Soccer Spin

Gary and Denton Cut Loose - New Signing to Follow?

2009-06-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

The Earthquakes have waived defender Eric Denton and defender/midfielder Kelly Gray. With the emergence of Mike Zaher at left back and the versatility of Brandon MacDonald recently Denton and Gray dropped became expendable. The opportunity for the Earthquakes was to free up some salary cap room for the likely signing of another player once the signing window opens on July 15.

No reports yet on exactly who that might be but it's known that Doyle and Yallop have been on the lookout to bring in some reinforcements.

Quakes Down the Galaxy in Oakland

2009-06-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Earthquakes netted a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy in the California Clasico Saturday afternoon. Pablo Campos scored on a penalty kick in the 6th minute and Ryan Johnson scored his sixth goal of the season in the 54th minute to give the Quakes the victory. At the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in front of 17,128 fans the Quakes played in a back and forth affair.

The Earthquakes played with Brandon McDonald, Aaron Pitchkolan as their two center backs now that Garcia was traded and Hernandez suffering from an injured calf again. They also featured Bobby Convey and Darren Huckerby on the other with Arturo Alvarez recently suffering a groin injury. Ramiro Corrales and Antonio Ribeiro roamed the central midfield and up front Yallop inserted Pablo Campos along side Ryan Johnson. The defense held up for the most part bending but not breaking. Surprisingly McDonald and Pitchkolan having not played much together and not being in their natural positions were effective for the most part.

Overall Campos and Johnson were able to cause havoc at times for the Galaxy and the Quakes outshot them 10-7 and 4-1 with shots on goal.

Frank Yallop was releived to get the three points for the win, “Today’s main objective was to get three points, and getting that result was great for us. We had a good game, unfortunately the field was not at its best and some winds here and there, but the three points was all that mattered.” As for the standout performers, he added “I thought Pablo (Campos) played very well against Los Angeles on April 18, he had a great goal as well. Today Pablo (Campos) came in with a stronger and renewed aggression and played very well. He did terrific on the play for the penalty kick and got a good goal off of the penalty as well.” Yallop feels like the team has started a good run of games lately, “Looking at the last four games we’ve won two, lost one and tied one, but we should have really won in Dallas. I feel we’re on the right path, we work very hard in sticking our head in, making it difficult for our opponents when the ball is played into the box. (Ryan) Johnson stuck his right foot in to get that second goal. Our guys were very brave and I’m very proud of them on today’s performance.”

Ryan Johnson never gave up and kept working hard to help the team score goals. On scoring the game-winner, he said “It just comes down to being hungry. I was hungry out there and I want it bad. I have set goals for myself and this team and it is important to achieve them. Every team in this league has good players and anyone can beat you and that is why it was so big to put them away. This is huge for the guys that haven’t been getting a ton of playing time out there to have this kind of success. Guys like Brandon (McDonald) and Mike (Zaher) have been playing extremely well and that creates a lot more competition in practice. No one is guaranteed to start every week, and that is what will help raise our level of play.”

Next up for the Earthquakes is a July 3rd match at Real Salt Lake. The Quakes will attempt to get healthy and build on the momentum they've started to produce.

Red Bulls Run Over Quakes, 4-1

2009-05-10T21:47:00.001-07:00

The San jose Earthquakes gave up four first half goals and lost 4-2 to the New York Red Bulls on Friday night. Frank Yallop wants his team to put this one behind them and focus on the upcoming games. ”The game was basically over in the first 20 minutes. Three-nil down and I don’t know what the minute was, but especially away from home, it’s tough to get anything out of the game. The game was over once they scored. We were just not in the game and we weren’t really playing the game. And when the game was sort of dead and buried, we started to push and do the things that we talked about before the match. But once the goals are in, it’s all about scoring. We were poor first half and it showed in the scoring.”

Chris Leitch, recovered from his concussion the week prior was disappointed with their play against the Red Bulls. “I don’t think if it can be even more disappointing. I mean, four goals in one half - what can you really say about that. Every single guy has to look at himself in the mirror and ask himself if they can do anything more. I don’t think anyone had a good half, including myself. Kandji’s a good player. I like Kandji’s game. He won his battles, no matter who he was up against. He’s more physical I think. He wanted it more.”

