The Earthquakes continue their season-opening two-game home stand on Sunday, March 13 against the reigning MLS Cup champion Portland Timbers, presented by Supercuts. The match kicks off at 4:00 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1, 1590 KLIV (English) and 1370 KZSF (Spanish).
Last week, the Quakes opened their 2016 campaign with a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Sunday afternoon at Avaya Stadium. Chris Wondolowski scored the match’s lone goal, with assists credited to Alberto Quintero and Quincy Amarikwa.
Earthquakes goalkeeper David Bingham made five saves to preserve the clean sheet, earning him a spot on the Major League Soccer Team of the Week (Week 1).
OPPONENT INFORMATION
Earthquakes vs. Portland Timbers All-Time
MLS Regular Season: 1-5-7
Home: 1-1-4 (7 GF, 7 GA)
Away: 0-4-3 (6 GF, 12 GA)
All-Time Scoring: San Jose – 13, Colorado – 19
Last Game vs. Timbers
Earthquakes 0, Portland Timbers 0; August 2, 2015; Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif.
The San Jose Earthquakes kept a clean sheet and earned a point against the Portland Timbers in front of a sellout crowd of 18,000 at Avaya Stadium. San Jose was forced to play the match without one of their two starting center backs, Clarence Goodson, due to a left leg injury. His replacement, Jordan Stewart, made his first start of the season at center back, while midfielder Marc Pelosi made his first league appearance at Avaya Stadium, entering the match in the 78th minute. The Earthquakes nearly got on the board in the 7th minute. Midfielder Shea Salinas sent a cross into the middle of the box to Quakes forward Chris Wondolowski, who was able to sneak behind the Portland back line unguarded. Wondolowski took the shot from only a few yards away, but Portland goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey was able to make the save. In the 34th minute, San Jose almost found the back of the net again after Salinas chipped a shot from the left side of the penalty area to the back post. The shot narrowly avoided the punch by Kwarasey, but drifted just wide. In the 47th minute, Portland forward Fanendo Adi hit a low shot, which snuck past Quakes keeper David Bingham, but smacked the far post. The Earthquakes created another chance in the 61st minute. Quakes defender Marvell Wynne floated in a cross, but midfielder Fatai Alashe’s header went just high. Two minutes later, San Jose defender Shaun Francis held possession on the left flank, cut back onto his right foot and curled his shot up and over Kwarasey. His shot attempt drifted just long, landing on top of the net. In the 75th minute, Portland seemed destined to take the lead when a penalty was drawn, but midfielder Diego Valeri’s PK attempt caromed off the crossbar, eventually being cleared out of danger.
History of the Quakes – Portland Timbers Rivalry
The Earthquakes and Timbers rivalry dates back to when the teams played in the North American Soccer League … The squads faced off for the first time as members of the NASL in 1975 in San Jose and the Earthquakes were victorious 2-1 with Ilija Mitic scoring both goals for the Quakes … The Timbers evened the series with a 2-1 home victory towards the end of the ’75 season … In 1976 the teams only met once and Portland got the better of the Earthquakes in a 1-0 victory in San Jose … The Earthquakes swept the 1977 season series with a 3-2 victory at home and 2-1 win in Portland … The Timbers came back in 1978 and outscored the Earthquakes 8-2 in two wins on their way to the NASL National Conference Final, where they lost to the New York Cosmos … The teams split the 1979 series with Portland winning 4-3 in San Jose and the Earthquakes winning 2-1 in Portland …In 1980 the Earthquakes dropped both games to the Timbers, losing each match by just one goal … The Timbers got the best of the Earthquakes in 1981 as well, sweeping the season series by finals of 3-0 and 2-1 … 1982 was the last NASL series between the two teams … The Earthquakes won the first game 1-0 in Portland and the Timbers were victorious 1-0 when they traveled to San Jose … The two sides played again in a 2001 exhibition in Portland and the Timbers were victorious 2-1 … The next meeting came in 2004 during the U.S. Open Cup and the Earthquakes won 3-0 … In 2005 the sides met again in the U.S. Open Cup and the Earthquakes were victorious 2-0 … The Earthquakes topped Portland in U.S. Open Cup Qualifying 1-0 on May 3, 2011 with Ike Opara scoring the game winner in the 120th minute … The Earthquakes and Timbers battled to a pair of 1-1 draws in 2011 … Portland got the better of San Jose 2-1 at JELD-WEN Field in the two team’s first meeting of 2012, snapping a three-game winning streak for the Earthquakes … Chris Wondolowski came off the bench to score a pair of second-half goals and rally San Jose from a two-goal deficit in a 2-2 draw at Buck Shaw Stadium on Sept. 19 … The Earthquakes andTimbers closed out the 2012 regular season with a 1-1 draw on Oct. 27. Chris Wondolowski tied Roy Lassiter’s single-season mark of 27goals with a penalty kick in the 24th minute … Portland won the clubs’ first of three meetings in 2013 1-0 at JELD-WEN Field with Will Johnson curling home a free kick in the 78th minute … San Jose rallied at Buck Shaw Stadium to draw even with Portland 1-1 thanks to a 92nd-minute goal from Adam Jahn on April 21, 2013 … The Earthquakes picked up their first-ever win against the Timbers on July 27,2013 with a 2-1 result at Buck Shaw Stadium … San Jose secured a valuable road point in a thrilling 3-3 draw against the Timbers at Providence Park to open their 2014 series on Sept. 7 and then fell 2-1 in the next installment at Buck Shaw Stadium on Oct. 4 … In their third game against the Timbers in 2014, the Earthquakes suffered a 3-0 loss at Providence Park … In their first meeting of the 2015 season, the Earthquakes lost late at Providence Park after giving up a 91st minute goal that led to a 1-0 win for the Timbers … Their second match of 2015 ended with a 0-0 draw at Avaya Stadium.
