Quakes Beat Former Quakes

The San Jose Earthquakes took down the defending MLS Champion Houston Dynamo tonight at Buck Shaw Stadium. Kei Kamara and Ivan Guererro got the goals for the Quakes in the second half. The Earthquakes overall out shot and had the better of the play, but Houston came back with a goal in the 87th minute to pull it close.

Scoring:
SJ -- Kei Kamara 2 (Ned Grabavoy 3) 67
SJ -- Ivan Guerrero 1 (unassisted) 81
HOU -- Brian Ching 2 (Brad Davis 1) 88

Discipline:
SJ -- Nick Garcia (caution; Reckless Foul) 35
SJ -- Ryan Cochrane (caution; Reckless Foul) 40

Starting Lineup

* 1 - Joe Cannon (GK)
* 2 - Eric Denton
* 3 - Nick Garcia
* 5 - Ryan Cochrane
* 7 - Ronnie O'Brien 78 out
* 11 - Ned Grabavoy
* 12 - Ramiro Corrales
* 16 - Kei Kamara 80 out
* 19 - Ryan Johnson
* 21 - Jason Hernandez
* 23 - Ivan Guerrero

Substitutes

* 31 - Dan Benton (GK)
* 4 - James Riley
* 6 - Joe Vide
* 15 - Shea Salinas 78 in
* 20 - John Cunliffe
* 22 - Kelly Gray
* 77 - Jovan Kirovski 80 in

Quakes Sign Benton and Lowery

The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the team has signed former Kansas City Wizards defender Amir Lowery and goalkeeper Dan Benton. Lowery will occupy a spot on the developmental roster, while Benton will be placed on the senior roster. Per team and league policy, terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Lowery made one appearance in 2005 with the Colorado Rapids after being drafted in the fourth round of the MLS SuperDraft. He also appeared in 11 reserve division games that season. Lowery then signed with the Kansas City Wizards prior to the 2007 season and made 11 appearances in the reserve division. The Washington, D.C. resident has played twice for the Wizards Reserves this year and has also made an appearance with the Earthquakes Reserves in 2008.

An outstanding defender at Wake Forest, Lowery was a two-time All-ACC selection. He appeared in 74 games for the Demon Deacons, recording five goals and six assists. He played alongside current Earthquakes defender James Riley at Wake Forest.

Benton joined the Earthquakes during the 2008 preseason as a backup goalkeeper to Joe Cannon and Preston Burpo. He made his Earthquakes debut in a preseason game on Feb. 22 against the Columbus Crew in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Prior to joining the Earthquakes, Benton spent two seasons (2006 and 2007) with the Charlotte Eagles of the United Soccer League Division Two. In 2006, he recorded his first shutout in his debut with the Eagles. He compiled a 4-3-4 record that season. Benton started and played all but two games in 2007. He recorded four shutouts that season and compiled a 9-6-1 record. He also played for the Virginia Beach Mariners (USL-1) in 2005.

Collegiately, Benton played four years at San Jose State. His big break came in 2004 when he started a career high of 18 games. He played 35 games in his career for the Spartans.

Transaction – San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) – San Jose Earthquakes sign D Amir Lowery and GK Dan Benton.

Quakes Pull Off a 1 for 2 Trade

The San Jose Earthquakes have reportedly obtained defender/midfielder Kelly Gray and midfielder/forward Jovan Kirovski from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for goalkeeper Preston Burpo. The Quakes have known all along that Burpo was trade bait for them and have been waiting for a deal they felt was worth taking. Getting Gray should help provide options and depth in midfield and in the back line. Having Kirovski will provide another starter or bench depth up front as well. Since Burpo likely would n't have played much if Cannon stays healthy the trade may end up providing more options for Yallop especially since some players are starting to go down to injuries lately. How do you feel about this reported deal?

San Jose Hopes for Chance at Huckerby

With Toronto first in line and the Quakes standing in second position, we should find out over the next few weeks where Darren Huckerby will end up. He's been told by Norwich that he won't be re-singed and both TFC and the Quakes are trying to attract him over to MLS.

Here's a few videos on Huckerby, one is an interview on his time at Norwich and the fact that he's now leaving and the other shows some of his highlights.

Quakes Crumble to Crew 3-2

The San Jose Earthquakes got on the scoreboard first with a Ramiro Corrales goal on a corner kick by Ronnie O'Brien. They took the lead into halftime and everyone in the home crowd figured the Quakes would kill the game off it the second half and go home happy. But Robbie Rogers and the Crew thought differently. The Crew scored three time very quickly in the middle of the second half, two by Rogers and one by Brad Evans to take a 3-1 lead which sucked the life out of the home crowd. The Quakes were able to rally and get a second goal, Ryan Johnson knocking one in and pushed real hard to find the equalizer but it was not to be. The Crew won 3-2 to the disappointment of the team and it's home fans.

Frank Yallop admitted his disappointment in the post game conference, “We are obviously disappointed to lose the match, after scoring two at home and conceding three. I think Columbus is a good team and we can’t take that away from them.” He thought the Crew attack was too strong in the second half “We weren’t at our best closing them down the in our half in the first half, and we did not do it really well in the second half in critical parts of the game. When someone is running free we have to have a clear runner step up to the ball. It was two good runs and goals from (Robbie) Rogers, but I wish we could have caught up to him. It is just disappointing.”

Overall the Quakes didn't p[lay badly, but they did have some critical breakdowns n the second half when the Crew pressured their goal. Ronnie O'Brien said after the game “To be honest, we are doing fairly well overall, but we just have not gotten the results. With a bit of luck and a couple of bounces we could be looking at some different results. We need to stay focused throughout the whole game and the results will come.”

Sigi Schmid remembered the many games against the old Earthquakes team from his days with the Galaxy and gave his observations on Buck Shaw Stadium “The venue is small and the surface is good. During my years with the Galaxy I always loved coming here, before they had the Galaxy-Chivas Clasico, I thought that was the big game. There was always a great atmosphere. The fans can be brutal sometimes but all is fair in love and war. This will be a tough venue to play in.”

Jean Philippe to Get First Start

Jean Philippe, Glinton, Vide juggling during recent Quakes practice.



Peguero Jean Philippe will get his first start this Saturday against the Columbus Crew. The opening in the lineup is due to a groin injury requiring surgery for Gavin Glinton. Glinton will be flying to Munich Germany early next week to have the operation and will be out for several weeks. He will be available off the bench for this week's game if needed. Jean Philippe will pair up front with Kei Kamara.

Quakes Trialing More Players Until the Transfer Window Reopens

The San Jose Earthquakes have been trialing more players and will continue to do so each week until the transfer window reopens this sum mer. Two Brazilians that trained with the Quakes on Tuesday and Wednesday were Morelia duo Marcinho and Wanderson. The two spent the past season playing for Morelia’s entry in the Primera A division, the second tier of Mexican soccer. Marcinho, also known as Marcio Batista, is a forward who scored three goals in 11 matches for Morelia’s B team in the just concluded Clausura. The second player, Wanderson is a midfielder. He also scored three goals for Morelia’s B team in 14 matches.

John Doyle commented that they will continue to evaluate various players to add o the team and strengthen it throughout the season. The Quakes could add one player or possibly two or even three if they find players they like that fit into their salary cap.