Joe Cannon commented, “You know, there’s really not much to say. Week in week out, we’re tired of trying to come up with excuses. I feel for our guys because I believe in them, we’ve got a good core. However, you can see that we kind of miss some players who are out right now. I feel bad for our staff. I feel as a group, we’ve let them down, we’ve let our fans down and our entire organization.” As for turning things around, he added “We’re not getting our job done as players. I believe there will be a time and a point this season when things come together.”

So the Earthquakes have a week off and than play at Houston and Columbus the week after that. If they can get any results in their upcomign road games it will help start to turn things around. If not, the misery will continue.

Quakes Obtain Pitchkolan in Trade From Dallas

2009-04-28T21:46:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the team has acquired defender Aaron Pitchkolan from FC Dallas in exchange for a conditional pick in the 2011 SuperDraft. The conditional pick is thought to be a fourth round pick that could be moved to a third round pick if a certain number of appearances are reached. “We are happy to bring Aaron to San Jose,” said Earthquakes general manager of soccer operations John Doyle. “He is an experienced MLS player who has great versatility. We think he will be a solid addition to our squad.”

The 26-year-old, who was drafted in 2005 by FC Dallas, has made one appearance in 2009 entering as a sub on March 29 vs. Chivas USA. For his career, he has made 68 appearances for FC Dallas and scored five goals. In 2008 he made a career-high 21 appearances, with 15 starts. He scored four goals in all competitions in 2008, including one regular season strike.

Pitchkolan played college soccer at West Virginia. He appeared in 54 matches in three years and scored 11 goals for the Mountaineers. He also spent one season at the University of Tampa.

Sounders Down Quakes 2-0

2009-04-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Earthquakes fell to Seattle Sounders FC 2-0 Saturday night at Qwest Field. Steve Zakuani and Brad Evans scored for Sounders FC. In front of an attendance of 28,838 fans, the Quakes played better soccer overall but couldn't get the last pass or the last shot to find the back of the net.

Coach Frank Yallop lamented the Quakes final touch, commenting “On general play tonight, I thought we did pretty well. We came out and moved the ball better than we have recently, but we were just lacking that final touch to get the goals. This game is about scoring goals and at the end of the day, we didn’t do that tonight.” On Keller's block of Johnson's chance to start the second half, he added “The game kind of hinged on that save. If we score that one, it is 1-1 and it is a different game. Credit to Kasey (Keller), he made the play there and then Seattle goes right back down and scores. At 2-0, they had the momentum again and it was tough for us to get back in it.”

Next week the Quakes are at home against Chivas USA who currently hold the best record in the league.

Cochrane has Ankle Surgery

2009-04-24T17:27:00.000-07:00

Defender Ryan Cochrane underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle Friday afternoon. The surgery was performed by the team physician, Dr. Michael Oberlander, at Sequoia Surgical Pavilion in Walnut Creek. Cochrane is expected to be out of action for 10-12 weeks.
Cochrane, who missed time in preseason due to the left ankle injury, has started two games this season, including last weekend’s game against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Alvarez featured in Cosmo Girl

2009-04-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

The Earthquakes very own Arturo Alvarez is featured in the latest issue of Cosmo Girl and can be seen on the site in slides 17 and 18 along with other MLS players.

Quakes Draw with Galaxy 1-1

2009-04-18T22:47:00.000-07:00

A late goal by Bryan Jordan in the 76th minute to lift the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night. Pablo Campos scored in the fifth minute for San Jose, which played without injured midfielder Darren Huckerby. Bobby Convey slid over into the left midfield spot in his place. Los Angeles tied it when Jordan took a cross from former Earthquakes forward Landon Donovan and headed his shot into the lower left corner past a diving Joe Cannon. The Quakes are now 1-1-2 with 5 points from their first 5 games.

Highlights from the game via MLSnet.com

Fire and Quakes Draw, 3-3

2009-04-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Earthquakes earned a 3-3 draw Saturday with the Chicago Fire. San Jose goals from Ryan Johnson and Bobby Convey, and a Marco Pappa goal put the Quakes up 2-1 at halftime. Chicago got and equalizer from Brian McBride, and than Arturo Alvarez's 75th-minute penalty gave the Quakes back the lead. Shea Salinas was ejected for two bookable offenses after coming on for Darren Huckerby, and Chris Rolfe scored five minutes from the end to tie it up for good.

