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Photo by Eric Taylor
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FIT TO BE TIED After Saturday’s match between the San Jose Earthquakes and North London’s Tottenham Hotspurs ended 0-0, Tom Huddlestone, Spurs’ midfield dynamo, explained that it is difficult to change the way he plays, whether the game is a friendly or serious competition.
It is to the San Jose Earthquakes’ credit, therefore, that they fought the Spurs to a draw. The Spurs team consisted mostly of its first team regulars, apart from those who had been on World Cup duty. This gave soccer fans a chance to see stars such as the mercurial Luca Modric and goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, who was in fine form, proving that he has recovered from a serious motorbike accident last November. Spurs did put the ball in the net, but Robbie Keane’s first half effort was ruled out as offside. There was one moment of panic for Spurs when Gareth Bale needed treatment on the field, but he continued playing afterwards and seemed fine. The match drew a record crowd of over 10,000 to the Earthquakes’ stadium in Santa Clara. The Earthquakes’ fans were lively throughout, despite the absence of the world cup noise maker, the vuvuzela.QUAKES V SPURS PHOTO'S CLICK HERE The San Jose Earthquakes came close to knocking off the first place LA Galaxy down in Los Angeles, but a late goal by Landon Donovan earn LA a 2-2 tie. Bobby Convey got the Quakes off to a fast start when he scored in the second minute of the contest. San Jose held out until LA's scoring machine, Edson Buddle got the Galaxy back on level terms with a goal that hit off the cross bar in the 59th minute. Brandon McDonald scored his first goal of the season in the 72md minute to give the Quakes a 2-1 lead that stood until Donovan Knocked the ball in after a scramble in front of the Quakes goal in stoppage time. San Jose missed out on a chance to gain ground towards a playoff spot. The Quakes are in in fifth place. tied with Colorado with 23pts in the Western Conference of the MLS.
The wins just keep coming San Jose added yet another feather to their caps by betting what was the hottest team in the MLS, the Eastern Conference's first place team, the New York Red Bulls 4-0 in front of some 10,000 fans at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara.
This was a ruff one from the out set. A yellow card was handed out in the 4th minute when New York's Tony Tchani went in a little too hard for a tackle. New York's (and Danville's own) Luke Sassano upped the ante' and draw a red card in the 13th minute for a hard sliding tackle. Down a man, New York held on to a 0-0 tie for almost the rest of the half.
San Jose goalie Joe Cannon hardly had to work at all, notching his third shutout of the young season as the Earthquakes defense made sure New York did not get many chances to score. New York only had two shots on target all night. The Red Bull almost came away with a goal in the 39th minute when a counter off a San Jose free kick just outside New York's area almost led to a goal for NYC. That was the wake up call the Earthquakes needed. The Red Bulls had been taking the game to San Jose after going down a man, but after that the Earthquakes had the better of the play the rest of the way. Just when everybody thought San Jose would head into the half in a scoreless tie Bobby Convey found the ball at his foot along the right side. A perfectly placed pass found the foot of Ryan Johnson who beat the Red Bulls keeper, putting San Jose up one zip. The second half was all San Jose. Convey would get two more assists in the game, one to the Wonder Boy, Chris Wondolowski. The goal was Wondo's fourth in as many games. San Jose is now 4-2 and in third place in the Western Conference behind the former Quakes, Houston (4-3-1,13pts) and LA who nobody wants to see right now who is 7-0-1 after the Galaxy dusted off Seattle 4-0. Landon Donovan had a goal and three assists as LA dominated Seattle from start to finish. The Galaxy now have a league leading 16 goals while giving up a league low 2. That is a hard combination to beat. Landon Donovan leads the league with none assists and his teammate Edson Buddle tops the MLS with nine goals. The Quakes Wondolowski is third in the MLS behind Buddle and Dwayne De Rosario's 6 goals with 4 of his own.
