Earthquakes Schedule for the Week of 2/21/11 (All times GMT)
Tuesday, February 22 – 1 p.m. – Exhibition vs. Birmingham City
Wednesday, February 23 – Training at Spurs Lodge / Reserve game vs. TBA
Thursday, February 24 – Exhibition vs. Leicester City
Friday, February 25 – Training at Spurs Lodge
Saturday, February 26 – Training at Spurs Lodge
Sunday, February 27 – Depart for SFO from London
Kaval’s Kickoff Debuts on sjearthquakes.com
The San Jose Earthquakes announced last week that President Dave Kaval will write a weekly blog, Kaval’s Kickoff, for the team’s official website sjearthquakes.com. Kaval’s first installment appeared Friday on the website, but the blog will typically run on Mondays throughout the season. The first installment touches on a variety of subjects, including the team’s trip to England, the upcoming stadium demolition and stadium design. Kaval is an experienced author having written The Summer that Saved Baseball, which was published in 2000. The book chronicles Kaval’s summer journey in 1998 to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums in 38 days. Fans are encouraged to send in questions or thoughts to Kaval directly at president@sjearthquakes.com.
Quakes Training at Spurs Lodge
The San Jose Earthquakes arrived in London on Friday, Feb. 18 and immediately got to work training at club partner Tottneham HotspurSpurs Lodge. Over the weekend, the Quakes went through full training sessions in preparation for a trio of matches. First up is a game against Birmingham City of the English Premier League on Tuesday at 1 p.m. GMT. San Jose will play a reserve match on Wednesday at Spurs Lodge and closes with another game for the first team on Thursday at Leicester City. Leicester City plays in the second tier of English soccer, The Championship.
Mercury News Blog
The <i>San Jose Mercury News</i> will be running some blogs from Quakes players during the team’s time in London. The first blog from Jason Hernandez appeared Saturday. Check out www.mercurynews.com to see what’s happening across the pond.
Academy Players Train with Tottenham Hotspur Academy in London
Quakes U-16 players Travis Pillon, Samuel Engs, Alfred Edmonds and Nick Lima practiced with the Tottenham Hotspur U-16 Academy on Monday and will continue to train with the squad throughout the week. Academy coach and Earthquakes legend Troy Dayak is in camp to oversee the group. In the spirit of San Jose’s club partnership with Tottenham Hotspur, Dayak met with Spurs Academy Manager John McDermott for an hour to discuss player development and academy structure.
International Trialists Join San Jose’s Camp in London
Trialists from the Netherlands, Ireland, Ghana and England joined the Earthquakes in camp over the weekend. The group includes several reservists from around the English Premier League, most notably a duo from Tottenham Hotspur. The Quakes also have a pair of American trialists in camp in former Hertha BSC (Germany) forward Ellis McLoughlin and former SK Rapid Wien (Austria) forward Matt Luzunaris.
Quakes Re-sign Stephenson
The San Jose Earthquakes announced last week that they re-signed Jamaican international midfielder Khari Stephenson. Per league and team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Stephenson, 30, returns for his second season in San Jose. The Earthquakes initially signed Stephenson on August 10, 2010 and Stephenson started each of the 11 games he played for San Jose last season. The lanky playmaker scored his lone goal for San Jose in a crucial 2-1 win on Sept. 5 against the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium. He also set up Chris Wondolowski’s game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on Aug. 14. Prior to joining the Earthquakes, he spent five seasons in both Sweden and Norway. The Jamaican midfielder most recently played at Aalesunds FK in the Norwegian Tippeligean (the top league in Norway). He joined Aalesunds in 2008 and scored four goals in 39 appearances, helping his club to the Norwegian Cup title in 2009. He was a part of their qualification for the 2010/2011 Europa Cup also.