San Jose manager Frank Yallop changed up his lineup after the losing effort in Kansas City last week. Simon Elliott was inserted into midfield, Bobby Convey was moved to left back, while defender Ryan Cochrane came on for Eric Denton and forward Pablo Campos made his first start of the season in place of Cam Weaver.

The Quakes had the lead at 2-1 and 3-2 and weren't able to hold those leads. Manager, Frank Yallop was obviously disappointed. Yallop commented after the game saying, “We’re disappointed not to win at home. I think at the end we were lucky to get a point. At 2-1 at the half, I thought let’s see the game out and do the right thing, but we were awful in the second half.” ON Salinas' red card, he added “It’s a reaction by Shea, he’s just trying to not let them get the ball back when we were winning 3-2. So it looks as a silly move by Shea, but in the heat of the game he’s doing what he needs to do to preserve a lead for us, but it ended up hurting us.”

Darren Huckerby thought the Quakes weren't quite good enough on the night to get the win. “First off, we did alright prior to when they (Chicago) scored their first goal. In the first half we created plenty of scoring chances. In the second half we struggled and that was not quite good enough. Also, there were a few questionable calls that affected us as a whole but we cannot let that get to us in a negative way.”

After moving from defense, back to midfield in the second half Bobby OCnvey was able to score his first goal as a an Earthquake and was relieved. Convey added “It was good to score and really get forward to bring up the team. We should have won easily, but we kind of self-destructed a bit. Sometimes soccer doesn’t go as we would like but you have to work through that. When you have the lead twice in a game, there is no way you should give it up. We need to finish off a lead we create.”

The Quakes will take on the LA Galaxy next week at the Oakland Coliseum. The Quakes need to be racking up some points during these home games early in the season before they head out for a run of several road games.

Quakes get Shutout in KC

2009-04-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

The Kansas City Wizards defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 at Community America Ballpark. There was a wind chill below freezing and winds blowing 25-40 miles per hour. The Wizards struck in the 28th minute as defender Aaron Hohlbein scored his first career goal from a rebound in front of the net. Kansas City added a second one in the 78th minute when Claudio Lopez scored his first goal of the season on an assist from Herculez Gomez.

San Jose appeared to have trouble with the adverse weather conditions and only managed three shots the entire game compared to twelve by the home team. Frank Yallop said the Quakes didn't have it in this game. “We just did not a have a good day today, especially in the first half. They had enough chances to be up two or three goals at the half. We had a good spell in the second half, but that second goal just killed off the game. We need to be more consistent game to game. We were not sharp enough today and I am not going to blame the conditions. They were able to create chances despite the wind.”

Defender Nick Garcia added “It was not a good day for us. The conditions were the same for both teams and they adjusted to them better than we did. We need to play better and create chances to get some goals." Midfielder Simon Elliott who was back from international duty with New Zealand came on in the second half and improved the play a bit but it wasn't enough . After the game he said “We need to be prepared for games like this. They adjusted well to the conditions and we didn’t. You have to be ready for a game with a lot of turnovers and transition play on a day like this. They came out ready and created opportunities and we were slow to the ball.”

Next up for the Earthquakes is an Easter day affair at Buck Shaw Stadium with the visiting Chicago Fire who have started out the season with two wins and a draw.

Quakes Victorious Over Former Quakes

2009-03-28T23:26:00.001-07:00

The San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Houston Dynamo 3-2 at Buck Shaw Stadium tonight. San Jose got on the scoreboard first when Ryan Johnson beat Pat Onstad assisted by Cam Weaver, Arturo Alvarez in the 30th minute. Three minutes later Arturo Alvarez Added one of his own after the dribbled in from the flank. While the Quakes may have started to feel comfortable with a two goal lead it didn't last for long. Stuart Holden crossed the ball right to Chris Wondolowski for an easy header past Cannon and than two minutes later Brad Davis curled a shot past Cannon and the home crowd was stunned. But San Jose kept pressure on and Cam Weaver was able to knock one past Onstad in the 44th minute.

Frank Yallop was happy with obtaining the three point victory commenting “I am obviously very happy scoring three goals at home and getting three points. Obviously it could have gone either way at times. I think it was an early season game where we looked a little bit disjointed at times as a unit, but three points is three points at this point and I feel good about that.” He particularly liked the play of Arturo Alvarez, adding “I thought Arturo played well again. Good goal, but I thought his general play was really good. He looks sharp, glued in and he looks dangerous when he gets the ball.”

