus Game "A" ticket for the contest. Swansea City, founded in 1912, is the first Welsh club to reach the Premiership since the league was formed. The Swans, who have lifted the Welsh Cup 10 times, went 12-15-11 this season, beating Liverpool on the last day of an impressive debut Premier League campaign to place 11th in the table.

Wells Fargo Goals for Education

Wells Fargo has again pledged to donate $250 for each goal the Earthquakes score in 2012 through the Goals for Education program. With 44 goals through 21 games, the donated total for this season already stands at $11,000. Thanks to 40 goals in 2011, the partnership raised $10,000 for local youth soccer and athletic development programs a year ago.

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Major League Soccer Stories from July 23, 2012


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