Quakes Beat Wizards 2-1 to Keep Unbeaten Streak Alive

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The San Jose Earthquakes extended their unbeaten streak to seven games as they took down the Kansas City Wizards tonight at Buck Shaw Stadium 2-1. Arturo Alvarez scored the first goal of the game in the 43rd minute off a cross from Ronnie O'Brien. It was Alvarez's fifth of the season and second since being traded back to the Quakes. Davy Arnaud tied the game at 1-1 when he put in a cross from Michael Harrington. Overall the Quakes created more scoring chances as they out shot the Wizards 13-10. In the 83rd minute, Darren Huckerby struck for his third goal of the season when he headed home a pass from Ryan Johnson as he collided with goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.

That locked up the victory for the Quakes and moved them out of the cellar of the Western conference by adding three more points. They surpassed the Colorado Rapids (24 points) and into a tie with the Galaxy at 25 points on the season. More importantly, the they now stand two points behind the last playoff spot currently held by Chivas USA.

San Jose Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop loved the win “It was a good three points and an important time in the season to win. I thought we played well the first half, the first 20 minutes of the second was poor, we allowed Kansas City back into the game; but is great to come back and win the game in the end. It is a sign of a good team that sticks together and doesn’t quit.” He stressed that the team has gained in confidence “We feel comfortable we can win. We have D.C. and then Houston which are two tough games, but we have confidence that we can win both. We have already played the best teams home and away and we have done ok. There is no guarantee that we are going to win every game but there is a guarantee that we are going to give everything we have and not quit and keep going.”

Yallop also talked about Darren Huckerby’s performance “I think he is really enjoying his football to be honest. You look at him off the field and around the building and he is just flying. He just wants to get the ball because every time he gets the ball he feels like he can do something. He is going to go against anybody and beat them. He was great tonight. It is very exciting to watch him, I get on the edge of my seat when he gets the ball and I am coaching.”

Earthquakes midfielder Darren Huckerby says the team is on a roll “We have been good defensively all year and that continued tonight. We have been getting forward quite well and we got the goals when we needed them tonight.” The crowd at Buck Shaw has shown very good support for the team, “They have been great. We have gotten on a nice little run here at home and we are enjoying our football and I think the fans appreciate that. We hope to keep it going the next two games at home.”

Kansas City Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo shared his thoughts on the game “It was a hard-fought game. San Jose had the better of it in the first half, but I thought that we had the better of it in the second half. There was a stretch of 20-25 minutes where we put enormous pressure on them, but we only got one goal and we really needed to get one more. It was a good effort, but we are disappointed with the result.” He also noted Huckerby's play “He gave us a lot of trouble in the first half on the left side so we made a switch out there and we did a bit better in the second half. However, he was still able to score the game-winner and make the difference. He was the best player on the field tonight.”

Corrales Out 4-8 Weeks

Midfielder Ramiro Corrales will be lost for 4-8 weeks with a second degree sprain of the MCL in his left knee. He injured his knewwin the 14th minute of the Chivas USA match last weekend. Surgery will not be becessary according to Frank Yallop, he'll need to rest and rehab the knee before he's allowed back on the field again. The MRI hows it is a second degree sprain.

Yallop will look for other to partner with Lima while Corales is out. Ned Grabavoy is back from his groin surgery, Kelly Gray filled in last week when Corrales was hurt. Other possibilities could include Jovan Kirovski or possibly even John Cunliffe.

Most likely we'll see Grabavoy or Gray this weekend against the Wizards. Who do you think would b the best replacement for Corrales?

Hernandez Forced to Sit

Quakes defender Jason Hernandez received a yellow card in the 57th minute against Chivas USA on Saturday and will miss the Quakes' upcoming game against Kansas City on Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium.

Quakes Earn a Draw From Chivas USA

Video highlights here from MLSNet.com

The San Jose Earthquakes went down to Carson and played Chivas USA to a 0-0 draw at Home Depot Center. While the Quakes didn't play their best game they put up 14 shots to Chivas' 11 and had 8 corner kicks to Chivas' 8. In the end both team had some decent chances but neither could capitalize. Ramiro Corrales had to be subbed out in the 14th minute due to a sprain knee,. the extent of the injury not yet fully known.

The Quakes fought hard though and that is what Frank Yallop talked about after the game. "For long spells we were not at our best but what I liked about our unit tonight is that we didn't crumble and we actually came back in the end," said coach Frank Yallop. "You didn't see the best from us tonight but you saw a team that fought and scrapped to the end and a point for us is great to get here. All in all it was a good result and we move on." Goalkeeper Joe Cannon also saw the importance of earning the hard-fought road point. "We've turned a corner as a team," Cannon said.

