MLS San Jose Earthquakes

Earthquakes Weekly

Published on May 19, 2003 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


Last Match

Earthquakes 4, Crew 3; Saturday, May 17, 2003; Spartan Stadium, San Jose, Calif.

The Earthquakes remained unbeaten in 2003 (4-0-2) following a fast-paced and intense 4-3 win over the Columbus Crew at Spartan Stadium. Landon Donovan's goal in the 87th minute proved to be the game winner as the Quakes won the battle of league leaders. The high-scoring affair got off to a quick start when the Earthquakes relentless pressure on the Columbus net finally paid off in the 30th minute when Brian Mullan gave San Jose a 1-0 lead. The Quakes nearly added to their lead several times, with Mullan missing a fine opportunity in the 36th minute. Two minutes later, the Crew tied the game at 1-1 on a penalty kick from Brian McBride, breaking San Jose goalkeeper Pat Onstad's 344-minute scoreless streak. San Jose stormed back to take the lead to open the second half on a beautiful combination between Donovan and Brian Ching in the 49th minute. Donovan gathered in an Agoos header in the middle of the field. He then sent a perfect pass through the middle of the Columbus defense, where Ching was able to run onto the ball in the Crew penalty box and power a shot past a diving Busch for his third goal of the year. The Crew tied the game at 2-2 once again in the 62nd minute on a header by Cunningham. The Quakes responded with a sensational goal five minutes later by Agoos. Following a Dunseth foul on Ching, Agoos smashed a curving free kick from about 25 yards out that slipped into the left corner past Busch to give San Jose a 3-2 lead. Donovan gave the Quakes a cushion when he capped a brilliant attack with a wicked blast past Busch in the 87th minute to give San Jose a 4-2 lead. The Quakes would need the cushion after Columbus made it 4-3 in the 90th minute on a Ross Paule goal. Columbus defender Frankie Hejduk finished a Crew attack with a cross that Paule headed into the net.

Misc. Notes

End of The Shutout Line For Onstad

Earthquakes goalkeeper Pat Onstad had his three-game shutout streak broken May 17 against the Columbus Crew. When Brian McBride scored on a penalty kick in the 38th minute, Onstad also saw his 344-minute scoreless streak snapped. Onstad had shut out the Los Angeles Galaxy on April 26 at Spartan Stadium and followed that performance with two straight road shutouts, May 3 against the Revolution and May 10 against the Fire. Onstad's 344-minute scoreless streak is the third longest in team history behind David Kramer's 399 minutes and Joe Cannon's all-time shutout streak of 410 minutes.

In May

With a 4-3 win over the Columbus Crew on May 17, the Earthquakes moved their record in the month of May in their history to 16-15-6. May of 2001 was the best month in San Jose history when the team went 4-0-2.

Historic Start

The Earthquakes win continues the best start in club history after six games with a 4-0-2 record and 14 points. In 1999, the team started 4-2, but earned all four victories by virtue of the shootout and compiled only four points in those six games. The Quakes 14 points in their first six games is the fastest the team has reached that point total ever. In 1999 and 2000, San Jose didn't earn 14 points until the 15th game of the year, while in 1997 San Jose didn't earn 14 points until the 16th game of the season. In 2001 and 2002, the Quakes reached 14 points in their 8th game.

Earthquakes In The Community

Earthquakes midfielder Richard Mulrooney will be at the San Jose Sports Authority's REACH Youth Scholarship Award Breakfast on Wednesday, May 21 at 7:30 a.m. at the San Jose Marriott to honor the 2003 REACH Scholarship winners. The prestigious REACH Youth Scholarships (Recognizing Excellence, Adversity, Courage and Hard work) are awarded to high school seniors in Santa Clara County who have overcome adversity in their lives to excel in both academics and athletics. The scholarship was established in 1996 by the San Jose Sports Authority to recognize the role that sports play in helping young people develop self-confidence and the strength to persevere in the face of adversity.