San Jose beats Colorado and get their heads above water The San Jose Earthquakes rode the hot foot of forward Chris Wondolowski and the Earthquakes defense did the rest as the improving Earthquakes beat Colorado 1-0 at home Saturday night. The win pushed the Earthquakes record to 3-2. Wondolowski has now scored three goals in the last three games. Taking a feed from fellow striker Ryan Johnson, Wondolowski found the back of the net in the 33rd minute. San Jose shutout one of the highest scoring teams in the MLS and that is a good sign for an Earthquakes squad that gave up the most goals in the MLS last season. Colorado's best chance to score came when Wells Thompson blasted a shot from 22-yards out that needed a diving save from Quakes goalie Joe Cannon to keep Colorado off the board. Next up for San Jose is a date with New York and the undefeated Red Bulls May 8th at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara. Game time is 7pm. San Jose gets on the ball with first wins of 2010 The 2010 season could not have started any worse for the San Jose Earthquakes. Soundly beaten by defending MLS champion Real Salt lake in front of a sold out Buck Shaw Stadium, the Earthquakes have gone 2-0-1 since, beating New England 2-0 at home for their first win of the new season Saturday night. The Quakes got a goal from Chris Wondolowski in the 57th minute and a goal off the head of rookie Ike Opara in the 75th minute from a corner kick. Opara is starting to show why he has cracked the line up at such a young age. The forward from basketball country in Durham, North Carolina, has scored in two straight games. San Jose is now 2-1-1 and over .500 for the first time since restarting the team two years ago from scratch.
Earthquakes Host Club Partner Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, July 17 at Buck Shaw Stadium SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes announced today they will Season ticket holders should use their Bonus Game "B" ticket for the "This match will be a great experience for our players, the fans and the Tottenham Hotspur, also known as Spurs, signed a club partnership The partnership to date has seen Earthquakes technical staff visiting Spurs Lodge on numerous occasions, with the team using the Tottenham Hotspur training facility as a base for this season's pre-season preparations. The Quakes also played and won two closed-door matches with West Ham United and Spurs' reserve sides. Harry Redknapp, Tottenham Hotspur manager said, "The summer camp will be a very important part of our preparations for the new campaign and we're looking forward to heading out to the United States." The scheduled fixture will be the first time that the Earthquakes will As part of Tottenham Hotspur's training visit to the U.S. they will also The 2010 New York Football Challenge will be a four-team Tottenham Hotspur was founded in 1882 and is known as the Club of firsts- becoming the first club to achieve the League and FA Cup Double, Victory in the 2008 League Cup Final meant that Spurs The team is currently placed in the top four of the EPL table after
San Jose gets off on the wrong foot in 2010 It was not a pretty start for the San Jose Earthquakes who lost 3-0 to defending MLS champion Salt Lake City at home Saturday night in front of a packed house that must have went away thinking, Huh?. This was a San Jose team that tore through the pre season and was coming off a season when they gave up a league high 50 goals on their way to a last place finish in the Western Conference. The Earthquakes got down 1-0 nothing in the 18th minute and they never recovered. Javier Morales found the back of the net from 35-yards out and Salt Lake was off to a quick lead. Fabian Espindola added another when he nifty chipped in a goal over the head of Quakes goalie Joe Cannon and it was 2-0 Real Salt Lake after just 28-minutes. To matters worse San Jose went a man down when Chris Leitch was red carded in the 53rd minute. Morales took advantage a minute later when he scored on a free kick from just outside the area. The earthquakes do not want a start like they had last year when a 1-8-2 start doomed them to last place. Major League Soccer and MLS Players Union Reach Agreement in Principle on New CBA NEW YORK (Saturday, March 20, 2010) Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Major League Soccer Players Union (MLSPU) today announced that they have reached agreement in principle on the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement covering five seasons, commencing with the 2010 season and continuing through December 31, 2014.