Ronnie O'Brien talked about how focused the Quakes are on the end stretch of the season. "Our goal is the playoffs. The expansion tag doesn't wash with us anymore. Realistically the playoffs are within reach now and it comes down to us."

Earthquakes Anthem by E-40

Click here to hear the Quake's Anthem

You've heard it at the games, now meet the rapper that created for the Bay Area's team. Earl Stevens (born November 15, 1967) best known by his stage name E-40, is a Bay Area rapper, part of the Bay Area rap group The Click and founder of Bay Area hip-hop record label Sick Wid It Records. The "E" is obviously short for Earl. The "40" some say is a reference to 40 ounce bottles of malt liquor.

E-40 jumped into the limelight in 2006 with his single "Tell Me When To Go" from his album My Ghetto Report Card. From 2004 to 2008, he hosted a weekly radio program on San Francisco hip-hop station KMEL titled E-Feezy Radio, showcasing Bay Area hip hop music.

Quakes Shake - Recap of Revs Win

Click here to see the latest Quakes Shake video recap

O’Brien named MLS Player of the Week

San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Ronnie O’Brien became the first Quakes player this season to be named Major League Soccer Player of the Week Monday. He earned the honor after scoring two goals and notching an assist in San Jose’s 4-0 victory over the New England Revolution on Aug. 16.

O’Brien opened the scoring for Quakes against the Revolution in the 11th minute. Francisco Lima found O’Brien on the right side of the box and he volleyed a shot over Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis to the far post. Midway through the second half he started the play that led to Ryan Johnson’s goal with a pass to Scott Sealy at the top of the box. Sealy then backheeled a pass to Johnson, which he put into the back of the net.

In the final minutes of the match, O’Brien capped the win with a 25-yard shot into the upper corner for his second goal of the game. It marked the first time in his MLS career that he scored twice in one match.

O’Brien had been named MLS Player of the Week on two previous occasions, once in 2004 and again in 2005.

Earthquakes Down Revs With Barrage of Goals

The visiting New England Revolution were in town to take on the Quakes and will leave wondering what happened at Buck Shaw Stadium as San Jose scored four unanswered goals and beat the Revs 4-0. The Revolution were playing without several key players including Shalrie Joseph who was out due to a red card suspension and Michale Parkhurst who just returned from Olympic team duty. It didn't matter to the Quakes though, they played with intensity and worked harder than the Revolution did on this night.

Ronnie O'Brien scored two goals, Scott Sealy scored one and Ryan Johnson notched his fourth of the season. Darren Huckerby had two assists on the night as well as he continually beat Chris Albright down the left flank.

The Earthquakes played with confidence from the opening whistle and got the 1-0 lead on the goal from O'Brien and that's the way it remained until the second half. The floodgates opened up though in the second half and Quake fans loved it. It brought back memories of the previous rendition of the San Jose Earthquakes and the fun that was had each week watching games at Spartan Stadium. The Quakes can turn Buck Shaw Stadium into the same type of home advantage that Spartan Stadium gave them if they play with that same intensity and the fans support them the way they did tonight.

Scoring Summary:
SJ -- Ronnie O'Brien 2 (Francisco Lima 1, Ramiro Corrales 2) 11
SJ -- Ryan Johnson 4 (Scott Sealy 2, Ronnie O'Brien 4) 71
SJ -- Scott Sealy 3 (Darren Huckerby 2, Nick Garcia 2) 76
SJ -- Ronnie O'Brien 3 (Darren Huckerby 3) 87

New England Revolution -- Matt Reis (Doug Warren 55), Chris Albright, Jay Heaps, Chris Tierney, Sainey Nyassi (Wells Thompson 70), Jeff Larentowicz, Pat Phelan, Steve Ralston, Mauricio Castro (Taylor Twellman 46), Adam Cristman, Khano Smith,

Substitutes Not Used: Joe Germanese, Amaechi Igwe, Brandon Tyler, Rob Valentino

San Jose Earthquakes -- Joe Cannon, James Riley, Nick Garcia, Jason Hernandez, Eric Denton, Ronnie O'Brien, Ramiro Corrales, Francisco Lima, Darren Huckerby, Arturo Alvarez (Ryan Johnson 63), Scott Sealy,

Substitutes Not Used: John Cunliffe, Ned Grabavoy, Kelly Gray, Michael Gustavson, Jovan Kirovski, Shea Salinas

Salaries of the newest Quakes

According to the MLS Player's Union the following are the full season salaries that the newest Earthquake players were recently signed for:

*Darren Huckerby, San Jose: $355,000
*Francisco Lima, San Jose: $207,000
*Scot Sealy, San Jose: 34,728.75
*Arturo Alvariez, San Jose: 175,587.50
*Miguel Arce, San Jose: 12,900.00

Quakes Waive Reserve Amir Lowery

The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the team has waived defender/midfielder Amir Lowery. Lowery signed a developmental contract with San Jose on May 22. He appeared in four reserve division matches for the Quakes, but did not appear in a regular season match.