Ryan Johnson knew the Dynamo would not rollover. He added “It was kind of a wake up call, Houston has a team that will not let down despite the score, but tonight we learned a lesson and we came out with a huge victory.” In regards to their lack of scoring last week, he said “Coach Yallop was stressing all week about our ability to finish. That’s one thing that let us down last week, we had the chances but we didn’t put it away. Today the final touch was there, we capitalized on our opportunities to score, and we could have had even more if we wanted to.”

Houston coach Dominic Kinnear was disappointed with the result, but not the play on the field “It was an entertaining game. Both teams brought a lot of heart and commitment. For the average fan watching on TV, if you don’t like that, you don’t like soccer. It was a hard fought contest but we are disappointed we didn’t come up with something more.” And he added this on the rivalry that Quakes and Dynamo have formed “It was a great field, great weather, with two teams that are very competitive and want to go forward rather than sit back. For us it was important that we try to get on top of them early and even though we didn’t, it showed the tremendous character of our guys to fight until the end. It’s just two teams trying their best to win games.”

Highlights of the game can be seen here.

Quakes Ink Keeper Graczyk

2009-03-26T04:57:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the team has signed goalkeeper Mike Graczyk to a developmental contract.

The 6-1 goalkeeper comes to San Jose after spending the 2008 season as one of the goalkeepers in the Major League Soccer goalkeeper pool. He trained with the Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas and the Earthquakes last season. His rights were traded from the Colorado Rapids to D.C. United during the offseason. He appeared in one exhibition game for the Quakes last season against CD FAS from El Salvador and also played three games in the reserve division with San Jose.

The Albuquerque native played his college soccer at the University of New Mexico with the Lobos. He saw action all four years at New Mexico. He finished his career with a school-record 30 shutouts. He led the MPSF in goals-against-average and shutouts from 2005-07. His 46 wins in net rank second in school history. He was named a three-time Academic All-MPSF, three-time NSCAA West Region Scholar-Athlete and was a two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI recipient. He won four MPSF Player of the Week honors and recorded three career assists. As a sophomore in 2005, he helped lead the Lobos to the NCAA College Cup for the first time in team history. The Lobos advanced to the championship game before losing 1-0 to Maryland.

Graczyk played his high school soccer at La Cueva High School. They won the 2002 New Mexico 5A state championship. He was the top goalkeeper in the state with a 0.41 goals-against-average and was a first-team all-state player while leading the Bears to a No. 18 national ranking. He was the 2002 Albuquerque Tribune's Player of the Year and the 2002 Gatorade New Mexico Player of the Year.

Quakes Can't Find the Net, Drop Opener 1-0

2009-03-21T23:03:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Earthquakes lost 1-0 to the New England Revolution on Saturday night at Buck Shaw Stadium in front of a sellout crowd of 10,335. Kheli Dube scored the only goal for New England in the 55th minute. While the Quakes outshot the Revolution 16 to 7 they only came as close to hitting the crossbar. The shot by Cam Weaver was a follow up to ta long shot taken by Arturo Alvarez, it hit the bar and bounced straight down just narrowly going in the goal to the dismay of Quakes fans. As the game went on they had other chances but none would go in. Kheli Dube scored the game's only goal in the 55th minute on a deflected pass from Jeff Larentowicz and goalkeeper Matt Reis came up with some key saves to preserve the shutout.

San Jose Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop reflected on the game afterwards “We had a few chances to score, at least one if not two goals. It was a tough night for us, not winning our first game at home, we definitely didn’t want that. It is very disappointing, the guys in the locker room are down and I am disappointed for them too. Tonight we had enough chances. In the first half Cam (Weaver) couldn’t score that opportunity and then Pablo (Campos) had that great chance at the end. We need to finish a bit better.”

Goalkeeper Joe Cannon was also disapointed “It is frustrating and very disappointing, especially with the new guys coming in; we could’ve easily shed the theme from last year. The pressure is going to mount on those guys to get a goal next week, but it is still early in the season.”

Midfielder Darren Huckerby knew it wasn't the Quakes day “I thought we were the only team attacking. You can’t say we are unlucky because we had good chances to win. It didn’t seem to be our day today. I thought we did okay; obviously we could have done better. To create five, six, seven good chances, that is what you are aiming to do in a game. It’s up to us to finish our chances when we have got them.”