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber and MLSPU Executive Director Bob Foose announced the agreement today via teleconference call, five days prior to the start of the League's 15th season. "We are very pleased to have reached agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the MLS Players Union," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "This new agreement allows us to work with our players to continue our mutual efforts to build the sport of soccer in North America. We worked hard during the past few months to develop a new agreement that addressed many of the players' most important issues and look forward to a meaningful and productive new relationship over the next five years." "I would like to thank the players and the leadership of the Union for their involvement and commitment to the collective bargaining process as well as our fans for their patience as we worked together to reach an agreement," Garber said. "I also want to thank George Cohen for his expertise in assisting the parties though mediation." "The Union is happy with this agreement as it addresses the core issue of players' rights and we look forward to working cooperatively with the League going forward," said Bob Foose, Executive Director of the Union. LA Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan said: "We have a deep appreciation for the commitment shown by the owners both historically and through this process to make MLS one of the top leagues in the world." The concluding phase of the negotiations was conducted under the auspices of George Cohen, Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The agreement is subject to the approval of the MLS Board of Governors and the membership of the MLSPU. Major League Soccer's 15th season kicks off March 25 when the expansion Philadelphia Union travel to Seattle to take on Sounders FC in a nationally televised match on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com. The other 14 MLS clubs are in action on March 26 and 27.
Earthquakes Earn 3-0 Victory over Real San Jose in First Preseason Game SAN JOSE, Calif. The San Jose Earthquakes defeated Real San Jose 3-0 on Saturday morning at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Quakes had goals from Chris Wondolowski, Ismael Ibarra and Joey Gjertsen. The lineup was littered with fresh faces as rookies Justin Morrow, Steve Beitashour, Andrew Hoxie and last year's second round draft choice Brad Ring earned the start. The Earthquakes pressured Real San Jose early and often, finally breaking through in the 20th minute of play to take a 1-0 lead. Chris Wondolowski put away a rebound off of a Joey Gjertsen corner to put the Quakes in front. It was 2-0 early in the second half after Ismael Ibarra scored off of a through ball from Amarikwa in the 55th minute. Ibarra collected the pass and slid his shot underneath the Real San Jose goalkeeper. Just three minutes later, Ibarra was at it again, this time setting up the third Quakes goal as Gjertsen finished from the penalty area in traffic. The Earthquakes maintained their pressure the remainder of the match and made their 3-0 victory stand up, as Andrew Weber and Mike Graczyk shared the shutout. The Quakes head to Phoenix on Sunday morning for a week of training. San Jose Earthquakes Lineup: Andrew Weber (Mike Graczyk 40), Justin Morrow, Aaron Pitchkolan, Troy Roberts, Evan Brown, Joey Gjertsen, Brad Ring, Chris Wondolowski, Steve Beitashour, Andrew Hoxie (Ismael Ibarra 40), Quincy Amarikwa (Andrew Hoxie 63). Scoring Summary: SJ: Chris Wondolowski (Aaron Pitchkolan, Joey Gjertsen) 20; Ismael Ibarra (Quincy Amarikwa) 55; Joey Gjertsen (Ismael Ibarra, Chris Wondolowski) 58.
Team USA punches ticket to South Africa The American's will head over to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as group champions after coming back from a 0-2 hole to tie Costa Rica 2-all in both teams final group qualifying match. The result, combined with Mexico's tie against El Salvador put Team USA on top which will mean a better seed when the finals roll around next summer. It was quite a week. The fortunes of two different country's World Cup dreams lay in the balance heading into the final two games of group action. Honduras and Costa Rica both needed wins to help their cause. Costa Rica, a win and they were on their way to South Africa. Honduras needed anything but.
