This Week
The San Jose Earthquakes (19-6-7, 64 pts.) are idle this week before returning to action on Sunday, Oct. 21 against the LA Galaxy for Ramiro Corrales Bobblehead Day, presented by Wells Fargo.
Earthquakes Schedule for the Week of 10/8/12
Tuesday, Oct. 9 – 10:15 a.m. – Practice at Earthquakes Training Facility
Wednesday, Oct. 10 – 10:15 a.m. – Practice at Earthquakes Training Facility
Thursday, Oct. 11 – Off
Friday, Oct. 12 – Off
Saturday, Oct. 13 – Off
Sunday, Oct. 14 – Off
Community Update
Celebrity Bartending at Rock Bottom Brewery in Campbell
Who: Jon Busch, Joey Gjertsen, Khari Stephenson, David Bingham, Rafael Baca and Sam Garza
Where: Rock Bottom Brewery at 1875 S. Bascom Ave. in Campbell
When: Tuesday, October 9 at 6-8 p.m.
Details: Players will work shifts from 6-8 p.m. to help raise funds for the Earthquakes Community Fund. Additionally, proceeds from sales at Rock Bottom Brewery from 4 p.m. to midnight will benefit Earthquakes Community Fund.
Get Earthquakes Fit Closing Ceremony Assembly
Who: Steven Beitashour
Where: O.B. Whaley Elementary School, 2655 Alvin Avenue, San Jose
When: Tuesday, October 9 at 1:30 p.m.
Details: Specifically designed for third and fourth grade students, this fun, five-week fitness program is designed to encourage and teach kids to lead more active and healthy lives. At this closing ceremony assembly, the Earthquakes player will congratulate the kids on completing the program and sign autographs.
Get Earthquakes Fit Closing Ceremony Assembly
Who: Jason Hernandez
Where: Katherine Smith Elementary School, 2025 Clarice Drive, San Jose
When: Tuesday, October 9 at 1:15 p.m.
Details: Specifically designed for third and fourth grade students, this fun, five-week fitness program is designed to encourage and teach kids to lead more active and healthy lives. At this closing ceremony assembly, the Earthquakes player will congratulate the kids on completing the program and sign autographs.
Get Earthquakes Fit Closing Ceremony Assembly
Who: Rafa Baca
Where: Norwood Creek Elementary, 3241 Remington Way, San Jose
When: Wednesday, October 10 at 1:30 p.m.
Details: Specifically designed for third and fourth grade students, this fun, five-week fitness program is designed to encourage and teach kids to lead more active and healthy lives. At this closing ceremony assembly, the Earthquakes player will congratulate the kids on completing the program and sign autographs.
Get Earthquakes Fit Closing Ceremony Assembly
Who: Shea Salinas
Where: Santa Teresa Elementary, 6200 Encinal Drive, San Jose
When: Thursday, October 11 at 1:30 p.m.
Details: Specifically designed for third and fourth grade students, this fun, five-week fitness program is designed to encourage and teach kids to lead more active and healthy lives. At this closing ceremony assembly, the Earthquakes player will congratulate the kids on completing the program and sign autographs.
Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SSVCF) Dinner
Who: Chris Wondolowski, Jon Busch, Jed Zayner, Jean-Marc Alexandre, Shea Salinas, Steven Beitashour, Cesar Diaz Pizarro, Jake Hustedt, Rafa Baca, Joey Gjertsen, Sam Garza as well as Earthquakes Ambassadors Kelly Gray and Chris Leitch
Where: Computer History Museum, 1401 North Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View, CA
When: Friday, October 12 at 6 p.m.
Details: This dinner is a fundraiser for the Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SSVCF) featuring keynote speaker Jimmy Conrad.
