2016

Weekly Update: May 9, 2016

Starting XI - San Jose Earthquakes - SEAvSJ

After playing their first back-to-back road contests of the season, the Earthquakes return home to face the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night at Avaya Stadium, presented by PG&E. The matchup kicks off at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on CSNBA, 1590 KLIV and 1370 KZSF.
Despite several chances, the Quakes fell to Seattle Sounders FC 2-0 on Saturday at CenturyLink Field. The defeat snapped a 22-game scoring streak for San Jose, which was the eighth longest streak in Major League Soccer history. Nineteen-year-old midfielder Matheus Silva earned his first career start in the match and offseason signing Chad Barrett also made his first appearance with the Earthquakes, starting and playing 73 minutes against his former club.


OPPONENT INFORMATION
Earthquakes vs. Houston Dynamo All-Time
MLS Regular Season: 6-7-1
Home: 4-3-1 (11 GF, 8 GA)
Away: 2-5-0 (7 GF, 12 GA)
Playoffs: 0-0-0; US Open Cup: 0-0-0
All-Time Scoring: San Jose – 18, Dynamo – 20
Last Game vs. Houston Dynamo
Earthquakes 1, Houston Dynamo 2; August 8, 2015; BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, Texas
The San Jose Earthquakes got a goal from forward Quincy Amarikwa, his fourth in five games since joining the team, but fell to the Houston Dynamo 2-1 at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Earthquakes were without two of their three Designated Players, including midfielder Matias Perez Garcia who is among the league leaders in assists, and center back Clarence Goodson. Midfielder Marc Pelosi got the nod in Perez Garcia’s absence, making his first career start in the process. In the 29th minute, Dynamo forward Will Bruin played a low ball across the box towards midfielder Brad Davis. Davis lunged for the ball, but his sliding attempt rolled just wide of the far post. Five minutes before halftime, a free kick was lofted onto the foot of Quakes forward Chris Wondolowski. Wondolowski created separation and had a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper, but his shot attempt was parried away. In the 44th minute, San Jose seemed to have a taken a 1-0 lead when midfielder Shea Salinas’ cross to Wondolowski was redirected into the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed for offsides. Houston took a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute. Defender DaMarcus Beasley made a darting run through the Quakes penalty area and slotted his left-footed shot into the net. San Jose went down to 10 men in the 60th minute, when midfielder Fatai Alashe picked up his second yellow card of the match. Despite being a man down, the Earthquakes continued to push forward, eventually finding the equalizer in the 70th minute. Defender Shaun Francis headed the ball towards goal and forward Chris Wondolowski sprinted towards it. Beating keeper Joe Willis to the bouncing ball, Wondolowski let it run across his body and onto the chest of forward Quincy Amarikwa, who tucked it home. Amarikwa has now scored each of the last four goals for the Quakes, with all four goals coming on the road. Houston regained the lead in the 77th minute with a goal by midfielder Alex. The score would prove to be the difference at the final whistle.