Earthquakes keep fighting to the end The 2009 MLS season has not been a pretty sight for San Jose Earthquakes fans. They have watched their beloved team suffer through a few more growing pains this year as they try to get back to the top of the MSL heap after having to restart the team for a third time. The Earthquakes themselves showed Saturday night against Kansas City that they are not going out without a fight. The Quakes beat KC 1-0 on an injury time goal by Chris Wondolowski's in the 93rd minute. Bobby Convey set up the goal by digging a ball out of the corner before passing it to Ramon Corrales. Corrales Then sent a cross in to the Wizards area that Wondolowski headed into the back of the net. "It feels great to get the win tonight and I think this win will get us back on track. It was also important to get this win at home in front of our fans, friends and family." Said Wondolowski after the game. The win kept San Jose's slim playoffs hopes alive in the Western Conference. They are seven pts back of Real Salt Lake who hold down the sixth and final playoff spot in the west. San Jose has nine games left in the regular season. There are a total of 27pts left out there on the table for San Jose to grab. How many will they get, only time will tell. They just ended a four game home stand 2-1-1, outscoring their opponents 7-5 with two shutouts mix in. Scoring seven goals and giving up just five in four games might not sound like a big deal, but for San Jose is was a sign that they could be turning things around at just the right time. The earthquakes have given up the most goals in the MLS this year so anytime they can have a stretch of games when they score more then they give up is huge. Now can they do it on the road. San Jose plays six of their final nine games of the regular season on the road starting with New England Aug. 29th.
Teams from all over the world put on a show across America as the world gets ready for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa
The World Football Challenge was a big hit in the USA, drawing large crowds everywhere they played. Didier Drogba (above) got Chelsea off and running with a first half goal against Inter Milan in front of 83,000 fans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Ca. The World Football Challenge was a great way for teams to prepare for their up coming seasons and the games had a regular season feel to them. They were ruff and each team wanted to win. Chelsea came away with the trophy, earning 15pts. Club America was second with 8pts, Inter Milan(7) and AC Milan (2pts) brought up the rear. Nobody really cared who won, just play some great soccer and get ready for the season. Along the way each team provided an American market with the chance to see some world class soccer. Photo's click here
WORLD FOOTBALL CHALLENGE SEARCHES FOR BIGGEST SOCCER FANS IN AMERICA Fans of Chelsea FC, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Club America to compete for no. 1 fan title and trip to see their club play live in the United States. American soccer fans can win a trip to see their favorite international teams live this summer at the World Football Challenge by showing how they are their club's biggest fan in the United States. Fans of Chelsea Football Club, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Club America can submit videos online for a chance to win a trip to see their team play live in the U.S. this July as part of the inaugural World Football Challenge tournament. The four winners, one for each team, will be awarded two tickets to their club's July 26 World Football Challenge match, two club jerseys, round trip airfare for the winner and a guest and two nights' accommodations. Soccer fans can visit www.worldfootballchallenge.com Inter Milan will fly out west and play at Stanford Stadium July 18th, taking on Mexican league giant Club America. Game time is 4pm Tickets click here
British invasion David Beckham has returned to the MLS after his extended stay overseas with AC Milan. Before he took the field for the LA Galaxy, Beckham joined forces with French International Zinedine Zidane to help open up clean and safe playing fields as a part of MLS W.O.R.K.S., Major League Soccer's community outreach initiative.
Mexico opens up Gold Cup with a win It was not easy, or was it. The Mexican national team, Eli Tri-Colors got a workmanlike, 2-0 win over a game squad from Nicaragua in both teams opening game of the 2009 Gold Cup being played out all across the USA.
