San Jose Earthquakes at Philadelphia Union
Kickoff: 4 p.m. PT at PPL Park, Chester, Pa.
Television: Comcast SportsNet Bay Area
Radio: 1590 KLIV (English), 1370 KZSF (Spanish)
Places to Watch
Jack’s Bar & Lounge (San Jose), Hyde Park Lounge (San Jose), Double D’s Sports Grille (Los Gatos), Danny Coyle’s (San Francisco), SF Soccer Cafe (San Francisco)
Philadelphia Union Scouting Report
Philadelphia (2-3-1, 7 pts.) held on for a 1-0 victory at Chivas USA on Saturday night despite going down to nine men through two red cards shown over the final 15 minutes. The Union grabbed all three points through Freddy Adu’s unassisted back-heel goal off the left post and in from close range in the 40th minute following some clever work near the right end-line by Michael Farfan, but will be without Keon Daniel and Gabriel Farfan due to red-card suspension when they host the Quakes this Saturday. Philadelphia has produced seven points from its first six games off of just four goals as a team, with two of them coming from Panamian midfielder Gabriel Gomez, currently in his first season with the club. Zac MacMath is in his first year as the Union’s full-time starter in goal, with Philadelphia heading into the weekend on a shutout streak of 332 minutes over three-plus games.
Of Note
-The San Jose Earthquakes (5-1-1, 16 pts.) are joint leaders in the MLS Western Conference standings with Real Salt Lake (5-3-1, 16 pts.), with two games in hand.
-At 5-1-1 and 16 points, this is the best seven-game start to a year in the San Jose Earthquakes’ 15-season club history. In 2003, the eventual MLS Cup champion Quakes trotted out to a 4-1-2 start for 14 points. They were 4-2-1 (13 pts.) to begin the 2001, 2002 and 2010 seasons. In 1999, San Jose was 5-2 after seven matches, but picked up just five points through five shootout victories.
-At 2-0-1 for seven points over their first three road dates, the Quakes have equaled their best three-game road start. They were an identical 2-0-1 with seven points following their first three road forays in 2003. San Jose was 2-1 after three road tests in 1999, but with only two points after a pair of shootout triumphs.
-With just five goals conceded thus far, this is the franchise’s best seven-game defensive start. San Jose allowed seven goals over its first seven matches in both 2002 and 2010. The Quakes’ 13 goals fall one short of their best seven-game output of 14 from 1998.
-Quakes forward Chris Wondolowski is tied for the Budweiser Golden Boot lead with Thierry Henry of the New York Red Bulls at eight goals through seven weeks. Wondolowski’s five-game goal-scoring streak is the longest active stretch in MLS, and is one short of his own club-record six-gamer that was snapped in Week 2 earlier this season. Wondolowski is also one goal shy of No. 50 for his MLS career.
Earthquakes – Philadelphia Union Connections
-Philadelphia defender and captain Danny Califf, a native of Montclair, Calif., played 20 games for the Earthquakes in 2005, starting all 20 and scoring two goals.
-Quakes defender Ike Opara and Union players Freddy Adu, Amobi Okugo and Sheanon Williams were all part of the 20-player U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team during the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament last month. Okugo was born in Hayward, Calif.
-Quakes midfielder Tressor Moreno and Philadelphia players Lionard Pajoy, Roger Torres and Carlos Valdes were all born in Colombia, with Moreno and Pajoy each having played at one point for Deportivo Cali in their native country. Moreno, Torres and Valdes all had spells at America de Cali. Moreno (32) and Valdes (4) have earned full caps for Colombia.
-Quakes midfielder Sam Garza (No. 6, UC Santa Barbara) and Union forward Chandler Hoffman (No. 13, UCLA) were among the five initial Generation adidas signings ahead of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft.
-Quakes forward Steven Lenhart and Union midfielder Brian Carroll were teammates with the Columbus Crew from 2008-10. Union backup goalkeeper Chase Harrison was also on the 2010 Crew roster with Lenhart.
-Quakes forward Sercan Guvenisik and the Union’s new loan signing, German midfielder Kai Herdling, both played in the professional soccer system in Germany in previous years.
@SJEarthquakes – Official account of the San Jose Earthquakes (#SJEarthquakes)
@QuakesMatchday – NEW! this season, follow for live updates on game days
@PhilaUnion – Official account of the Philadelphia Union (#DOOP)
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