Earthquakes – Portland Timbers Connections
Portland head coach Caleb Porter was originally drafted by San Jose in the third round (No. 27 overall) of the 1998 MLS SuperDraft … Porter appeared in four matches with the Clash in 1999, his only season with the club … Earthquakes Designated Player Matias Perez Garcia and Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri are Argentinean … Both were in the top division of Argentine soccer in 2011-12 with Perez Garcia playing for CA All Boys and Valeri for Lanus … Perez Garcia and Valeri each started their careers at Lanus in the Buenos Aires province … Earthquakes defender Jordan Stewart and Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell are both English and played in the Premiership … Ridgewell spent most of his professional career in Stewart’s hometown of Birmingham, playing for Aston Villa from 2002-07 and Birmingham City from 2007-12 … Stewart made his MLS debut against Portland on July 27, 2013 … Earthquakes defender Shaun Francis and Portland midfielder Neco Brett and defenders Alvas Powell and Jermaine Taylor were born in Jamaica … Francis and Taylor played together on the Jamaican National Team in 2010 … Quakes midfielder Simon Dawkins has also played for the Jamaica National Team, beginning in 2014 … Earthquakes goalkeeper David Bingham, forward Chris Wondolowski and defender Clarence Goodson along with Timbers midfielder/forward Darlington Nagbe have all played for the United States National Team … Timbers midfielder Ned Grabavoy played for the Earthquakes in 2008 … Portland forward Fanendo Adi and San Jose forward Innocent are both originally from Nigeria.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
Off to a Fast Start
The 1-0 win over Colorado marked the team’s first win on opening day since 2012 and just the second since 2003. San Jose is now 7-10-2 all-time in season openers.
Can’t Keep Them Off the Scoreboard
The Earthquakes now haven’t been shut out in any of their previous 14 matches dating back to last season, marking the longest active streak in Major League Soccer.
Dominance at Avaya Stadium
San Jose is now 8-3-5 at Avaya Stadium, allowing just nine goals in those 16 matches (0.56 goals per game average). The Quakes defense has tallied shutouts in more than half of their matches at Avaya (9 of 16).
Strong Against Colorado
With the win, San Jose extended their unbeaten streak against Colorado to 13 games (7-0-6). The Earthquakes have surrendered more than one goal in a match against the Rapids just once over their last 29 meetings, while keeping 11 clean sheets.
Wondo Magic
Captain Chris Wondolowski headed in the lone goal against the Rapids. Wondolowski now has 110 career goals in MLS, just four shy of Ante Razov for fourth on the league’s all-time leaderboard. Wondo also tallied his 37th career game-winning goal, third most in MLS history (Landon Donovan – 41; Jeff Cunningham 40).
Coming Up Clutch
For the 13th time as a member of the Earthquakes, Wondolowski has tallied the lone goal in a 1-0 victory.
Making an Immediate Impact
With an assist in their win over Colorado, midfielder Alberto Quintero became the first Quakes player to tally a goal or an assist in his MLS debut since Matias Perez Garcia scored against the LA Galaxy on August 8, 2014.
Different Season, Same Production
Forward Quincy Amarikwa tallied an assist on the match’s lone goal on Sunday. Amarikwa now has six goals and five assists, including three game-winning assists, in 18 games since joining San Jose midseason last year.
Another Milestone
Quakes defender Clarence Goodson surpassed 10,000 career minutes played in MLS with his 90-minute performance against Colorado on Sunday afternoon.
Clean Sheets
Earthquakes goalkeeper David Bingham made five saves in the shutout victory, earning MLS Team of the Week (Week 1) honors in the process. He has kept 13 clean sheets in 35 games (37%) since taking over as the team’s starting goalkeeper prior to the 2015 season.
Hold the Lead
Head coach Dominic Kinnear improved to 86-6-24 all-time when his side scores first at home, including a 20-1-6 record with the Earthquakes.
Youth Movement
Dominic Kinnear used three subs on Sunday – defender Kip Colvey and midfielders Matheus Silva and Tommy Thompson. Colvey (21), Silva (19) and Thompson (20) are all 21 years of age or younger.
First Impressions
Defender Kip Colvey and midfielders Alberto Quintero and Matheus Silva each made their MLS debuts during the match.
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Earthquakes Launch Radio Show, The Soccer Hour, on KNBR 1050
The San Jose Earthquakes have partnered with KNBR radio to launch a new radio show dedicated to the Earthquakes and world soccer that will air Wednesday nights on KNBR 1050. The show, named The Soccer Hour, debuted last week.
San Jose Earthquakes and CSN Unveil 2016 Local Broadcast Schedule
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