Mexico is fighting for their 2010 World Cup lives right not and the team has had trouble putting the ball into the back of anybodies net. Against Nicaragua it took a referee’s whistle to help get Mexico on the board. Luis Miguel Noriega got the ball rolling with a penalty kick score in the 44th minute. Until then Mexico did not really test the Nicaraguan keeper at all. Many expected the score to be 3-0 by the time the first half ended. Nicaragua'a Armando Reyes, who was marking Israel Martinez, brought him down inside the penalty box to the left of the goal in the 44th minute. Questionable at best, the foul sent a huge roar through the pro Mexican crowd. That first goal seemed to help Mexico relax and the second half saw them gain more and more control of the match. Mexico out shot Nicaragua 18-6, but few of the shots were on target. Pablo Barrera, a second-half substitution, one timed a 7-yard volley past goalkeeper Carlos Mendieta on a cross by Alberto Medina in the 86th minute. The Mexican fans could finally relax. The Mexican head coach was just happy to get the win. The top three teams advance and the fourth place team with play the fifth place team from the South American region for a berth in South Africa next summer. This game ended a lot better then the last time the Tri-Colors and their fans invaded the McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, Ca. Mexico lost 1-0 to Sweden two month’s ago in Oakland and their fans lost their minds and started throwing beer, water and cups filled with piss onto the field.
Guadeloupe 2 Panama 1
Quakes get much needed win, best Real Salt Lake 2-1 After dropping six games in a row and not winning in nine, the Earthquakes got just what they needed Saturday with a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake.
The Earthquakes added what proved to be the winning goal in the 63rd minute when Arturo Alvarez hit an absolutely beautiful blast from 25-yards out that made a bee line to the upper left corner of the goal. The Quakes would give one back when Real's Robbie Findley beat Joe Cannon in the 80th minute. Cannon would save the game in stoppage time. Yura Movsisyan tried to tie things up in the 92nd minute, but his shot that seemed headed into the top right corner of the goal was somehow tipped out by Cannon who needed all of his reach to get to the ball.
Earthquakes need a shake up, and fast
San Jose continued to struggle, losing on the road 3-1 against the former Quakes, now the Houston Dynamo. Houston was the last team San Jose beat, but that victory seems like it was last season. This one was over early. Brian Ching scored in the 4th minute and Kei Kamara found the back of the net in the 12th. Doug Waibel added one more for Houston in the 51st minute and San Jose was 3-0. The Earthquakes came off a 15-day lay off and it showed as they got off to the slow start. They will get back at it Wednesday night when San Jose plays at Columbus. Playing right away after a bad loss can be good because the bad taste of the loss is still fresh and you have that extra edge to your game. What the Earthquakes did right now is wins. They still have time to get back in the playoff race, but not much. San Jose can't get past LA, tie 1-All It started out great. Earthquakes defender Chris Leitch lofted a perfect 40-yard pass to forward Pablo Campos ahead of the defense, but onside's with only the Galaxy keeper to beat.
No problem. Campos flicked the ball past the overmatched goalie on San Jose was up 1-0 five minutes into the game. San Jose would have very few chances to score after that. San Jose missed a couple of chance to put LA away in the first half,but they could not score. The best of these chances was when Arturo Alvarez worked the ball past the galaxy's keeper Donovan Ricketts in the 18th minute. LA's defense swarmed Alvarez and he could not get a shot off. The Quakes offense went silent after that. Los Angeles went into their game in Oakland still looking for their first win of the season and they left still winless, but happy to get a tie. The Earthquakes have not fared well to start the season. They are now 1-2-2 and in 5th place, eight points behind first place Chivas USA in the Western Conference. The Quakes have played four of their first five games at home and while they have not played bad they have given up leads in both their ties this year. San Jose could not get anything going in the second half. Nothing came close to a shot as the Quakes offense kept getting bogged down in the middle of the field. LA could not get much going, but the ball seemed to always be on the Quakes side of the field in the second half. San Jose's goal held up until the 76th minute when a Landon Donovan cross found the head of sub Bryan Jordan. Jordan's header beat Quakes goalie Joe Cannon and the over 15,000 chanting fans that showed up on a beautiful Saturday evening went home thinking about what could have been. Photo's click here
Quakes bounce Houston 3-2 It did not take long for the San Jose Earthquakes to get a win, beating the old Quakes turned Houston Dynamo 3-2 before a sold out crowd at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, San Jose spotted Houston two goals before taking the lead before halftime. No scoring problems in this one for the Quakes. The three goal's was like an out burst for the league's lowest scoring team last season. The game was moving right along as a zero, zero tie until a goal in the 30th minute by the Quakes Ryan Johnson set off a wild 15-minutes of scoring that ended with new forward Cam Weaver's goal just before the half time whistle gave San Jose the 3-2 lead that would be th final score of the game. In between Johnson's goal and Weaver's game winner San Jose held then lost a two goal lead and just when it looked like Houston would head into the break with the momentum, Weaver came through for his new team. The Quakes will now hit the road for the first time this year for a game at Kansas City before returning home to host Chicago April 11th at 1pm in Santa Clara and Los Angeles April 18th at the McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, Ca. Game time for that one is 7:30pm.
