Earthquakes Youth Academy Update
Academy Squads Defeat Cal Odyssey
Both Earthquakes Youth Academy squads defeated Cal Odyssey on Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Mustang Soccer Complex in Danville, Calif. The U16s won 1-0 with a goal from Darren Sinclair (San Jose, Calif./Santa Teresa HS) in the 24th minute, and the U18s won 3-1 with goals from Jesus Garcia (Livermore, Calif./Livermore HS), John Knutsen (San Francisco, Calif.) and Julio Cervantes (Oakland, Calif.).
The San Jose Earthquakes (3-0-0) and the Vancouver Whitecaps (3-0-0) are the only two unbeatens in the U16 Northwest Division.
Showcase Tournament
San Jose’s Academy teams will have a weekend off for the holidays before returning to action the following weekend to participate in the Showcase Tournament in Sarasota, Flor. Every club in the country is invited and is randomly paired against other teams to play in a series of three games. The Earthquakes Academy will first face the South Carolina United Battery on Friday, Dec. 2. The U16s kick off at 11:15 a.m. PT and the U18s kick off at 9 a.m. PT.
Misc. Notes
Earthquakes Unveil Protected List for Wednesday’s Expansion Draft
The San Jose Earthquakes announced today the list of protected and unprotected players for the upcoming Major League Soccer Expansion Draft on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 12 p.m. PT. The Montreal Impact will announce their 10 player selections during a press conference from their Montreal offices. The event will be streamed live on MLSsoccer.com.
Earthquakes Protected players
Baca, Rafael (M)
Beitashour, Steven (D)
Bingham, David (GK) (Generation adidas – not eligible for selection)
Busch, Jon (GK)
Cronin, Sam (M)
Dawkins, Simon (M)
Gordon, Alan (F)
Hernandez, Jason (D)
Lenhart, Steven (F)
Morrow, Justin (D)
Opara, Ike (D) (Generation adidas – not eligible for selection)
Stephenson, Khari (M)
Wondolowski, Chris (F)
Earthquakes Unprotected players
Ampaipitakwong, Anthony (M)
Attakora, Nana (D)
Burling, Bobby (D)
Convey, Bobby (M)
Corrales, Ramiro (D)
Gjertsen, Joey (M)
Griffin, Maxwell (F)
Leitch, Chris (D)
Luzunaris, Matt (F)
McLoughlin, Ellis (M)
Peterson, Jacob (M)
Ring, Brad (M)
Sealy, Scott (F)
Ward, Tim (D)
Weber, Andrew (GK)
MLS Schedule Changes
With the addition of the Montreal Impact to MLS in 2012, the league adjusted its schedule to accommodate for an unbalanced schedule. Each club’s total amount of regular-season matches will remain the same at 34, beginning in mid-March and ending in October, despite the additional team.
Western Conference clubs will play each other three times (24 matches) and complete their schedule by playing each of the 10 Eastern Conference clubs once. The Eastern Conference clubs will play seven of their conference opponents three times each (21 matches) and the remaining two conference opponents twice each (4 games). Then the East teams will play the nine West teams once each. The location arrangements made in 2012 will be reversed in 2013.
MLS Playoff Changes
The MLS Cup final will no longer be held at a neutral-site as it has since the inaugural 1996 season, but at the home venue of the participating team with a higher regular-season point total. The decision was made on Saturday, Nov. 19 by the league’s Board of Governors.
The playoff format will also be changed. The playoff field will remain 10 teams; however, the top five teams in each conference will qualify for the postseason without wild card spots. The No. 4 team in each conference will then host the No. 5 team in its conference in a single-elimination game for the right to face its respective conference’s No. 1 seed in the Conference Semifinals. The Conference Championships will shift to a two-leg series instead of a single game.
Attakora, Canada Advance to Third Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifying
Earthquakes defender Nana Attakora picked up his second career cap with the Canadian National Team, coming on as a substitute in the 70th minute on Nov. 15 in a 4-0 win against St. Kitts and Nevis. With a draw and win in two games against St. Kitts and Nevis, Canada advanced to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualifying.
The winners of the six second-round groups (Canada, El Salvador, Guyana, Panama, Guatemala and Antigua & Barbuda) join the six teams that have already received byes (Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, and the United States) to form three groups of four teams each for the next round. The first match kicks off on June 8, 2012.
Attakora earned his first cap with Canada in a friendly against Jamaica on Jan. 31, 2010. Previously, he represented Canada at the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2007 and made appearances with the Canadian U15 and U17 teams.
The Earthquakes acquired Attakora on July 14, 2011 in a four-player trade that sent Ryan Johnson along with an international player slot and allocation money to Toronto FC for Jacob Peterson, Alan Gordon and the young center back. He played in six matches, starting five, for San Jose.
Bingham Returns From Camp with United States U-23s in Germany
San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper David Bingham wrapped up his training stint with the United States U23 National Team in Duisburg, Germany on Nov. 15 in a 1-1 draw against a Bayer Leverkusen squad composed of first teamers and reserves. The rookie goalkeeper kept a clean sheet until Brazilian midfielder Leonardo Lima Ribeiro shot a free kick from 20 yards out in the 89th minute. Bingham and 36 players trained with the US U23s from Nov. 2 through Nov. 16 aiming to impress head coach Caleb Porter ahead of 2012 Olympic qualifying.
Quakes President David Kaval’s Office Hours
Earthquakes President David Kaval’s office hours will continue during the offseason. Fans can drop by his office at 451 El Camino Real, Suite 220 in Santa Clara, Calif. Mondays between 3 and 5 p.m. PT. Participants will be seen on a first come, first serve basis.
Earthquakes Hold No. 6 Overall Pick in SuperDraft
The San Jose Earthquakes will be sixth on the board when the 2012 MLS SuperDraft takes place in Kansas City on Jan. 12. The expansion Montreal Impact hold the No. 1 overall pick for the national televised event on ESPN2. This year’s draft has been reduced to two rounds. The Earthquakes have picked within the top-six in nine previous MLS drafts. The club’s last top-six pick was Ike Opara at No. 3 overall in 2010. San Jose has picked out of the No. 6 slot twice, selecting Luchi Gonzalez in 2002 and Todd Dunivant in 2003.
2012 Season Tickets on Sale
Season tickets for the San Jose Earthquakes’ 2012 campaign are now on sale. Packages include 20 games at a significantly discounted rate as well as a bevy of exclusive season ticket benefits. Prices start at $2,300 for Netsuite VIP On-Field seats and are as affordable as $260 in the Supporters Section. For more information about pricing, payment plans and more, visit www.sjearthquakes.com/season-tickets or call an Earthquakes sales rep at 408-556-7700.
