LFR Sports

MAGEE'S PK BLOWS ANOTHER DEFENSIVE EFFORT

At East Rutherford, N.J.

SCORING SUMMARY
NY -- Mike Magee 1 (penalty kick) 79
NY -- Jozy Altidore 2 (John Wolyniec 1) 95

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SJ -- Jason Hernandez (caution; Reckless Foul) 36
SJ -- Ramiro Corrales (caution; Professional Foul) 61
SJ -- Nick Garcia (caution; Pushing, Holding) 87

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES RATINGS
6 GK Joe Cannon-Not much action; nearly had hand on PK
6 D Jason Hernandez-Continues to play well on def. and off.
5 D Ryan Cochrane-Penalty on Altidore iffy, but a good foul
7 D Nick Garcia-Two big time saves; pestered Altidore all day
5 D James Riley-Improved play; got involved offensively.
6 M Ronnie O'Brien-Wasn't able to find space on the flank
5 M Ned Grabavoy-RBNY shutdown midfield for him, early sub.
5 M Ramiro Corrales-Couldn't string together a pass to box.
6 M Ivan Guerrero-Good performance, seemed a tad out of place
5 F Kei Kamara-This time around, didn't have any opp.
4 F Gavin Glinton-Ineffective; slowly make room for Peguero?
5 M Joe Vide (46)-Good sub that just didn't work out.
4 F Jean Peguero (67)-Inauspicious start; hardly got a touch
5 M Shea Salinas (81)-Hardly knew he was on the field.

RED BULLS NEW YORK RATINGS
5 GK Jon Conway-Wasn't tested; nice tip on floating header.
6 D Jeff Parke-Open header in box set up scoring opp.
5 D Kevin Goldthwaite-Gave SJ a bit of their own med.-pestered
6 D Chris Leitch-Good reason last 1/3 of field had no space
6 D Seth Stammler-Quiet, but strong performance in the back
5 M Sinisa Ubiparipovich-Bosnian played ineffectually
6 M Dave van den Bergh-Looked poised to break open right side
6 M Luke Sassano-Rookie has started every game; talent shows
5 M Claudio Reyna-"El capitan de America" doesn't care anymore
6 F Jozy Altidore-Whiny performance; beautiful touh on goal
6 F John Wolyniec-Journeyman always shows up and contributes
5 M Mike Magee (46)-Nailed PK and put pressure on SJ with speed
5 M Danleigh Borman (72)-Sub hassled tired SJ backline.
5 D Carlos Mendes (75)-Helped keep pressure on Quakes offense

Labels: Earthquakes, N.Y. Red Bulls

San Jose's Ronnie O'Brien scores the first goal of the season

Labels: Earthquakes, Kei Kamara, Ronnie O'Brien

O'BRIEN'S GOAL BREAKS SCORING DROUGHT AND NETS FIRST WIN OF THE NEW QUAKES

At Commerce City, CO

SCORING SUMMARY
SJ -- Ronnie O'Brien 1 (unassisted) 43
SJ -- Kei Kamara 1 (Ned Grabavoy 1, Ronnie O'Brien 1) 61

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SJ -- Nick Garcia (caution; Persistent Infringement) 42
SJ -- Joe Cannon (caution; Delaying a Restart) 73

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES WEEK 4 RATINGS
6 GK Joe Cannon-Clean sheet; steady, came up big on Gomez's blistering volley in 2nd
7 D Nick Garcia-Steady job; Rapids attack never materialized with him at center back
6 D James Riley-Best game thus far; did well when he dribbled towards top of box
6 D Ryan Cochrane-Vet played typically steady team defense
6 D Jason Hernandez-Speed was still evident late; tracked Clark wonderfully
6 M Ivan Guerrero-Work rate was high; defense early in 2nd held off Rapids brief run
7 M Ronnie O'Brien-At times, owned the right side of the attack; tenacious goal
7 M Ned Grabavoy-Catalyst for Kamara's goal
6 M Ramiro Corrales-Played like his impressive pre-season games
6 F Kei Kamara-Finally score! Was able to find open space on the ground for 1st time
5 F Gavin Glinton-Still not putting away chances, but looks ready to breakout
5 D Joe Vide-Couldn't be found, but his job was to hold the lead and they did
5 F Shea Salinas-Speed was highly effective with Rapids defense on the ropes
5 M Ryan Johnson-Late game sub didn't make a mark in short time

