And finally, a win
By Jay Hipps · May 31, 2009
If you had to pick one word to describe the mood in the Earthquakes’ locker room after last night’s win over the Salt Lake Royals, it would be “relief.” Read more…
Earthquakes/RSL post-game interviews
Saturday, May 30
By Editor · May 31, 2009
Center Line Soccer was on hand in the locker room after the San Jose Earthquakes’ 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake. Click on the headline or on “Read More” to hear comments from head coach Frank Yallop and players Arturo Alvarez, Cornell Glen, Joe Cannon, Jason Hernandez, Bobby Convey, and Mike Zaher. Read more…
Quakes prevail on Alvarez wonder strike
By Jeff Carlisle · May 31, 2009
New forward Cornell Glen scored in his home debut for the Earthquakes. Photo: Joe Nuxoll, centerlinesoccer.com.
Center Line Soccer’s complete coverage includes a photo gallery, audio interviews with head coach Frank Yallop and six players, and the Man of the Match poll (at right).
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - A few weeks ago, San Jose Earthquakes manager Frank Yallop bemoaned the fact that none of his players were “playing out of their skin.” But in Saturday’s match against Real Salt Lake, enough players stepped up in critical moments to give the Quakes a badly needed 2-1 victory that snapped an eight-game winless streak. Read more…
Quakes vs RSL
By Joe Nuxoll · May 30, 2009
The San Jose Earthquakes defeated the visiting Real Salt Lake 2-1 on May 30, 2009 in Santa Clara, CA. Photo gallery by Joe Nuxoll.
Zaher in line to start
By Jeff Carlisle · May 30, 2009
Looks like Cornell Glen won’t be the only Earthquake player to make his first start in league play on Saturday, as manager Frank Yallop looks set to give defender Mike Zaher a rare start at left back.
Another Saturday night
By Jay Hipps · May 30, 2009
We had several choices for the Solar-Powered Soccer Blog’s soundtrack today — there are lots of songs that mention Saturday nights — but we’re going with the Sam Cooke classic “Another Saturday Night” because of the lyric, “I’m in an awful way,” an accurate description of San Jose’s season thus far. Sadly, YouTube doesn’t have any footage of Cooke singing the song, so we’ve opted for this version by a German a capella group because a. they do a decent job and b. who would have guessed that a German a cappela group that does Sam Cooke covers even existed?
OK, now that we’ve got that sorted out, let’s move on to the soccer. Both the Quakes and RSL have had their challenges on the field, and both sides will be looking to seize the opportunity tonight.
As Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer joked with us on a recent podcast, this match looks like a case of “a resistible force meeting a movable object.” CLS readers all know about the Quakes’ woes this season, but RSL is not doing much better. Jason Kreis’ side is winless in their last six matches and has earned only two points from their last five league outings. Shockingly, they have yet to even score a goal in their four road matches in 2009, but on the other side, San Jose has yet to post a clean sheet this year. Something’s gotta give.
Here’s the pre-game press wrap:
- MLSnet has the usual pre-game stories: one focusing on San Jose, another on Salt Lake, and the “Just the facts, ma’am” version.
- The local newspapers are at it, too. The Ogden, Utah Standard-Examiner hints that RSL may employ a 4-5-1 against the Quakes, a theory that is supported by the Salt Lake Tribune’s story on midfielder Ned Grabavoy, who was cut by San Jose earlier this year and picked up by RSL in the waiver draft. The AP also provides a preview of tonight’s proceedings.
- In other news, two Earthquakes, Darren Huckerby and Ryan Cochrane, make Soccer365’s MLS All-Injured XI.
- The theory that Bobby Convey would return to his native Philadelphia to play for the expansion Union next season took a blow yesterday when the team hired former DC United head coach and U.S. assistant Peter Nowak to lead the side. Nowak was with DC United when Convey left for English side Reading five years ago and Convey has pointed at his poor relationship with the Pole as a key reason why he hasn’t been called up to the U.S. national team recently.
Glen gets T&T call after all
By Jeff Carlisle · May 29, 2009
Looks like being left off the provisional squad of Trinidad & Tobago head coach Russell Latapy didn’t do Cornell Glen any harm, as the San Jose striker has now been called into training camp ahead of T&T’s World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Mexico. Read more…
Post-game press wrap, Columbus edition
By Jay Hipps · May 28, 2009
The Solar-Powered Soccer Blog is back after a very pleasant sojourn north, and we’re eager to jump back into the fray. First, though, a thank you to Jeff Carlisle and the rest of the crew here for filling in during our absence.
We’ll get to the Earthquakes soon enough, but our first topic will be the Champions League final, after we launch the soundtrack for the day, “The Magnificent Seven.” It comes from the Clash’s appearance 26 years ago today — May 28, 1983— at the US Festival near San Bernadino.
If you were looking for a magnificent 11, the place to be yesterday was Rome, where Barcelona defeated a surprisingly lackluster Manchester United in the Champions League final. With Barca’s patched-up back line, we really expected a ManU victory and would have bet heavily that the English side would at least score a goal, but the Catalan side dominated possession and ultimately won easily. We tuned into a Barcelona radio station yesterday after the match and they were in full celebration mode, broadcasting the play-by-play of the goals over and over in triumph. Even today, the victory is the main topic, as the city basks in the victory.
It all reminds us of better times here in Northern California, the two magical seasons when the Earthquakes hoisted the MLS Cup. Unfortunately, after last night’s loss to Columbus, it’s a lot easier to see those trophies in the rear view mirror than it is to see one in the future at this point.
It wasn’t the Quakes’ worst performance of the year by any means — in fact, the team looked pretty good at times — but the record can’t be ignored. We’re exactly one-third of the way through the season and the team has earned five points from 10 games. The team’s marketing asks, “What’s a Huckerby?” but we’re left wondering “How’s Huckerby?” in hopes that last year’s savior will be well enough to play soon. At least Jason Hernandez, one of yesterday’s best performers, is back and playing well.
Here’s the post-game press wrap. Meanwhile, we’re going to tune into that Barcelona radio station again and see if some of that celebratory spirit can make it all the way to San Jose.
- Match reports can be found on MLSnet, Goal.com, and in the Columbus Dispatch.
- Dispatch columnist Michael Arace accuses the Quakes of trying “every physical tactic short of deploying foreign objects” in yesterday’s match, although his main complaints are with the referee.
Schelotto goal sinks Quakes, 2-1
By Jeff Carlisle · May 27, 2009
The San Jose Earthquakes had their first road result of the season within their grasp on Wednesday against the Columbus Crew. Then the reigning league MVP snatched it away. Read more…
Leitch suspended; Denton escapes
By Jeff Carlisle · May 26, 2009
If you had bet me after the Houston game that Chris Leitch would be suspended and Eric Denton wouldn’t, I probably would have accepted that wager. I would have lost too, because according to a league source, that is precisely what happened.