History of the Quakes – Houston Dynamo Rivalry
The history of the Earthquakes-Dynamo rivalry pre-dates their first meeting on the field, as the original San Jose Earthquakes moved to Houston following the 2005 season, with MLS eventually returning to San Jose in 2008 … The first meeting between the two clubs came on May 22, 2008, when the Earthquakes edged the Dynamo, 2-1, at Buck Shaw Stadium on the strength of second-half goals by Kei Kamara and Ivan Guerrero … On Sept. 13, 2008, the Earthquakes and Dynamo battled to the lone tie in the all-time series between the two clubs, a 1-1 draw at Buck Shaw Stadium … Later that season on Oct. 15, the Dynamo handed the Earthquakes a 2-1 defeat at Robertson Stadium … In 2009, the Earthquakes and Dynamo split the season series, with the Earthquakes winning 3-2 at Buck Shaw on March 28, and the Dynamo earning a 3-1 victory on May 23 at Robertson … With a 2-1 triumph over Houston at Robertson on Sept. 5, 2010, San Jose became the first of the two clubs to record a win on the road, as Earthquakes midfielder Khari Stephenson and former forward Geovanni each scored the first goals of their MLS careers … Houston returned the favor with a 1-0 decision at Buck Shaw on Oct. 16, 2010 … On June 4, 2011, San Jose earned a 2-0 home victory, the second-half goals coming from Steven Lenhart and Simon Dawkins … At the end of 2011, the Dynamo produced a come-from-behind 2-1 win in Houston on Sept. 17 … In 2012, the Houston Dynamo picked up a 1-0 victory thanks to a Brian Ching first-half penalty at AT&T Park in San Francisco on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 … Houston won the two teams’ first meeting at BBVA Compass Stadium 2-0 on March 30, 2013 thanks to goals from Will Bruin and Giles Barnes … San Jose routed Houston in a 3–0 victory on May 25, 2014 at Buck Shawn Stadium in Santa Clara, CA … With the help of a second half goal by forward Adam Jahn, the Earthquakes defeated the Dynamo 1-0 on May 5, 2015 at BVAA Compass Stadium … In their second meeting of the season, the Quakes fell to the Dynamo 2-0 at Avaya Stadium on July 10 … The Earthquakes fell to the Dynamo 2-1 in their final clash of 2015 at BVAA Compass Stadium.
Earthquakes – Houston Dynamo Connections
Following the 2005 MLS season, the San Jose Earthquakes relocated to Houston as the Houston Dynamo … The Earthquakes (2001, 2003) and Dynamo (2006, 2007) each have a pair of MLS Cup championships, with only D.C. United (4) and the LA Galaxy (5) having earned more MLS titles … Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear coached the Houston Dynamo for nine seasons from 2006 to 2014 … Dynamo assistant coach Wade Barrett played for San Jose from 1998-02, and again in 2005, and still ranks among the club’s all-time leaders in several statistical categories, including fifth in appearances (142) … San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski played for the Dynamo from 2006-09, scoring four goals in 37 games … Quakes midfielder Tommy Thompson (2013) and Dynamo forward Will Bruin (2008-10) both played at Indiana University … Houston’s Tyler Deric made his MLS debut with Houston vs. San Jose on Oct. 16, 2010, making three saves to post his first career shutout and the first in league play for the Dynamo since July 10, 2010, breaking a streak of 12 games without a shutout … Houston’s Ricardo Clark was a member of the Earthquakes in 2005, appearing in 30 games, starting all but two of the appearances, and scored three goal … Quakes defender Victor Bernardez and Houston midfielder Oscar Boniek Garcia represented Honduras in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil … Dynamo forward Giles Barnes as well as Quakes defender Jordan Stewart and midfielder Simon Dawkins are all from England … Quakes forward Mark Sherrod made nine appearances for Houston in 2014 and scored two goals … Earthquakes midfielder Matheus Silva and Dynamo midfielder Alex were both born in Sao Paulo, Brazil … Houston midfielders Cristian Maidana and  Leonel Miranda as well as San Jose defender Andres Imperiale and midfielder Matias Perez Garcia are all from Argentina … Dynamo defender Jalil Anibaba is from Fontana, California and went to Santa Clara University (2007-09) … Anibaba and Earthquakes forward Chad Barrett were teammates on Seattle Sounders FC in 2014 … Earthquakes defender Kofi Sarkodie made 98 appearances and tallied 10 assists for Houston from 2011-15 before being traded to San Jose earlier this season.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
And Then There Was One
Houston is the only active team that Chris Wondolowski has not scored a goal against in his career. If he finds the net Wednesday, he would be the second player in MLS history to score against 21 different teams, including all 20 in the league today [Kei Kamara].
Bernardez Nears Personal Milestone
With 40 or more minutes against the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday, Victor Bernardez will reach 10,000 career minutes in MLS and with the Earthquakes.
It All Starts with Bingham
Goalkeeper David Bingham has been lights out at Avaya Stadium this season, recording an undefeated 4-0-1 record with three shutouts. Bingham has allowed just two goals in five home matches.
Home-Field Advantage
The Earthquakes are currently riding an 11-game unbeaten streak at home (7-0-4) dating back to last September.
