The Earthquakes head back on the road for their first and only matchup with the Chicago Fire this season on Friday, July 1 at Toyota Park. The matchup kicks off at 5:00 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on UniMas, 1590 KLIV and 1370 KZSF.
Last Saturday, the Earthquakes earned a dramatic 1-1 draw against the rival LA Galaxy at Stanford Stadium in front of a California Clasico-record 50,816 fans. Forward Chad Barrett’s 90th-minute header, assisted by midfielder Shea Salinas, kept the Quakes undefeated (5-0-3) at home this season. The draw moved San Jose to 3-1-1 all-time against LA at Stanford Stadium.
OPPONENT INFORMATION
Earthquakes vs. Chicago Fire All-Time
MLS Regular Season: 10-13-11
Home: 8-5-5 (25 GF, 19 GA)
Away: 2-8-6 (17 GF, 30 GA)
US Open Cup: 0-1-0
All-Time Scoring: San Jose – 42, Chicago – 49
Last Game vs. Chicago Fire
Earthquakes 2, Chicago Fire 1; March 22, 2015; Avaya Stadium, San Jose, California
The San Jose Earthquakes christened their new home with an electric 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire in the inaugural match at Avaya Stadium in front of a sellout crowd of 18,000. San Jose opened the scoring in the fifth minute of the match. Following a corner kick by midfielder Matias Perez Garcia, the ball was headed into the air and redirected goal-ward by defender Clarence Goodson. Rookie midfielder Fatai Alashe found himself between the ball and the goal and headed the ball into the back of the net. It marked Alashe’s first career MLS goal. The Earthquakes doubled their lead in the 21st minute. Perez Garcia whipped in an out-swinging free kick from the left side of the pitch. Goodson created space outside of the six-yard box and volleyed the ball on target with his left foot. The bouncing ball wasn’t played cleanly by Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson and the rebound was slotted home by defender Ty Harden. It marked Harden’s first career MLS goal and his 100th career MLS match. The Fire got a goal back in the 29th minute on the right foot of Harry Shipp. Shipp received a through ball from Joevin Jones near the penalty spot and first-timed the ball past Quakes keeper David Bingham. In the 32nd minute, Bingham’s quick reflexes helped keep San Jose’s one-goal advantage. Fire defender Eric Gehrig firmly headed a corner kick on net, but Bingham punched the ball safely over the crossbar. The two sides created several scoring chances in the second half, but neither team was able to find the back of the net.
History of the Quakes – Chicago Fire Rivalry
The Earthquakes and the Chicago Fire have had a memorable rivalry since the Fire came into MLS in 1998 … The most memorable game of the rivalry came in 2003, when Chicago and San Jose met for the MLS Cup at The Home Depot Center on Nov. 23 … The Quakes defeated the Fire 4-2 in Frank Yallop’s final game as the head coach before returning two seasons ago … Landon Donovan scored two goals, while Ronnie Ekelund and Richard Mulrooney each netted a goal to lead the Quakes to the victory … That game was the only playoff meeting between two of the league’s most successful clubs … The two teams have played each other twice in U.S. Open Cup Play, during Chicago’s inaugural season in 1998 and on May 24, 2011 … The first Open Cup match saw a quarterfinal tie that went into penalty kicks after goals from Lubos Kubik for Chicago and Jeff Baicher for San Jose saw the score knotted at one-all after regulation and overtime … The Fire prevailed in the PK shootout, 4-3, on their way to winning the title … In May of 2011, a 2-2 tie with goals from Ellis McLoughlin and Justin Morrow for San Jose and Orr Barouch and Yamith Cuesta for Chicago led to another round of PKs. Chicago prevailed 5-4 in the PK shootout … Chicago failed to win an MLS game against San Jose in 2011 for the first time in franchise history … Fire defender Cory Gibbs robbed San Jose of a road win on May 28, 2011, after Ramiro Corrales and Chris Wondolowski scored for the Quakes … Corrales and Wondolowski each scored again in the return fixture at Buck Shaw Stadium on September 10 to give San Jose a 2-0 win, their first home against the Fire since a 2-0 win on Sep. 21, 2005 at Spartan Stadium … On July 28, 2012, San Jose and Chicago played to a 1-1 draw. Quakes forward Steven Lenhart scored the equalizer eight minutes into stoppage time … On July 3, 2013, Chicago capped off a thrilling 3-2 win over San Jose. An Alan Gordon goal and an own-goal equalizer couldn’t sustain a late Chicago furry after 84th minute goal from Fire forward Chris Rolfe. On July 23, 2014, the San Jose Earthquakes routed the Chicago Fire 5-1 at Buck Shaw Stadium with their largest offensive output since 2012 … The Quakes defeated the Fire 2-1 in the inaugural match at Avaya Stadium on March 22, 2015, with the venue’s first-ever goal coming just five minutes into the match from rookie Fatai Alashe.