COLORADO RAPIDS RATINGS
6 GK Bouna Coundoul (GK)-Not as good as week 3, but defense also left him hanging
5 D Facundo Erpen-Kept getting turned around; let Kamara blow by him on goal
5 D Jose Burciaga-Quakes limited his offensive runs well
5 D John DiRaimondo-Best of iffy defensive effort
5 D Stephen Keel-Could have defended O'Brien goal; out of position a few times
6 M Christian Gomez-Like Blanco a week ago, attacking MF was handcuffed all game
6 M Terry Cooke-Led early 2nd half comeback, but wasn't able to penetrate the box
6 M Nick LaBrocca-Surprise player plays hard-nosed defense
5 M Kosuke Kimura-Ineffective, pulled early in second
4 F Omar Cummings-Ineffective striker gets pulled early
6 F Colin Clark-Showed frenetic pace, if not, out of control
5 M Tom McManus (69)-Ineffective; made one run unimpressive run late
6 M Rafael Gomes-Good first touches all night, but never connected with anyone
5 F Herculez Gomez-Showed good pace, but never got a good opp. on goal

Labels: Colorado Rapids, Earthquakes

Young San Jose midfielder Shea Salinas is probably still having nightmares over this missed opened net in the 93rd minute of their match against Chicago.

Watching the replay, it seems the Genesis of the shot being lifted over the net begin with Salinas' approach. His angle to the ball is the reason he only see the near side of the net above goalkeeper Jon Busch, instead of the entirely open far side of the net. Of course, youthful overexuberance is a very good reason.

VIDEO GOAL SUMMARY
Chad Barrett's goal off a rebound from Joe Cannon

Labels: Earthquakes, Shea Salinas

SAN JOSE NEUTRALIZES BLANCO, BUT LEAVES REBOUND FOR BARRETT

At Oakland, Calif. (A-20,038)

SCORING SUMMARY
CHI--Chad Barrett 2 (unassisted) 19th.

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CHI -- Bakary Soumare (caution; Reckless Foul) 55
SJ -- Ryan Cochrane (caution; Reckless Foul) 65
SJ -- James Riley (caution; Pushing, Holding) 94

Labels: Chicago Fire, Earthquakes

SAN JOSE CAN'T GET OFFENSE GOING IN 2-0 DEFEAT

At Carson, Calif.
LA -- David Beckham 1 (Landon Donovan 1) 9
LA -- Landon Donovan 1 (David Beckham 1, Alan Gordon 1) 37

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES WEEK 1 RATINGS
GK 6-Joe Cannon-Despite two goals against, came up big at time to keep game close
D 4-James Riley-Looked completely lost early on; improved enough to stay in the game
D 5-Ryan Cochrane-Defensive gaffes cost Quakes two goals and the game
D 5-Nick Garcia-Captain needed to be more involved in L.A.'s off. build up
D 7-Hernandez-Consistently steady; surprisingly effective moving up in the attack
M 6-Ned Grabavoy-Vet held down his side of pitchr4
M 5-Ramiro Corrales-Unable to distribute the ball in the midfield
M 6-Ronnie O'Brien-Played on the wings, but got little help all night
M 6-Ivan Guerrero-Underrated. Stopped L.A.'s buildup the last 60 minutes
F 4-Shea Salinas-Non-existent. Showed zero chemistry with Kamara
F 5-Kei Kamara-Repeatedly unable to break free on long balls; good pace, though
F 5-Gavin Glinton (57 min)-Uneffective after initial burst of energy
F 5-John Cuncliffe (69)-Displayed only energy all night, but could not get a touch
M n/a-Ryan Johnson (85)

LOS ANGELES GALAXY RATINGS
GK 6-Steve Cronin-never tested
D 5-Brandon McDonald-Starting for Abel Xavier, showed possible depth
D 6-GregVanney-Steady play throughout; shutdown already anemic SJ attack
D 7-Chris Klein-New position. Played quickly, smart and dominant on LA right side
D 5-Jay Randolph-Speed was sorely lacking; SJ was unable to exploit it
D 6-Ely Allen-Rookie played much better than SJ veterans in midfield
M 7-David Beckham-Healthy. Able to get wide open offensively; netted slick goal
M 5-Sean Franklin-Shaky. Could have been exploited by more talented attack
M 6-Landon Donovan-As usually disappeared. Nice touch on Beck's goal
M 6-Alvaro Pires-Clumsy. Should have stuck Beckham's blazing free kick
F 6-Alan Gordon-Able to roam all over the box. Best match in a while
D n/a-Michael Gavin (86)

Labels: Earthquakes, L.A. Galaxy

QUAKES TAKE HOME TROPHY LAST WON IN 2005

At Charleston, SC

San Jose 1 1 - 2
Charleston 1 0 -1

First Half-1, Charleston, Spicer; 5th minute, 2, San Jose, Corrales (Grabavoy); 26th minute,

Second Half-3, San Jose, Kamara (Corrales), 70th minute.

Yellow cards-San Jose, Cochrane (16th). Charleston, Rita (20th).