Road Start

After struggling last season with a 2-10-2 record on the road, the Quakes have opened the 2003 campaign with their best road start in club history with two wins and a tie in their first three games. The previous best start on the road came in 1999 when the team started 2-1 on the road.

The Yallop Watch

Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop reached 31 wins for his career in San Jose with the team's win victory over Columbus on Saturday, May 17. Yallop is now just four wins away from the club record of 35 held by Brian Quinn, who coached parts of three seasons from 1997-99.

Goals Under Yallop

The Earthquakes recorded the 100th MLS regular season goal of the Frank Yallop era when Brian Ching slotted a shot past Jon Busch on May 17 in the 49th minute. The Quakes have now scored 102 MLS regular season goals since Yallop took over as head coach prior to the 2001 season.

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 4-0 when they score the first goal this season. In their past 36 games when scoring the first goal, the Earthquakes have posted a 33-2-2 record, dating back to 2000.

Crew Strike Late Again

The Crew's late goal Saturday was the 12th time Columbus has scored a regular season goal in the final 15 minutes of a game against San Jose since 1996. Ross Paule scored in the 90th minute for Columbus on May 17.

Crew Killers

Crew forward Jeff Cunningham and Brian McBride continued their success against San Jose on Saturday. Cunningham's 61st minute goal was his ninth against the Earthquakes. He also has six assists in 14 matches vs. San Jose for 24 points. Cunningham has been dangerous in the past seven regular season games against the Quakes, scoring six goals and recording four assists, while getting at least a point in every match. In last season's playoffs, he assisted on three of the Crew's four goals against San Jose. Of current MLS players, Cunningham is the second leading all-time scorer against the Quakes. Preki leads the way with 31 career points against San Jose. McBride scored a penalty kick in the 38th minute and now has six goals and two assists in 13 games against San Jose.

Four Against The Crew

The Earthquakes four goals against the Columbus Crew on May 17 were the most goals San Jose had scored since a 4-3 overtime win over the Crew on September 7, 2002. Prior to that match San Jose scored four goals June 22, 2002 in a 4-0 rout of the Colorado Rapids.

Six In A Row

Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop started the same lineup for the sixth straight game May 17. 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.

On The Bench

Three members of the Earthquakes injured list continued to make marked improvement in their recoveries. Goalkeeper Jon Conway, recovering from a broken right ankle was on the Quakes substitute bench for the first time in 2003 last Saturday against Columbus. Eddie Robinson made his second appearance of the season as an eligible substitute, and midfielder Ian Russell was also available for head coach Frank Yallop to use if needed.

League Leaders

With a goal and an assist on May 17 against the Crew, the Quakes Landon Donovan remained tied for fourth place among the Budweiser MLS Scoring Leaders with seven points. Forward Brian Ching and midfielder Brian Mullan are tied for fifth place with six points each. Ching is third in the league with three goals in 2003, while Donovan and Manny Lagos are tied for the MLS lead in assists with three. Lagos leads MLS with two game-winning assists. Earthquakes goalkeeper Pat Onstad is tied for the league lead in wins (4) and shutouts (3), but is now second in goals against average with a 0.80 GAA. The Earthquakes lead MLS with 37 corner kicks in 2003.

Moving On Up

Earthquakes forward Landon Donovan is currently alone in fourth place on the Earthquakes all-time goal-scoring list with 16. Manny Lagos is tied for eighth place on the all-time goal-scoring list with 11. Donovan is fifth on the Quakes all-time points list with 48 while Richard Mulrooney is currently in eighth 35 points. Lagos is now tied for seventh place with John Doyle with 37 points. Mulrooney is in a tie with Eric Wynalda for third place on the Quakes all-time assists list with 29. Donovan is now alone in sixth place with 16 career assists and forward Dwayne De Rosario is in tenth place with 12. Mulrooney is also alone in fourth place on the Quakes all-time appearances list with 114 and tied for third with 106 games started. Troy Dayak is now tied for sixth place with 103 all-time appearances. Donovan is tied for second place with six game-winning goals.

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 19, 2003


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