Earthquakes – Chicago Fire Connections
Forward Quincy Amarikwa played for the Fire from 2013-15 before being traded to the Earthquakes midseason … Quakes forward Chad Barrett was drafted by the Fire as the third overall pick in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft and spent three and a half seasons with the club … Barrett and Chicago midfielder Nick LaBrocca were teammates on Toronto FC in 2010 … Earthquakes forward Innocent and Chicago forward Kennedy Igboananike both hail from Nigeria … Earthquakes midfielder Tommy Thompson and Chicago defender Patrick Doody both played at Indiana University in 2013 … Earthquakes defender Shaun Francis played for Chicago in 2013 … Francis and Chicago defender Eric Gehrig were teammates on the Columbus Crew from 2011-12 … Quakes midfielder Shea Salinas and Fire midfielder Arturo Alvarez are both from Texas … Alvarez spent two separate stints with the Quakes from 2003-04 and 2008-10 … San Jose midfielder Matheus Silva along with Chicago defender Rodrigo Ramos and forward Gilberto are all from Brazil … Fire defender Brandon Vincent (2012-15) and Earthquakes forward Adam Jahn (2009-12) both played at Stanford … Chicago midfielder Michael Stephens (2006-09) as well as San Jose forward Chad Barrett (2003-04) and defender Marvell Wynne (2004-05) all played at UCLA … Stephens and Barrett were also teammates on the LA Galaxy from 2011-12 … Fire goalkeeper Patrick McLain played for the Quakes’ USL affiliate Sacramento Republic FC in 2015 … McLain (2007-11) and Quakes defender Kip Colvey (2012-15) both played at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
EARTHQUAKES IN THE COMMUNITY
Earthquakes Soccer Camps
Who: Earthquakes forward Mark Sherrod
What: Player Meet & Greet at Earthquakes Soccer Camps
Where: Vista Montana Park,
4041 N 1st St, San Jose, CA 95134
When: Tuesday, June 28 at 12:30 p.m.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
Streaking Against Chicago
The Earthquakes are riding a two-game win streak against the Fire and are 3-1-1 in their last five games against the club.
Wondolowski to Return
After missing the last four MLS matches away at Copa America, forward Chris Wondolowski is lined up to return on Friday night against Chicago. Wondolowski currently ranks fourth in MLS history with 116 career goals.
Wondolowski, Barrett vs. Fire
Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski is tied for second among all active players with five goals against the Fire. Chad Barrett is tied for sixth with four career goals against the Eastern Conference club.
Dousing the Fire
The Chicago Fire currently hold the league’s worst record (2-7-5), but have a respectable 2-2-3 record on home turf, creating an opportunity for the Earthquakes to earn their first road win of the season.
Barrett Scores Again
Chad Barrett has now scored in back-to-back games for the first time since scoring in three consecutive contests in August of 2014. His 90th-minute goal against LA was also the 11th of his career in the 85th minute or later.
Salinas Picks Up Another Assist
Shea Salinas has tallied an assist in back-to-back games for the first time since 2012 [July 28 vs. CHI and Aug. 11 vs. SEA]. Salinas has tallied a goal and two assists in his last two games and now leads the team with four assists on the season.
Eerily Similar
Both of the last two Quakes-Galaxy matches featured similar twists and turns. San Jose climbed out of a late 1-0 deficit with a header in the waning moments to draw level. Both late game-tying goals also featured former Galaxy forward Chad Barrett (one assist, one goal).
None or One
San Jose has held opponents to one-or-fewer goals in 11 of their 16 games this year, recording five shutouts.
Scoring Late
The Earthquakes have made a habit of scoring late. Through the first 16 matches of the season, San Jose has scored 14 of its 19 goals in the second half and tallied eight goals in the 80th minute or later.
Steadily Rising
The Quakes have earned at least one point in five of the last six matches (1-1-4).
Battling the Eastern Conference
After amassing a 3-5-2 record against the East last season, San Jose has started the 2016 season with an undefeated 1-0-3 record against the Eastern Conference through four games [D 1-1 vs. DC (4/2); W 2-0 vs. NYRB (4/13); D 1-1 at PHI (4/30); D 2-2 at ORL (6/18)].
On the Leaderboard
Among the Earthquakes that rank near the top in various statistical categories in MLS are:
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Chris Wondolowski – 7 goals (t-8th in MLS)
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David Bingham – 5 wins (t-9th in MLS)
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David Bingham – 4 shutouts (t-5th in MLS)
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 – 71
4. Kei Kamara – 64
5. Sebastien Le Toux – 55
6. Bradley Wright-Phillips – 54
7. Fabian Espindola – 53
8. Thierry Henry – 51
T9. Dominic Oduro – 50
T9. Will Bruin – 50
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 241 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 241 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
Earthquakes Sign Midfielder Shea Salinas to New Contract
The San Jose Earthquakes have signed midfielder Shea Salinas to a new multi-year contract. Since the start of the 2012 season, Salinas has tallied 32 assists, 14 more than any other Earthquakes player over that time period.
Fan Voting Launches for 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Team that will face Arsenal FC
Fan Voting for the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Team is now live on MLSsoccer.com. Fans can vote their favorite players to the All-Star Fan XI via online ballot and/or the AT&T/EA SPORTS™ “More Than a Vote” Challenge through July 4 at 12 p.m. PT. The MLS All-Stars will face Arsenal FC of the English Premier League on July 28 at Avaya Stadium, home of the San Jose Earthquakes, in the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game.
ACADEMY UPDATE
The Earthquakes U-16 and U-18 Academy teams traveled down to Frisco, TX for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs this past weekend. Despite not advancing to the quarterfinals, the U-16s put on a strong performance, finishing the tournament with an undefeated 1-0-2 record. In their final match against Real Colorado, they earned a draw, but ultimately needed a win to move on.
The U-18s opened the weekend with a matchup against the number one team in the country, Gottschee, holding them to just one goal in the 1-0 loss. They continued their strong defensive showing with a 0-0 draw against the Capital Area Railhawks, before falling to Sporting KC in their final match. Though neither team advanced, they gained valuable experience playing against some of the elite academy teams in the country.
Burlingame Dragons FC (U-23s) returned to their winning ways at Dragons Stadium with a 2-1 victory over SF City on Friday night. Forward Jamael Cox opened the scoring by hammering home a penalty shot for his fifth goal of the season, tying him for the team lead with Danny Musovski. Musovski would later score the game-winner to regain the top spot on the stats sheet with his sixth goal. The win vaulted the Dragons back into second place in the Central Pacific Division with a 5-4-1 overall record.
