MLS Seattle Sounders FC

Sounders to Play San Jose Earthquakes September 2 at Buck Shaw Stadium

Published on August 15, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Seattle Sounders FC News Release


(Seattle, WA) - The Seattle Sounders will travel to San Jose for an exhibition matchup with the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer, Tuesday, September 2 at Buck Shaw Stadium, the Sounders announced today.

Kickoff in San Jose is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.

The match, taking place on September 2, is scheduled in the middle of a 13 day break from USL-1 league play and should give the Sounders a tough match as they tune up for the season's final stretch.

"We look forward to our friendly against the Earthquakes," said Sounders general manager Bart Wiley. "The match falls in a great spot on our schedule and will give us yet another chance to test ourselves against an MLS side."

The Earthquakes are playing in their first season back in MLS after suspending play for two years at the end of the 2005 season. The Quakes are currently in last place in the western conference but have had some success in the last month going undefeated since July 5 and beating the LA Galaxy in their last match on August 3.

The Sounders and Earthquakes have squared off six times with Seattle holding a 3-2-1 lead in the series. Two of the Sounders victories came via penalty kick shootouts after ties in regulation. All six previous games took place in Washington State. The last time the two sides squared off was on August 5, 2003 in the U.S. Open Cup when the Sounders defeated the Quakes 1-0. The previous year, on July 17, the Earthquakes defeated the Sounders 4-3 in overtime in the Open Cup with goals scored by Ronnie Ekelund (2), Dwayne De Rosario, and Ariel Graziani.

Four current Sounders players have ties to the Earthquakes. Roger Levesque spent three seasons with San Jose from 2003-05, while Leighton O'Brien played four matches in his career for San Jose. Kevin Sakuda was a 2002 Earthquakes draft pick, and Noah Merl was a 2005 Supplemental Draft pick. Merl also played in reserve games for the Quakes in 2005.

The Sounders next home game is Friday, August 15 against the Puerto Rico Islanders. Kickoff at the Starfire Sports Complex is set for 7:00 pm.

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Major League Soccer Stories from August 15, 2008


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