Quakes Add Three FOX Soccer Telecasts for 2011
The San Jose Earthquakes will appear three times on FOX Soccer in 2011 bringing their total number of national television appearances to six this season. The Quakes will appear once on ESPN2, once on Telefutura and once on Galavision in addition to the three FOX Soccer matches. The Quakes appear on FOX Soccer on back-to-back weekends on Friday, June 17 at Sporting Kansas City and Saturday, June 25 at home against the LA Galaxy. The June 17 game at Kansas City was originally scheduled for June 18 and the June 25 match against the Galaxy will now kick off at 8 p.m. PT. The Quakes then play Seattle Sounders FC at Qwest Field on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. PT to round out their FOX Soccer schedule. San Jose’s other national television appearances include April 23 against Chivas USA at Buck Shaw Stadium on Telefutura, June 4 against the Houston Dynamo at home on Galavision and July 2 against the New York Red Bulls on ESPN2 at home. The Earthquakes local television and radio broadcast schedules will be released at a future date. For the team’s complete schedule, go to SJEarthquakes.com/schedule.
Eight Quakes Academy Players in Nor Cal Top 20 Rankings
Eight players from the Earthquakes Academy have been named to the Northern California and Hawaii Top 20 rankings. Travis Pillon highlights this group, coming in at number two for the Class of 2013. For the Class of 2011, Jimmy Callinian is ranked fourth and Juan Guerrero is ranked seventh. The Class of 2012 features Alfred Edmonds at eighth and Samuel Engs at 16th. Cristian Cruz (9th) and Nick Lima (19th) are in the Class of 2013 rankings. Rounding out the group is Marco Neves, who is a recent addition to the academy. He is ranked eighth in the Class of 2014.
Earthquakes Preseason Schedule and Results
The Quakes are currently 2-1-1 in their first four preseason games. They have upcoming matches against Birmingham City, Leicester City and the Colorado Rapids.
Feb. 7 – Chivas USA def. Earthquakes 1-0 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Feb. 10 – Earthquakes tie LA Galaxy 1-1 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. (Opara)
Feb. 11 – Earthquakes def. Ventura County Fusion 2-1 at Oxnard Community College in Oxnard, Calif. (Donatelli, Trialist)
Feb. 15 – Earthquakes def. Cal 4-0 at Nutrilite Training Facility in San Jose (Wondolowski, Trialist, Trialist (2))
Feb. 22 – 1 p.m. – Earthquakes vs. Birmingham City
Feb. 24 – Earthquakes vs. Leicester City
Feb. 25–Feb. 27 - Train in London, England
Feb. 28–March 3 - Train in San Jose, Calif.
March 4 – San Jose vs. Colorado Rapids, Alex G. Spanos Stadium at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
March 6–March 18 - Train in San Jose, Calif.
Mexico to Face Paraguay
The San Jose Earthquakes, Soccer United Marketing (SUM) and the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF) announced that the Mexican National Team will face Paraguay on Saturday, March 26 at 2 p.m. PT at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. This Bay Area stop is part of Mexico’s 2011 U.S. Tour. For group tickets or suites, please contact the Earthquakes Front Office. Tickets for the general public will go on sale on Friday, Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. PT by visiting www.Tickets.com, by calling 800-225-2277 or visiting the usual tienda locations. A special two-pack that includes a ticket to the Mexico-Paraguay game and a voucher for a ticket to an Earthquakes game can be purchased for as low as $30. To purchase the two-pack, fans should call 408-556-7700. Tickets for the general public will go on sale on Friday, Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. PT by visiting www.Tickets.com, by calling 800-225-2277 or visiting the usual tienda locations. A special two-pack that includes a ticket to the Mexico-Paraguay game and a voucher for a ticket to an Earthquakes game can be purchased for as low as $30. To purchase the two-pack, fans should call 408-556-7700.
2011 Season Tickets on Sale Now
Season tickets for 2011 are now on sale and fans can log on to sjearthquakes.com or call 408-556-7700 to purchase season tickets. The 20-game season ticket package includes two bonus games and a playoff game ticket. Season ticket packages start as low as $240. All packages offer significant savings off the regular price and season ticket holders will also receive the following benefits: special invitations to private season ticket holder events, ability to purchase season-long parking pass at a discounted rate, a 10-year anniversary MLS Cup Championship patch and scarf, as well as additional perks.
2011 Individual Tickets on Sale
Individual tickets for 2011 San Jose Earthquakes home matches are now on sale. Ticket prices are $20, $25, $35 and $50 for games at Buck Shaw Stadium. To purchase tickets, fans should visit sjearthquakes.com or call 1-800-225-2277.
