There were so many things that I liked about the 3-0 win this Saturday against the Reds of Toronto, but by far the biggest one was how the team got off to a quick start. It is so critical in these matches to get the first goal. You could see that the previous week when Houston got on the board early with a penalty. Even though we outplayed the Dynamo, they were able to fend off our assaults and get the road win.
This week, we turned the tables and took advantage with an early ninth-minute goal by Chris Wondolowski off of a pretty wind-assisted assist by Sam Cronin. It was great to see Tressor Moreno with some nifty passes and creative plays early in the match. His performance and the overall effort of our boys from kickoff was key in setting the tone early and getting that first goal.
The remainder of the first half was spent fending off the Reds’ attack and numerous crosses. Big Victor Bernardez and Juston Morrow in the middle of the back line denied Toronto FC time after time. In three matches, we have yet to concede a goal in the run of play. That stat is truly impressive and is a testament to our improved defensive line and strong keeper play from Jon Busch.
The boys had a rocky start to the second half and the Canadians came out with energy, but an impressive run by Steven Beitashour allowed Marvin Chavez to get free on the right wing to start another scoring sequence. I think everyone in the stadium thought Chavez was going to shoot, but he unselfishly got the ball to the top of the area when Shea Salinas pounded home his first goal of the season.
Wondolowski capped the scoring in the 67th minute when wily midfielder Rafa Baca received another nifty looping pass from Cronin and broke free behind the defense. Baca lured the goalie in and was able to easily cross the ball to Wondo, who received the ball and slammed home the latter end of his brace. That was Wondo's third goal is three games and sixth all time against the Reds in Toronto.
It was a great game to watch with numerous scoring opportunities and stiff defense carrying the Quakes to a rout of the Reds on a cold and windy day in Ontario. This sets up a big time match next Saturday at CenturyLink Field against Seattle Sounders FC. Both the Quakes and Sounders are sitting with six points and this will be a good early season test in our first match against a Western Conference foe.
In other news, it was a productive week on the working drawings for the stadium. We are up to at least two standing meetings a week to discuss the designs and finalize each area of the stadium. This is a really critical time to ensure that the stadium is designed and built correctly. We made some great progress on the player areas, office space and concessions. Next up is broadcasting and press box along with finalizing the exact type of natural grass turf we will use on the field. There are several variants of Bermuda turf that we are evaluating. They are similar to the Bermuda turf that we use at the practice facility and at Buck Shaw. We want the best possible surface for the team and here in California we should be able to deliver on that.
Finally, we were honored to have Major League Soccer Commissioner, Don Garber, in town for a media visit last week. We spent Friday meeting with all the local media outlets and discussing the exciting progress that MLS has made over the past 10 years. You can check out Commissioner Garber's interview on Comcast Sports Net.