Overall the Quakes didn't look to have all of the kinks ironed out yet. Bobby Convey hadn't played much in the preseason and it may take some time for him to find the chemistry with the rest of the guys while he adjusts to being in the middle of the field. Next week's game against Houston will be a big game for the Quakes who obviously don't want to be defeated in their first two games of the season and would love to get off to a better start than they did last season.

Quakes Sign McDonald to Dev Contract

2009-03-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the team has signed midfielder Brandon McDonald to a developmental contract. He played for the Los Angeles Galaxy last season. The 6-1 midfielder returns to the Bay Area, where he played his college soccer at the University of San Francisco. He spent his rookie season in Los Angeles after being drafted by the team 23rd overall in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft. With the Galaxy, he appeared in 16 matches, including 10 starts. He tallied one goal and one assist on the year in 2008, logging 1,036 minutes with the club. While at USF, McDonald also spent time playing with the San Francisco Seals and San Jose Frogs of the United Soccer League’s Premier Development League. He played his club soccer with the Sereno Golden Eagles alongside fellow MLS players, Ronnie Findley, Rob Valentino and Michael Gavin.

Quakes Fans in SF can get a Ride to Home Opener

2009-03-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

The Earthquakes are offering a special deal for fans in San Francisco that want to come out to watch the Quakes home opener vs. the New England Revolution on Saturday, March 21. For only $25, fans will not only get a ticket to the game, but a ride to and from as well. Fans will be picked up from one of the four San Francisco pubs listed below, and will ride down to the game in a bus full of other Quakes supporters, and then back to the pub you started at following the game. Participating pubs in San Francisco include Kezar Pub on Stanyan, Mad Dog in the Fog on Haight, Pig ‘N Whistle on Geary and Danny Coyle’s on Haight. Buses will be at each location for pick up at 5:00 P.M. and will be heading back to SF promptly following the game. Call the Earthquakes to reserve a spot.

Earthquakes Announce Zaher Signing

2009-03-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the team has signed defender Mike Zaher to a developmental contract. “Mike is a skillful left back who understands the game,” said General Manager of Soccer Operations John Doyle. “He gets into the attack well and serves a good ball. We are glad to add him to the team.”

The 5-10 defender comes to San Jose after spending his first season in Major League Soccer last year with D.C. United. He appeared in three league matches with United and eight games in all competitions. He also made ten appearances for the reserve squad, starting nine of those games.

The UCLA product was originally drafted 30th overall in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto F.C. and was traded in early April to D.C. United in exchange for a first round Supplemental Draft pick.

Zaher is also reportedly the star love interest in this Jojo video:

Quakes 6th Best in the West?

2009-03-16T08:50:00.001-07:00

Goal.com has picked the Earthquakes to finish in 6th place out of 8 teams in the Western Conference. They have Houston takeing the West, Seattle in 5th, Quakes in 6th and Dallas and LA bringing up the rear.

Any chance the Quakes finish higher than 6th in the west? Can they finish higher than Seattle? What do you think?

Quakes only better than the Galaxy?

2009-03-16T08:15:00.000-07:00

Soccer by Ives has picked the San Jose Earthquakes to finish 14th out of 15 teams for the 2009 season. He acknowledges the additions of Weaver and Convey but feels that Convey may not be as good of a signing as it was billed. The only team he had finishing worse than the Quakes is the LA Galaxy.

What are your thoughts on Ives prediction? Where do you think the Quakes will finish up?

Quakes Cut Down Timbers in Pre-season Finale

2009-03-14T23:51:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Earthquakes played their final pre-season tuneup tonight at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara. The Earthquakes dominated play and were victors by a 1-0 margin over the Portland Timbers. In the first half alone the Quakes outshot the Timbers 10-0. The Quakes only pyut three of those on frame though and at half time the game was left tied at 0-0. In the 78th minute the Quakes finally got one in on a header by Quincy Amarikwa. For the full game the shot count was 15-3 in favor of the Quakes.

The Quakes played mostly their starting lineup for next week, although Booby Convey didn't play at all due ot an injured quad which the Quakes felt they should rest. Ryan Johnson only played the first 25 minutes to rest his ankle. Amarikwa who came in for Johnson played well. Fans could see Amarikwa's speed and hustle making a difference in the game as he created several opportunities for them. Also playing well on the might was new Earthquake Chris Leitch, who was solid at right back defensively while playing good balls up the right side in addition.