Miscellaneous Notes
Earthquakes to Attempt to Break Guinness World Record for Largest Groundbreaking Ceremony
Earthquakes Club President Dave Kaval announced the club will break ground on their new stadium on Sunday, Oct. 21 and will try to break a Guinness World Record for the largest groundbreaking ceremony in the process. Fans are invited to the landmark occasion and can RSVP by visiting www.sjearthquakes.com/groundbreaking. Anyone planning to attend can park for free starting at 10:30 a.m. at the new stadium site on the corner of Coleman Ave. and Newhall Ave. Check-in for diggers begins at 11:30 a.m. To ensure participation, fans should arrive before noon. In order to break the Guinness World Record, the club needs 4,533 participants to dig for two minutes.
Wondolowski Breaks Club Scoring Mark
Chris Wondolowski’s hat trick in a 4-1 win against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday moved him past Ronald Cerritos for the club’s career goals record. The MVP frontrunner has scored 25 goals in 2012 and 62 in his 104-game San Jose career. Cerritos previously held the record with 61 goals in 148 games.
Watch Out, Roy
Chris Wondolowski’s hat trick against Colorado brought the Budweiser Golden Boot leader to within two goals of Roy Lassiter’s all-time single-season record of 27. Lassiter’s mark has stood since Major League Soccer’s inaugural season in 1996. Wondolowski will have two games to try and pass Lassiter, at home against the LA Galaxy on Sunday, Oct. 21 (4 p.m. PT / CSN California) and Sunday, Oct. 27 at the Portland Timbers (3:30 p.m. PT / NBC Sports).
Wondolowski Sets Three-Year MLS Scoring Record
No player has scored more goals over a three-year span than Earthquakes striker Chris Wondolowski following his hat trick in a 4-1 win against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. Wondolowski scored 18 in 2010, 16 in 2011 and has 25 in 2012 with two games remaining. Raul Diaz Arce previously held the record after scoring 56 with D.C. United (1996-97) and the New England Revolution (1998).
Chavez Eyes Club’s Season Assists Record
Marvin Chavez notched his team-leading 11th assist of the season in San Jose’s 4-1 win against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. His output is tied for the fourth-most in club history, three behind Eddie Lewis who had 14 in 1997 and 1999. Chavez is the 12th San Jose player ever to reach double-digit assists.
Biggest Turnarounds
The San Jose Earthquakes have improved by 26 points and 11 wins from their 2011 season, one of the best turnarounds in MLS history. The 26-point difference from 2011 to 2012 is tied with the 2004 New England Revolution for fourth on the MLS all-time list, 13 behind the 1999 MetroStars. Meanwhile, the Earthquakes’ 11 additional wins this season rank No. 1 all-time, one-upping the 1999 MetroStars and 2009 New York Red Bulls.
Multi-Goal Feats
The Earthquakes notched their 20th multi-goal game of the season in Saturday’s 4-1 win against the Colorado Rapids, tying the club with the 2000 Chicago Fire and 2000 and 2005 MetroStars for the most multi-goal games in a single season since 2000. (Note: Prior to 2000, shootout and overtime goals counted toward official MLS stats.) Additionally, Chris Wondolowski recorded his fourth-career hat trick for his sixth multi-goal game of 2012, two back of the all-time single-season record.
Quakes Clinch Top Seed in Western Conference, Inch Closer to Supporters’ Shield
The Earthquakes (19-6-7, 64 pts.) secured the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs and inched closer to their second-ever Supporters’ Shield thanks to a 4-1 win against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. Coupled with Sporting Kansas City’s (17-7-8, 59 pts.) 1-1 draw with the Columbus Crew on Sunday, San Jose’s Supporters’ Shield magic number is down to two. The last time San Jose finished on top of the Western Conference was 2005.
Top of the League
Through 32 games, the Earthquakes are No. 1 in MLS with 69 goals scored and 72 assists. With 40 goals conceded, the Quakes are also No. 1 in the league with a +29 goal differential. Additionally, San Jose leads the league with 42 second-half goals and a +24 goal differential in the second half.
Race for the Budweiser Golden Boot
Chris Wondolowski remains well in front of the pack in the race for the Budweiser Golden Boot. The Danville native has 25 goals, eight more than his closest pursuer, Real Salt Lake’s Alvaro Saborio.
Lucky Number 7
The Earthquakes are unbeaten in their last seven MLS regular season games. Since dropping a 3-1 road loss against the Montreal Impact on Aug. 18, San Jose is 5-0-2 while outscoring opponents 21-8 in the process.
All-Time Wins/Points Records
Saturday’s 4-1 win against the Colorado Rapids tied club records for wins (19) and points (64) in a season. The club last won 19 games in 1999, 10 of which came via shootout with only nine in regulation. Meanwhile, San Jose ended 2005 with 64 points thanks to an 18-4-10 record. With two games remaining in the regular season, the Earthquakes have a chance to best both marks.
Road Warriors
The Earthquakes tied a club record for road wins in a season after defeating the Colorado Rapids 4-1 on Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. San Jose is 9-5-2 on the road this season, matching their full-point output from 2005. San Jose is tied with Sporting Kansas City for the best road winning percentage (.625) in 2012.
Three-Headed Monster
Earthquakes forwards Chris Wondolowski (25), Alan Gordon (13) and Steven Lenhart (10) are the first trio from the same team to score 10 or more goals in a season since 2002. Their haul is the most by three players in club history, 15 more than the previous San Jose benchmark set in 1996. Additionally, those three have accounted for more goals (48) than every MLS team except for the LA Galaxy (56), New York Red Bulls (54), D.C. United (49) and Seattle Sounders FC (48).
Efficient Scorers
Alan Gordon and Chris Wondolowski lead MLS in goals per 90 minutes among players with at least 1,000 minutes logged in 2012. Gordon has scored an amazing clip of 0.90 goals per 90 minutes while Wondolowski is next on the list with a 0.85 rate. Injured Toronto FC forward Danny Koevermans is third at 0.68 followed by Real Salt Lake’s Alvaro Saborio at 0.67.
Corrales Bobblehead Day, Presented by Wells Fargo
The Earthquakes will host Ramiro Corrales Bobblehead Day, presented by Wells Fargo, on Oct. 21 vs. the LA Galaxy. Per the promotion, 5,000 fans will receive a Corrales bobblehead.
Individual MLS Cup Playoff Tickets on Sale
Individual tickets to the Earthquakes’ first home MLS Cup Playoff are on sale. They are available at www.sjearthquakes.com or by calling 1-800-225-2277 while groups of 10 or more should call the club’s headquarters at 408-556-7700.
Fifth Annual Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation Banquet Set for Oct. 12
The Fifth Annual Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation Awards Banquet is slated for Friday, Oct. 12 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. featuring former Earthquakes defender Jimmy Conrad as the keynote speaker. The event also includes the Andrew Bedard “Spirit of the Game” Award given to an Earthquakes player for the charitable works throughout the year. For ticket, donation and sponsorship information visit www.ssvcf.org/annualdinner.html.
Wells Fargo Goals for Education
Wells Fargo has again pledged to donate $250 for each goal the Earthquakes score in 2012 through the Goals for Education program. With 65 goals through 31 games, the donated total for this season already stands at $16,250. Thanks to 40 goals in 2011, the partnership raised $10,000 for local youth soccer and athletic development programs a year ago.
Miscellaneous Notes
Weekend Recap
The Earthquakes’ Academy faced San Diego rivals Nomads and Surf Soccer Club on Saturday, Oct. 6 and Sunday, Oct. 7, respectively. The U-16 Earthquakes beat Nomads 3-1 from goals by Alex Liua (17th minute), Nicholas Perez (43rd minute), and Rufus Wollo (69th minute). On Sunday, the U-16s lost to Surf 2-0. Meanwhile, the U-18s won both of their matches. They defeated Nomads 4-1 and Surf 2-1 with goals from Jesse Moralles Garcia and Elisama Padilla against Surf.
