MLS San Jose Earthquakes

Earthquakes Weekly

Published on June 11, 2002 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


Last Match

Earthquakes 2, Revolution 0; Saturday, June 1, 2002; CMGI Field; Foxboro, MA The defending Major League Soccer Champion San Jose Earthquakes (7-3-2) increased their lead in the Western Conference with a 3-0 shutout of the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night at Spartan Stadium. Ariel Graziani scored two goals in a game for the third time in the past five matches, and Richard Mulrooney rounded out the scoring with his first strike of the season. Goalkeeper Joe Cannon recorded his fourth shutout of the year to move into a tie for the league-lead in that category. In the 40th minute, Graziani gave the Earthquakes the lead with a breakaway goal after a pass from Wade Barrett. Barrett dispossessed Wizards midfielder Preki in the Wizards half, and quickly chipped a ball over the top of the defense to Graziani. Graziani moved in on Oshoniyi and then fired a left-footed shot into the far post for a 1-0 lead. Early in the second half, Graziani scored his second goal of the night and eighth of the season, putting away the rebound of a De Rosario shot. Graziani started the play by stealing the ball and streaking down the left wing before crossing the ball to De Rosario on the right wing. De Rosario blasted a right-footed shot that Oshoniyi parried but the rebound fell to Graziani at the six-yard box. Graziani tapped the ball in to move the Quakes out to a 2-0 advantage. Mulrooney gave the Quakes a three-goal cushion with a 28-yard shot that sailed over Oshoniyi's head and into the upper left corner of the net. Manny Lagos started the play with a short pass to Ramiro Corrales. Corrales faked a shot and then cut the ball back to Mulrooney behind him. Mulrooney took a touch and ripped his shot off the crossbar and into the net for his first goal of the season.

Last Match vs. Crew

Crew 2, Earthquakes 0; Saturday, May 18, 2002; Crew Stadium; Columbus, OH The defending Major League Soccer Champion San Jose Earthquakes (5-3-1) had their four-game unbeaten streak snapped with a 2-0 loss to the Columbus Crew on a cold, windy Saturday night at Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH. Both teams had chances in the first half, but neither could get on the scoreboard in the opening frame. The Crew scored two second-half goals, while San Jose, who had five players out of the line-up due to injuries or national team duty, could not find the back of the net. After a scoreless first half, the Crew took the lead in the 49th minute on a goal by Edson Buddle. Buddle started the play with a ball for Jeff Cunningham, who moved in on the Quakes' goal before slowing up just outside the six-yard box. Cunningham slipped a pass to Buddle, who then slotted the ball home for a 1-0 lead. Quakes defender Eddie Robinson appeared to the tie the score in the 56th minute, but his header was disallowed by the referee, who blew the whistle and signaled offside. Graziani created the play by taking a quick corner kick to Mulrooney, who played a pass back to Graziani. Graziani curled in a left-footed cross to Robinson. Robinson headed the ball into the corner of the net, but the referee's assistant raised his flag to signal that a Quakes player was in an offside position. The referee then disallowed the goal. The Crew moved out to a two-goal advantage on a goal by Cunningham in the 76th minute. Eric Denton played a through ball to Cunningham, who got behind the Quakes defense and found himself one-on-one with Cannon. Cunningham cut to his left to beat Cannon, before finishing with a left-footed shot into the empty net.

Misc. Notes

Donovan, Agoos in Korea

Quakes 20-year old striker Landon Donovan and captain Jeff Agoos both started and played the full 90 minutes in the United States 1-1 tie with Korea early Monday morning. The U.S. took the lead in the 24th minute on a Clint Mathis on a goal, but Korea equalized in the 78th minute. The U.S. finishes group play for the U.S. on Friday, June 14 against Poland in Daejeon, Korea at 4:25 a.m. PT on ESPN, and the team will need at least a tie to ensure qualification for the second round. For more information on Agoos and Donovan in the World Cup, check out Jeff's Journal at sjearthquakes.com.

Game-Winners

Quakes forward Ariel Graziani now has four game winning goals in 2002, after scoring the game-winner in the 40th minute on Saturday against the Wizards. Graziani is now one short of San Jose's club record for game-winning goals in a season, a record set by Ronald Cerritos, who had five in 1998.

In Top Three

With two more goals against the Wizards on Saturday night, Ariel Graziani has now scored six goals in the past five games, scoring twice on May 11 vs. the MetroStars and twice against New England on June 1. With his recent scoring spree, Graziani is now tied for third in the league in scoring with eight goals and two assists for 18 points.

Top D

The Earthquakes have allowed a league-low 11 goals this season, and have four shutouts.

Cannon Moves Up

With his fourth shutout of the season on Saturday against the Wizards, Quakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon now has four shutouts for season, leaving him tied for the top spot in that category. Cannon also owns the league's best goals against average (0.90), and is first in wins (7), third in saves (48), first in catch/punches (55), and second in save percentage (.774).

Tough to Crack

After Saturday's shutout win vs. the Wizards, the San Jose Earthquakes have now gone 41 straight regular season games and 47 games including playoffs without allowing one player to have a two-goal game against them. The last player to score two goals in a game against the Earthquakes was Simon Elliott, who netted two goals for the Los Angeles Galaxy on August 26, 2000.

Quick Notes

-Ariel Graziani's second goal on Saturday night against the Wizards was the 300th goal scored by the Earthquakes in club history.

Getting on the Board

Quakes midfielder Richard Mulrooney scored his first goal of the season on Saturday against the Wizards, becoming the eighth Earthquakes player to score this season.

Leading Scorer

Striker Ariel Graziani registered 3 goals and 3 assists for nine points in seven games while playing for the Dallas Burn against the Crew. During the 2001 season, in three games while facing the Crew, Graziani notched 2 goals and 2 assists. He is the current Quakes leading scorer against the Crew.

There's No Place Like Home

The Quakes have a seven-game winning streak in regular season home games dating back to an August 25, 2001 victory over the Colorado Rapids. Including the two wins in the playoffs at home against the Columbus Crew and the Miami Fusion, and the Quakes 1-0 win over Pachuca CF in the Football Confederation Champions Cup, San Jose is 10-0 in its last ten matches at Spartan Stadium. During that ten-game stretch, the team has outscored the opposition by a 28-6 margin. In 2002 MLS matches, the Quakes are 5-0 at home, outscoring opponents 12-4.

Scoring First

After scoring first in six of their victories this season, the Quakes are now 26-0-2 in their last 28 games when scoring first, dating back to July 8, 2000, including the 2001 playoffs.

Quakes in the Community

-Goalkeeper Joe Cannon will be at the San Jose campus of Yahoo! to sign autographs and do a meet-and-greet with Yahoo! employees during their Happy Hour on Tuesday, June 11.

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Major League Soccer Stories from June 11, 2002


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