James scores hat trick n Malaysian Cup Playoffs

Video highlights are here of the recent hat trick by Marlon Alex James, the player the Quakes are pursuing to join the team. His team will not release him until his contract expires and the Quakes are reportedly still interested. He scores some beautiful goals. Check out the long range shot on his third goal in these highlights. It should be interesting to see if the Quakes can close the deal on James. That will likely play out over the rest of August. Quakes fans will have to wait and see what happens in this interesting development.

Quakes Take Down Galaxy and Gain Three Points

Video highlights here

The San Jose Earthquakes defeated their southern rivals, the Los Angeles Galaxy in Oakland in front of more than 26,000 fans. The newcomers to the team started off the scoring for the Quakes just as John Doyle and Frank Yallop hoped when they acquired theri cast of new characters recently. Darren Huckerby crossed the ball to Scott Sealy who one touched it to Arturo Alvarez who placed it to the far post with his preferred left foot. Later it was Huckerby himself blowing down the left wing and shooting to the far post to beat Cronin again and put the Quakes upt 2-0.

Of course Beckham and Donovan had something to say next when Donovan headed in a Beckham cross to make it 2-1. Edson Buddle than dribbled in from the middle and put a shot past Joe Cannon to tie it up. In the 90th minute defender Ryan Coachrane put in a Huckerby rebound and that proved to be the game winner for the Quakes.

Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop felt good about the game today, “It feels good to win in front of our fans. We had some good chances to score some more goals. All in all, it was a terrific game for us. We were obviously not happy for the two goals that LA scored, but sometimes you’re a little bit vulnerable. We had a terrific comeback in the last couple of minutes of the game and it showed character in the team.” On the second half “I thought Ramiro Corrales really drove us on today. He was terrific in the middle of the field. We put a lot of energy putting the ball forward and it was good to see. I was very happy in our efforts with both sides of the ball against a team that scores a ton of goals. I was very happy in the stuff we created.” His confidence in the team is obviously growing as well, “Every game is different, but we will be trying to play the same type of soccer that we just played today. I’m hoping that we can establish a really good rhythm now and I look forward to our games. We feel comfortable now that we can play the ball into Darren Huckerby’s feet and he’s not going to lose it and that gives us the confidence to move forward. If we can get a win in our next game then we might be able to try to make a run for the playoffs, which is our whole aim.” Earthquakes Midfielder Darren Huckerby, on scoring his goal “It was a good ball from Eric (Denton) and I knew it was one-on-one and I just got by them. I was looking to pass it to Scott (Sealy), but he got blocked off so I took the ball to the corner and it worked.”

Galaxy head coach Ruud Gullit noticed an imporvement in the Quakes since the last time they played, he said “I think that my team played well today. We battled for everything, but we were just unfortunate. Their team fought back and battled for it so you have to credit their team. I think we did everything to get a good result, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen. I think they are much better than they were and we knew that coming into today. We played an excellent game against them.”

Galaxy Midfielder David Beckham remembers Darren Huckerby from their EPL meetings in the past, “Of course he is capable of scoring goals. He has done it all through his career. He’s a quick player and when he’s got confidence like he does at the moment, he scores goals, which gives any team problems. I’ve seen that before when I played for Manchester United and he played for Coventry. He’s a player that can bring a lot to not only his team, but also the league. He’s a player with quality and we will see him score goals.” He's also noticed a big improvement in the team, " I think that they brought new players in and this time around, their confidence is a lot higher than when we played last time and our is slightly lower than when we played them last. They played well today and we also played a lot better than our last game. But like I said before, what we can take from this game is the fact that we showed some character. We’ve got ten days before Chivas USA and obviously, that game now becomes a must win game for us.”

How do you feel about the new and improved Earthquakes team? Are you happy with their new signings? Do you want more new players? If so, where? How

Quakes Sign Spanish Forward Arce to Dev Contract

The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the team has signed Spanish forward Mikel Arce to a developmental contract. Per league and team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Arce, 24, has spent the past eight years playing at a number of clubs in his native Spain. He has spent time in the lower divisions at Real Sociedad and Numancia, while also playing for Alfaro, CD Logrones, Lemona, Calahorra and Constancia. He scored 20 goals during the 2007-08 season for CD Lourdes.

The 6-3 forward trained with the Earthquakes earlier this season before signing with the team.

Transaction: San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) - Earthquakes sign F Mikel Arce.

Mikel Arce #16
Status: Developmental/International
Position: Forward
Height: 6-3
Weight: 182
Born: June 6, 1984 in Pamplona, Spain
Hometown: Pamplona, Spain