Here's the lineup for the Quakes:

Starting Lineup

* 1 - Joe Cannon (GK)
* 2 - Eric Denton
* 3 - Nick Garcia
* 4 - Chris Leitch
* 6 - Darren Huckerby
* 7 - Simon Elliot
* 10 - Arturo Alvarez 65 out
* 12 - Ramiro Corrales
* 17 - Cam Weaver 65 out
* 19 - Ryan Johnson 25 out
* yellow card22 - Kelly Gray

Substitutes

* 5 - Ryan Cochrane
* 9 - Pablo Campos 65 in
* 11 - Bobby Convey
* 15 - Shea Salinas 65 in
* 18 - Jamil Roberts
* 23 - Mike Zaher
* 25 - Quincy Amarikwa 25 in
* 33 - Brandon McDonald

Jason Hernandez Gets Raise and Contract Extension

2009-03-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Earthquakes have signed defender, Jason Hernandez to a new long-term deal. Details of the deal were not made public, but he will receive a raise, and is now making more than the $52,000 in guaranteed compensation that he was at previously.

Hernandez was a solid contributor to the Quakes stingy defense last season and Quakes fans are well aware that he will put it all out on the field every game. He has a good mix of being strong enough to handle the physical aspect of the position and fast enough to hold his own when necessary. Quakes fans will be happy to know they can count on Jason Hernandez for years to come.

Earthquakes Salary Listing

2009-03-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

The MLS Players Union has released salary information. See the full listing here. Datrren Huckerby is tops the list at $385,000, while Jamil Roberts is on the other end of the spectrum at 20,100. The salaries for the San Jose Earthquakes:

Arturo Alvarez, $174,750 (base), $184,087.50 (guaranteed)
Quincy Amarika, $34,000/$34,000
Pablo Campos, $65,000/$69,846
Joe Cannon, $180,500/$190,756
Ryan Cochrane, $145,000/$146,250
Bobby Convey, $222,000/$244,500
Ramiro Corrales, $190,000/$202,500
Eric Denton, $57,960/$57,960
Nick Garcia, $190,000/$198,750
Kelly Gray, $43,890/$46,222
Jason Hernandez, $51,975/$52,600
Darren Huckerby, $360,000/$385,000
Ryan Johnson, $70,000/$70,000
Chris Leitch, $63,000/$63,000
Jamil Roberts, $20,100/$20,100
Shea Salinas, $36,300/$36,300
Davide Somma, $37,500/$37,500
Cam Weaver, $64,980/$73,230
Andrew Weber, $37,500/$37,500

Which one surprises you the most? Which player do you think is the most overpaid? WHo's the best bargain?

Riihilahti Signing Not Finalized by Quakes?

2009-03-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

Finnish international Aki Riihilahti has reportedly failed a physical administered by the team and San Jose has decided not to finalize the signing on his contract with the league office. Riihilahti has struggled with calf injuries for the last two years and since coming out to San Jose was not able to train consistently. So the Earthquakes balked at finalizing his contract. Without Riihilahti the Quakes will look to the recent signings of Bobby Convey and the recent arrival of Simon Elliot to run the midfield.

Convey Joins Quakes

2009-03-02T00:11:00.000-08:00

Bobbhy Convey is reported to be joining up with his Earthquakes teammates down in Los Angeles as they are practicing down at the Home Depot Center for the next week. Convey is slated to be slotting into the attacking midfield role for San Jose so the team is anxious to get him integrated into the team and begin the gelling process. Convey may play at least some game time in the Quakes Monday game against the Rapids but that remains to be confirmed.

Roster Compliance Deadline - Monday

2009-03-02T00:07:00.001-08:00

MLS roster compliance deadline is Monday, March 2. At that time all MLS teams must be under the salary cap and have no more than 20 senior players and four developmental players under contract. Some teams are already set and will not have to make any moves. Teams will continue to trial players and signings will continue throughout preseason, roster changes are allowed until late in the season. The Quakes roster currently doesn't list who holds their four development contract spots so expect that to be cleared up in the near term.

Zaher and Alcantara to Trial with the Quakes

2009-03-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

Steven Goff has reported that second-year left back Mike Zaher, dropped by D.C. United, is on his way out to try to earn a roster spot with the Earthquakes. He also has reported that that Cuban forward Reinier Alcantara will join the Earthquakes for a trial. Alcantara sought asylum during the Cuban national team's trip to Washington last fall.