Garcia, Roberts on the mend
By Jeff Carlisle · April 30, 2009
Nothing grabs the attention these days quite like the words “flu-like symptoms.” But Quakes fans can rest easy in the knowledge that both Nick Garcia and Jamil Roberts haven’t been struck by the virus. Read more…
Quakes v RBNY Wrap-Up
By Harvey Rañola · April 30, 2009
Quakes v RBNY Eric Denton Post-Game
By Harvey Rañola · April 29, 2009
Quakes v RBNY Mike Zaher Post-Game
By Harvey Rañola · April 29, 2009
Quakes v RBNY Brandon McDonald Post-Game
By Harvey Rañola · April 29, 2009
Quakes v RBNY Quincy Amarikwa Post-Game
By Harvey Rañola · April 29, 2009
Red Bulls bounce Quakes from Open Cup
By Jeff Carlisle · April 29, 2009
San Jose’s Shea Salinas tries to split two New York defenders. Photo: Joe Nuxoll, centerlinesoccer.com.
Center Line Soccer’s complete coverage includes a post-game video wrapup and player interviews as well as a photo gallery.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The competition was different. So was the lineup. Yet following Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup play-in game against the New York Red Bulls, the disappointment the San Jose Earthquakes felt was all too familiar, as they fell to the visitors by a score of 2-1.
Quakes vs NY Red Bulls
By Joe Nuxoll · April 29, 2009
The San Jose Earthquakes were defeated by the New York Red Bulls 2-1 in the US Open Cup game, April 29th, 2009 in Santa Clara, CA. Photo gallery by Joe Nuxoll.
If it’s Wednesday, this must be New York
By Jay Hipps · April 29, 2009
It’s a busy week for soccer here in the Bay Area, with Buck Shaw Stadium hosting three matches in the next five days. Tonight sees the Earthquakes take on Los Toros Rojos de Nueva York in a U.S. Open Cup play-in match, on Saturday they take on Chivas USA at Buck Shaw, and on Sunday FC Gold Pride looks to rebound from last week’s loss against Washington when they play Sky Blue FC. That’s 270 minutes of soccer, plus stoppage time, coming to a stadium near you.
As for tonight’s match, don’t expect to see San Jose fielding a lot of the usual starters. The team is banged up a lot already and, as head coach Frank Yallop told our own Jeff Carlisle for a story published on MLSnet.com, “We need to make sure we get through this game unscathed.”
Even if the Earthquakes weren’t fighting off injuries, though, it’s unlikely that Yallop would be fielding his strongest team. As he mentioned on last week’s Center Line Soccer Podcast, he sees the Open Cup as a potential distraction from the team’s goal of success in MLS.
“It’s a good game for some of our players to get some minutes who maybe haven’t played,” he said. “You know, you want to take the competition seriously, but in another way, you want to give guys a chance to play so they’ll be ready to play for you whenever. It’s a good, competitive game against New York — I’m sure they won’t bring everybody of their starters. We’ll have a strong unit out — I think we’ve got a strong 16, 17 players out here anyway. Quincy Amarikwa, I’m looking forward to seeing him play 90 minutes, you know? I want to see what he does against MLS competition and not in a reserve game.
“The Open Cup is great when you win it. If you don’t, and you go through a few rounds, it sometimes kind of gets in the way of what you’re actually ultimately trying to do, win MLS Cup.”
In addition to Carlisle’s pre-game piece, you can find stories covering the New York angle by Michael Lewis in the New York Daily News and by Dylan Butler on MLSnet.
In other news, the opponent for this year’s MLS All-Star Game has been announced, and it’s Valencia Villareal Everton. The match will be played on July 29 at Rio Tinto Stadium, home of Real Salt Lake.
Quakes acquire defender Aaron Pitchkolan from FC Dallas
By Jay Hipps · April 28, 2009
(updated x 2) The details are in on the trade we reported was in the works earlier today, and the newest member of the San Jose Earthquakes is former FC Dallas defender Aaron Pitchkolan. The Quakes gave up a conditional pick — a fourth-rounder that could become a third-round pick in the 2011 SuperDraft, depending on the number of appearances he makes — to acquire the 26-year-old. Pitchkolan appeared in 21 matches last year but appeared just once in 2009 after apparently falling out of favor with Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman.
The six-foot, two-inch defender will join the team Wednesday and may see playing time in the San Jose’s U.S. Open Cup play-in match against the New York Red Bulls tomorrow night. He takes the last remaining spot on the Earthquakes’ senior roster.
Pitchkolan graduated from West Virginia in 2004 and was selected 23rd overall in the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft. Over the course of his four-plus years in Dallas, he appeared in 68 games, making 41 starts.
Here he is scoring a goal against Chicago last September:
And here’s a 2006 game-winner against Kansas City:
