Official Updated San Jose Earthquakes News,Team/Player Talk and Rumors

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Quakes arrive in N.Y. riding wave

The New York Red Bulls are looking to regain their season-opening form while the San Jose Earthquakes are looking to keep theirs on track as the two clubs meet in an inter-conference clash Sunday at Giants Stadium. The Red Bulls have posted a loss and a tie since defeating Columbus to start their campaign. In the Earthquakes return after a two-year hiatus, they started with losses in their first two games before claiming the club's first win since late 2005, a 1-0 victory at Colorado last weekend.

REFEREE: Michael Kennedy. SAR (bench): Jose Corro; JAR (opposite): Paul Scott; 4th: Mark Geiger
MLS Career: 94 games; FC/gm: 32.4; Y/gm: 4.0; R: 18; pens: 36

INJURY REPORT: NEW YORK RED BULLS - OUT: MF David Roth (L knee surgery); DF Michael Palacio (L knee injury); FW Oscar Echeverry (R knee LCL sprain); DOUBTFUL: DF Hunter Freeman (R ankle sprain); MF Dane Richards (R MCL tear); FW Juan Pablo Angel (L hamstring strain) ... SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES - NONE REPORTED
none

INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED:

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (24 meetings): Red Bulls 6 wins (0 shootout), 32 goals ... Earthquakes 13 wins (2 shootout), 40 goals ... Ties 5
AT NEW YORK (12 meetings): Red Bulls 4 wins (0 shootout), 19 goals ... Earthquakes 4 wins (0 shootout), 14 goals ... Ties 4
• This is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season, the only one set for the Meadowlands. The Red Bulls will make their lone visit to the Bay Area on July 27 to take on the Earthquakes.
LAST YEAR (MLS):
Did not meet
• This is a resumption of one of the wildest rivalries in league annals. The Earthquakes come in having won three of the last four meetings in the all-time series, including both encounters in 2005.
• The teams have played the teams have played two of the highest-scoring games in MLS annals: a 4-4 draw on July 2, 2003 in East Rutherford, and a 5-5 draw on May 8, 2004 in San Jose, the 10 total goals tied for the second-most in a single game in league history.
• Coaches record: Juan Carlos Osorio v SJ: first game ... Frank Yallop vs. NY: P10 W3 L3 D4

NEW YORK RED BULLS
The New York Red Bulls saw a 10-man New England Revolution score the equalizer after going shorthanded, the teams eventually settling for a 1-1 draw Saturday night at Giants Stadium. The Red Bulls now have four points from their three matches, in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, a point ahead of D.C. United and two behind Toronto FC.
LAST MATCH
• The Red Bulls were back home after losing their match of the season, at FC Dallas, while the Revolution were also coming off a loss, a 1-0 defeat by Colorado at Gillette Stadium.
• Jozy Altidore, who was able to start in tandem with Juan Pablo Angel for the first time on the campaign, scored a stunning goal to put New York ahead after 30 minutes. Taking the ball in the midfield circle, the 18-year-old thundered downfield through a pair of Revs defenders and then rifled a shot under the crossbar from just inside the area for his first goal of the year.
• The game changed just after the second-half restart. Red Bulls defender Kevin Goldthwaite knocked New England midfielder Mauricio Castro to the ground and was booked. But while on the turf, Castro aimed a kick at Goldthwaite's groin, and was sent off by referee Ricardo Salazar.
• Still, the Revolution found the equalizer. After Adam Cristman went down in the restraining arc, Jeff Larentowicz ripped the resulting free kick outside the right edge of the Red Bulls wall where a hole had just opened, and the ball sailed inside of Jon Conway for the eventual equalizer.
• Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio made three changes to the team that lost 2-0 to FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park the previous Saturday. Jeff Parke came back from suspension while Carlos Mendes made his first appearance of the year, both in the back three. Juan Pablo Angel returned from injury to give Osorio his first-choice strike partnership for the first time in 2008. Luke Sassano, Danleigh Borman and Oscar Echeverry all returned to the substitutes' bench.
• Here's Osorio's team (3-4-1-2): Jon Conway - Carlos Mendes, Jeff Parke, Kevin Goldthwaite - Chris Leitch, Seth Stammler, Sinisa Ubiparipovic (Danleigh Borman 61), Dave van den Bergh - Claudio Reyna (Mike Magee 77) - Jozy Altidore, Juan Pablo Angel (John Wolyniec 46). Substitutes Not Used: Oscar Echeverry, Chris Megaloudis, Luke Sassano, Zach Thornton
• "I think that we limited a very good team to one chance. They scored on a free kick. If I'm honest, as I was in the locker room, I could probably live with the foul, but I cannot live with anybody on the end of the wall turning their back on the ball on an inside shot. I am very disappointed with that," Osorio said. "I think that we did what we needed to do; we created enough chances to win this game. John (Wolyniec) had a perfect opportunity on Danleigh's (Borman) cross, then on another chance on Dave van den Bergh's cross, so I think we did enough, but that's football. You don't finish your chances, and you allow that to happen, that's what is going to happen."
TEAM NEWS
• After opening the season with a 2-0 victory spurred by a first-minute goal, the Red Bulls have been held scoreless by FC Dallas then held to one goal by a 10-man New England Revolution - something that is frustrating Osorio.
• "Very, but it's only the third game. I think we showed today some good playing at times, we kept the ball for periods of time very well and the team looked quite well," Osorio said. "Again, I think that New England is a very good team, when I look at the sideline and the chances that we had, I have to be disappointed, yes, because we let two points go. In general, I have to be optimistic and think that we are improving."
• With Reyna pulling the strings in the attacking midfield role, the Red Bulls were creating chances, but Osorio said they started to dwindle over the second 45 minutes.
• "I also think that Claudio (Reyna) got hurt and I think we started losing the creativity that we had in the first half," Osorio said. "You always expect that a team comes back and tries, especially when they're down by one and [the other team] has a goal. You look at the chances, and I only recall one chance, that was it. The first half there were two shots, one from (Amaechi) Igwe from long distance and that was it."
• In addition, Osorio said Altidore was less effective in the second half, a by-product of a hectic national team schedule.
• "He played well, but if I'm being honest, I think he has played too much football in the last three months and I think we are paying for that. When he is rested up and taking people on, he is very good, but when he starts dropping in between the lines and he is not rested, he is not as strong as he normally is, and that's why he loses the ball," Osorio said.
• Said Altidore: "You know, when you play New England when they have three in the back, there are always holes on the flanks and back, and we try to exploit it as best as we can. We just missed getting over the hump in those last 20 minutes. I could have been more effective than I was tonight, a lot more effective actually."
• The last Red Bulls win against the Revolution came Sept. 17, 2005. "It was definitely a big game for me personally and the team as well. I haven't beaten this team yet and we haven't beaten them in a long time so the guys are in the same situation as me," Altidore said. "We wanted to win this game tonight but we were unfortunate again and we have to write ourselves a different story next time."

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
The San Jose Earthquakes scored their first goals - then won their first game - since returning to MLS, claiming a 2-0 victory against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday evening at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The Earthquakes have three points from three matches, sitting tied for sixth place in the Western Conference with the Houston Dynamo, five points off the pace of FC Dallas.
LAST MATCH
• The Earthquakes were back on the road for back-to-back matches after restarting their history with no points -- and no goals -- from their first two matches. The Rapids were back home after finishing off a two-game road swing with an impressive victory at the New England Revolution.
• The Earthquakes owned the majority of the play and were rewarded two minutes before the halftime break. A pass from James Riley into space found Ronnie O'Brien outside the right corner of the box, and though Colorado goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul blocked his first shot, the Irishman was quickest to the rebound and potted it for San Jose's first goal since 2005.
• Just after the hour mark the Earthquakes sealed their first victory. Ned Grabavoy went on a surging run down the right before slipping an inside through ball for Kei Kamara. He cut inside of a Rapids defender before lashing a low shot that bounced off the inside of the left-hand post and into the goal.
• For the second consecutive week, Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop kept the same starting 11.
• Here's Yallop's team (4-4-2): Joe Cannon - Jason Hernandez, Ryan Cochrane, Nick Garcia, James Riley - Ronnie O'Brien (Shea Salinas 62), Ned Grabavoy, Ramiro Corrales (Ryan Johnson 84), Ivan Guerrero - Gavin Glinton (Joe Vide 56), Kei Kamara. Substitutes Not Used: Preston Burpo, John Cunliffe, Eric Denton, Adam Smarte
• "I think we kept them off balance with our play," said Yallop. "We talk about things we can do tactically to break them down before the match. It doesn't always work and you think the guys aren't listening, but tonight I think the guys took the game plan to heart and pushed the ball well. I think Kei Kamara was dangerous all night and Gavin Glinton supported him well and overall all of the guys played well."
TEAM NEWS
• After becoming the third expansion team to start without goals in their first two games, the Earthquakes felt it was important to score - and win - soon. "It was our first win so that was really important," Yallop said. "Getting it in the third game was good; if you wait until the fourth, fifth or sixth game to get it, the season is slipping away. So it is something to build off of."
• Still, Yallop said, he felt San Jose did enough in their home opener to have broken their maiden. "I think we played well last weekend and didn't get anything out of the match and tonight we took our chances well," said Yallop. "I thought we created some good ones and Joe [Cannon] made some good saves at the right times."
• Added Ronnie O'Brien, who scored the inaugural goal for the reconstituted Earthquakes: "Last week we felt that we had made some strides forward in how we played but we couldn't score; this week we didn't play as well but got two goals and we did what we had to do to win. We got a lead and then the second half we came out, defended well, scored our second goal and won the game."
• The Earthquakes also felt a key was closing down Christian Gomez in the playmaking role for the Rapids. They will face a similar task with the Red Bulls' Claudio Reyna.
• "We can't let the good players play around us," said Yallop. "We don't want to kick them but we want to close them down. We want to play tight on the good players and make it difficult for them to play. We did a very good job on Christian Gomez tonight -- he's a very good player in this league."
• After losing in the season opener against a former club, goalkeeper Joe Cannon was happy to come away with a win in Colorado, where he played from 2003-06.
• "I already lost one against a former team earlier this year in Los Angeles so it feels good to come back here and win," Cannon said. "However, more importantly we needed these three points and I think that they will be important down the road."
• Kei Kamara added the second goal, from an attacking unit that has been questioned from the formation of the squad by Frank Yallop. "All the attacking players were feeling a bit of pressure because we were hearing that we couldn't score goals, but we were able to break through with two tonight. We showed tonight that we can find the net. More goals are going to come," Kamara said,
• For Kamara, the goal had added emotional value. Nine days earlier, his brother Yusiffu passed away at his home in Sierra Leone. Kamara plans to pay tribute to his brother - with whom he spent two months during the offseason - throughout the year.
• "Every single game this year, my first goal and every goal, everything I do this year is just going to be for him," Kamara said to the San Jose Mercury-News. "Every game this season is going to be dedicated to him. It's somebody that I love, somebody that raised me up. He's resting right now, and I know he's looking down on the whole team. He's going to follow us this year, I know that."
• On Thursday, the Earthquakes signed forward Peguero Jean Philippe on loan from Brondby IF of Denmark. Jean Philippe, who possesses a green card, spent three seasons in Major League Soccer, playing for the Colorado Rapids and the New York Red Bulls. He joined MLS in 2004 and played just more than two years with Colorado, where he appeared in 46 games and recorded 14 goals and 11 assists. In April 2006, he was traded to the New York Red Bulls, where he scored six goals in 12 games, while also adding two assists. In July of that year the Haitian forward was transferred to Danish Superliga club Brondby IF. Jean Philippe is also a Haitian international, appearing with the national team 10 times in his career.