Earthquakes slip in first game of 2009 The fans came out and the Quakes did everything they could send the sell out crowd home happy, but try as they might the San Jose Earthquakes could not get the ball into the net, losing 1-0 on a goal by Kheli Dube in the 55th minute. San Jose unveiled a new starting line up with Bobby Convey lining up at the front of the Quakes attack, but it did not produce any goals. They came close a few times in the match. Arturo Alvarez and Darren Huckerby came close in the first half. An Alvarez run in the 25th minute led to a cross that was collected by Ryan Johnson. His shot was off, but the deflection went to Huckerby about 15-yards in front of the goal. Darren's shot missed wide right. Alvarez was in the middle of things again in the 31st minute when his shot was too hot to handle by New England's keeper Matt Reis. The rebound found the foot of new comer Cam Weaver and Weaver's shots found the cross bar. New England scored their goal when a Jeff Larentowicz centering pass was put home by Dube. San Jose plays three of their first four at home and they will try to get their first win of the season when they entertain the old Earthquakes (now the Houston Dynamo) Saturday March 28th at 7:30pm.
Sweden top Mexico 1-0 in Oakland, Ca Story by Steve Waterman What started as a fiesta for Mexican fans outside the stadium, ended with them tossing beer at one another after watching their beloved Tri Colors go down in defeat to Sweden 1-nil.
It was not the result the over 46,000 fans that just about packed the McAfee Coliseum came out to watch wanted to see. This was as close to scoring Mexico got and it was amazing the ball stayed out of the goal in the 17th minute. It is hard to win if you do not score. In its final warm-up game before facing the United States in a World Cup qualifier, Mexico were beaten by a young Swedish team that was fresh off of losing to Team USA 3-2. "Maybe they are not used to the style we play, the Mexicans. We play the ball forward, attack the goal. Mexico tried to work the ball up the field, but our defense played well enough tonite" said Swedish head coach Lars Lagerback. Mexico looked they would break through in the 17th minute when Matias Vuoso beat the keeper, but found the post. The rebound was hit just wide of an open goal. Mexico had controlled the action until then. Sweden, however, weathered the storm and struck in the 57th minute. A mistake by Mexican defender Juan Carlos Valenzuela led to the ball finding an unmarked Alexander Farnerud at the far post. Farnerud knew just what to do with the ball. His left footed strike found the back of the net and Sweden was on their way to the victory. The Mexican coach, Sven Goran Eriksson, did not seem happy with his teams effort against Sweden. "I hope my players have learned that they have to do far more running off the ball to defeat sturdy teams like Sweden and the USA." After losing four games in a row, Mexican fans must wonder whether getting a positive result against the USA is possible, and it seems like the love-affair with Sven is already cooling. Mexico is still smarting from an opening round of World Cup qualifying that saw them barely make the next round which is the last leading up to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. When it rains it pours. Mexican defender Rafael Marquez strained a leg muscle while playing for Barcelona, raising doubt whether he will be able to play in next month's World Cup qualifier against the United States.
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Photo by Eric Taylor
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Inside Sports 1st String Magazine All Rights Reserved 2000-10 TM |
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San Jose got on the board first when new comer Cornell Glen introduced himself to the home fans by heading in a cross from the foot of Bobby Convey in the 53rd minute.