Barrett Debuts Against Former Club
Forward Chad Barrett made his Earthquakes debut on Saturday against his former club, starting and playing 73 minutes. He missed San Jose’s first eight games of the season due to a groin injury.
Fountain of Youth
Nineteen-year-old midfielder Matheus Silva made his first professional start Saturday at Seattle after joining the club last July.
All Good Things Come to An End
The 2-0 loss to Seattle Saturday snapped the Earthquakes 22-game scoring streak, the eighth longest in MLS history. The last match in which San Jose was kept off the scoreboard was August 2, 2015 vs. Portland (D 0-0) and the last time in a loss was July 10, 2015 vs. Houston (L 2-0).
Atop the Leaderboard
Forward Chris Wondolowski has seven goals this season, tied for the most in Major League Soccer. He is one of just two players in the Western Conference with more five or more goals (Fanendo Adi – 7, Giovani dos Santos – 5).
MLS Goals Since 2010
Chris Wondolowski has been by far the league’s most efficient striker since 2010, leading the league in goals during that time span:
1. Chris Wondolowski – 109 goals
2. Robbie Keane – 77
3. Alvaro Saborio – 70
4. Kei Kamara – 64
5. Sebastien Le Toux – 55
6. Fabian Espindola – 53
7. Thierry Henry – 51
8. Dominic Oduro – 50
9. Will Bruin – 49
T10. Landon Donovan – 48
T10. Bradley Wright-Phillips – 48
Wondolowski Continues To Climb All-Time MLS Goals List
Chris Wondolowski knows how to find the back of the net. Here are the top-10 all-time goal scorers in MLS history:
1. Landon Donovan – 144 in 334 games
2. Jeff Cunningham – 134 in 365 games
3. Jaime Moreno – 133 in 340 games
4. Chris Wondolowski – 116 in 239 games
5. Ante Razov – 114 in 262 games
6. Jason Kreis – 108 in 305 games
7. Dwayne De Rosario – 104 in 343 games
8. Taylor Twellman – 101 in 174 games
9. Edson Buddle – 100 in 304 games
T10. Roy Lassiter – 88 in 179 games
T10. Carlos Ruiz – 88 in 182 games
Wondolowski Near Top Of MLS All-Time Game-Winning Goals List
Chris Wondolowski has a flair for game-winning goals. Here are the top-five game-winning goal scorers in MLS history:
1. Landon Donovan – 41 in 334 games
2. Jeff Cunningham – 40 in 365 games
3. Chris Wondolowski – 38 in 239 games
4. Ante Razov – 33 in 262 games
5. Jason Kreis – 31 in 305 games
Road Goals Leaderboard
Here are the top-five goal scorers on the road in MLS history:
1. Landon Donovan – 62
2. Chris Wondolowski – 58
3.Jeff Cunningham – 57
4. Ante Razov – 54
5. Jaime Moreno – 50
Goals for One Club
Here are the top-five goal scorers with a single club in MLS history:
1. Jaime Moreno, DC – 131
T2. Chris Wondolowski, SJ – 112
T2.Landon Donovan, LA – 112
4. Taylor Twellman, NE – 101
5. Jason Kreis, DAL – 91
Five Earthquakes Named to Provisional Rosters for 2016 Copa America Centenario
The Copa America Centenario Local Organizing Committee unveiled the preliminary 40-player rosters submitted by the 16 participating member associations for this summer's Copa America Centenario. Five Earthquakes players earned nods, including Simon Dawkins (Jamaica), Anibal Godoy (Panama), Alberto Quintero (Panama), David Bingham (USA) and Chris Wondolowski (USA).
ACADEMY UPDATE
The San Jose Earthquakes Academy squads faced off against Juventus Sport Club on Saturday at Canada College, going undefeated in all three matches. The U-18 squad defeated Juventus 4-1, with the U-16 team drawing 2-2 against their opponents to the north. The U-14s then earned a shutout victory 2-0 to cap off the successful weekend.
Registration for the Quakes Academy Summer Camp Program is open. The program is available for a wide age range and for all skill levels, from elite to recreational. Team camps are also available. For more information or to register, please click here.