Lineups-San Jose, Preston Burpo; Nick Garcia, Ryan Cochrane, Jason Hernandez, James Riley (45); Ronnie O'Brien, Joe Vide, Shea Salinas(), Ramiro Corrales, Ned Grabavoy, Ivan Guerrero (45); Kei Kamara, Gavin Glinton, Jamil Walker (35).

Charleston, Keith Wiggans; Tim Velton, Marco Rita, Jack Stewart, John Wilson, Luke Kreamalmeyer, David Kenga (63), Pato Aguilera, Mike Richardson, Osvaldo Alonzo; Darren Spicer, Aaron King, Kendall Jadeosingh (71).

Labels: Earthquakes

HERNANDEZ SCORES LONE GOAL

Mother Nature was on the the Earthquakes' side as thunderstorms over Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston Saturday halted the opener of the Carolina Challenge Cup in the 76th minute preserving a 1-0 win over Toronto FC.

Former Chivas USA defender Jason Hernandez headed in Ronnie O'Brien's corner kick in the 21st minute for the game's lone goal.

Toronto FC, who was missing rookie of the year Maurice Edu and former number one draft pick Marvell Wynne to the under-23 championship, looked disinterested for most of game, failing to put Quakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon to the test.

During the first half, the Quakes showed flashes of coach Frank Yallop's old San Jose side with long periods of crisp passing and pace.

The newly signed top draft choice, Shea Salinas, who Yallop inserted as a substitution at the half at forward, showed his enormous potential with a sterling shot on goal in the 52nd minute that was blocked by the sliding tackle by veteran defender, Tyrone Marshall.

At Charleston, SC

Toronto FC 0 0 - 0
San Jose 1 0 - 1

First Half- 1, San Jose, Hernandez 1 (O'Brien), 21st minute.

Second half-none.

Yellow Cards-San Jose, Cochrane (65th minute).

Referee-Paul Ward.

Lineups
Toronto-Greg Sutton; Todd Dunivant, Julius James, Jim Brennan, Kevin Harmes (45), Tyrone Marshall; Carl Robinson, Pacheco, Velez, Martin Britain; Jeff Cunningham, Danny Dichio, Collin Samuel (45).

San Jose-Joe Cannon; James Riley, Ryan Cochrane, Nick Garcia, Jason Hernandez; Ronnie O'Brien, Joe Vide (71st) Ned Grabavoy, Ivan Guerrero, Ramiro Corrales; Gavin Glinton, Shea Salinas (45th), Kei Kamara.

Labels: Earthquakes

Fans can get their first look at the new San Jose Earthquakes this week at the USL website.

Here's the Earthquakes' games available on the web from the Carolina Challenge Cup:

Saturday, March 15 - Earthquakes vs. Toronto FC at 3:00 p.m. PT
Wednesday, March 19 - Earthquakes vs. Charleston at 5:15 p.m. PT
Saturday, March 22 - Earthquakes vs. Red Bulls at 5:15 p.m. PT

In addition, he L.A. Galaxy/FC Dallas match with David Beckham will be televised on MLSnet.com, Sat., Mar. 15, 4:30 p.m. PT.

Labels: Earthquakes

TORONTO FC TOPS WITH 16,641 SEASON TICKET HOLDERS

You could argue Major League Soccer's long-term health is derived from the growing number of soccer-specific stadiums that are sprouting seemingly every year. The short-term health, however, can be viewed through season ticket sales.

It's clear fans in Toronto are as rabid with their team as they are spending loonies on tickets. Los Angeles with David Beckham and D.C. United is strong by MLS standards, while Real Salt Lake is surprisingly adept at hawking season ticket packages.

Armed with new blood in ownership, Kansas City's numbers increased a whopping 232 percent....to 1,539. Big deal. Most alarmingly, Chivas USA, possibly the best team in the west, can count only 837 willing participants.

Los Terramotos placed a strong seventh at nearly 4,000. Just about the same spot when they picked up and left for Houston.

1. Toronto FC - 16,641 (+34%)
2. Los Angeles Galaxy - 7,915 (-15%)
3. D.C. United - 5,976 (+27%)
4. Real Salt Lake - 4,632 (+5%)
5. Houston Dynamo - 4,116 (+87%)
6. New England Revolution - 4,001 (+14%)
7. San Jose Earthquakes - 3,822
8. Columbus Crew - 3,227 (+1%)
9. New York Red Bulls - 3,170 (+33)
10. FC Dallas - 3,002 (-4%)
11. Colorado Rapids - 2,968 (+59%)
12. Chicago Fire - 2,759 (+8%)
13. Kansas City Wizards - 1,539 (+232%)
14. Chivas USA - 837 (-2%)

Source: SportsBusiness Journal.

Labels: David Beckham, Earthquakes, MLS, season tickets