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Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic: Johanna Konta humbled Serena Williams in 6-1, 6-0 blowout

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Photo credit: @MubadalaSVC

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The 2018 Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic continued Tuesday at the Spartan Tennis Complex in San Jose, Calif. And, as you might’ve expected, tennis star Serena Williams stole the show. Well, at least the night match in this lovely city.

Ladies Singles — Round One
ROU’s Mihaela Buzarnescu defeated USA’s Sachia Vickery in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory. Buzarnescu’s next opponent will be either CHN’s Qiang Wang or USA’s Amanda Anisimova.

HUN’s Timea Babos defeated FRA’s Kristina Mladenovic in a 6-4, 6-2 victory. Babos’ next opponent for round two will be GRE’s Maria Sakkari.

GBR’s Heather Watson defeated USA’s Claire Liu in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory.

BLR’s Vera Lapko defeated CHN’s Shuai Zhang, a No. 7 seed, in a 7-6, 6-0 victory. Lapko will face USA’s Danielle Collins in round two.

GBR’s Johanna Konta crushed USA’s Serena Williams with a final score of 6-1, 6-0. Now, it’s 10 games in a row for Konta, who led 6-1, 4-0 at one point.

“I think she played well in the second set,” said Williams. “And I think…I wasn’t sure, but after the first set, she got all in and she thought she was going to make it.”

When asked about the change of environment, Williams told reporters that she liked playing at Stanford, but added that it was nice to see the tournament grow at San Jose State. Additionally, Williams stated that she had to get used to the current serve clock and then mentioned that she has been getting to know San Jose since it’s sort of different compared to Los Angeles.

Ladies Doubles — Round One
RUS’ Anna Blinkova and RUS’ Natela Dzalamidze defeated ARG’s Maria Irigoyen and USA’s Desirae Krawczyk in a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

ESP’s Georgina Garcia Perez and AUS’ Priscilla Hon defeated UKR’s Kateryna Bondarenko and RUS’ Valeria Savinykh in a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

USA’s Sofia Kenin and BLR’s Aryna Sabalenka defeated PAR’s Veronica Cepede Royg and USA’s Irina Falconi in a 6-4, 6-1 victory.

Notes
USA’s CeCi Bellis isn’t playing at the Mubadala SVC, but she signed autographs for the fans at the AdvoCare Sports booth at 12:45 pm PDT Tuesday afternoon.

The Spartan Tennis Complex opened up 100 seats for the 7 pm PDT match Tuesday night between USA’s Serena Williams and UK’s Johanna Konta.

The dog of USA’s Ashley Kratzer hung out in the shade to cool down as he waited for his so-called mother to finish her practice.

American teenager Claire Liu went from defense to offense in a big way, as she won the point of the day at the Mubadala SVC.

Up Next
Second round for both ladies’ doubles and singles are scheduled for Wednesday from 11 am to 5 pm and 7 pm to 9 pm. All times Pacific.

6-time LPGA winner Pat Hurst returns to alma mater as San Jose State’s assistant women’s golf coach

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Pat Hurst, a six-time winner on the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) Tour and the only San Jose State alumna to win a NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship, returns to her alma mater as the women’s golf assistant coach. New San Jose State head coach Dana Dormann made the announcement Tuesday.

Hurst, a San Leandro, Calif. native, is entering college coaching for the first time and can rely on her past experiences as an assistant captain of the 2015 and 2017 United States-winning Solheim Cup teams.

“I am very pleased Pat Hurst is coming back to San Jose State as the assistant coach to the women’s golf team. Her success at every level of competition from junior, to SJSU, and to the LPGA Tour is unmatched in college coaching,” said Dormann, who’s a San Jose State alumna and a two-time LPGA Tour winner herself.

“Her work as the Solheim Cup assistant captain to fellow Spartan alumna Juli Inkster has given Pat knowledge of team building, course strategy and an understanding of the game that will be very valuable to our team. I look forward to working with my fellow Spartan as San Jose State Women’s golf builds our ‘Culture of Champions’ for life.”

Before enrolling at San Jose State, Hurst was the 1986 USGA Girls Junior champion. As a sophomore, Hurst was the 1989 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf medalist and led the Spartans to their second of three national team championships at the Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif.

The two-time first-team All-American would capture the 1990 U.S. Women’s Amateur — Hurst’s second USGA championship in four years. Hurst earned her LPGA Tour Card in 1994 and was named the Tour’s “Rookie of the Year” in 1995. Hurst’s first LPGA Tour win was the 1997 Oldsmobile Classic in East Lansing, Mich.

Hurst has one major championship win to her credit–the 1998 Nabisco Dinah Shore Invitational–and 10 other top-10 finishes at LPGA Major Championship Tour events. She played on eight USA teams in international competition–four of them Solheim Cup winners. Hurst has a 10-7-3 Solheim Cup individual win-loss record.

“I am so excited to be joining the San Jose State University women’s golf team as the assistant coach. I look forward to using my knowledge and experiences to help the team and making an impact on their lives,” said Hurst, who was an inductee into multiple Halls of Fame, including the San Jose State Sports’ Hall of Fame.

Though Hurst has cut back on the number of tournaments she plays in recent years, her $7 million in career earnings still ranks her 33rd all-time among LPGA players.

“Congratulations to Pat Hurst on being named assistant coach for the San Jose State University women’s golf team. She has been my right hand person for the last two Solheim Cups (United States vs. Europe). She is organized, passionate and fun,” said Juli Inkster, a LPGA Hall of Fame golfer who served as the captain of the triumphant 2015 and 2017 U.S. teams after becoming an San Jose State alumna.

“Dana Dormann and Pat will make a amazing team. Their golf knowledge and loyalty to SJSU will be a home run. I wish I had some eligibility left.”

San Jose State to Appear in Two Non-Conference Games on Pac-12 Network

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State now has game times and television assignments for its non-conference football games against Pac-12 Conference opponents Washington State and Oregon.

The September 8 game at Washington State will have an 8:00 p.m. PST start time. The Pac-12 Network will provide the telecast from Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

The following week, the Spartans’ September 15 non-conference contest at Oregon in Autzen Stadium will be another another Pac-12 Network telecast with a 2:00 p.m. PDT start time.

Previously, the Mountain West announced San Jose State’s games against Colorado State on October 6 and at San Diego State on October 20 would be televised by the CBS Sports Network and have a 7:30 p.m. PDT start time and the October 13 non-conference contest against Army West Point and a November 24 regular finale at Fresno State would be carried on the ESPN Network.

Game times and broadcast assignments for the remainder of the schedule will be announced in the coming months and no later than 12 days before a scheduled game.

Season tickets for San Jose State’s six home games are available by visiting www.sjsuspartans.com/tickets or by calling (408) 924-SJTX.

San Jose State hosts San Diego State on Saturday night

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Photo credit: youtube.com

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State men’s basketball team hosts the San Diego State men’s basketball team on Saturday night inside the Event Center with a tipoff scheduled for 7:00 pm PT. Tickets for the game are available at the Spartan Ticket Office, which can be reached at 408-924-7589. ESPN3 will broadcast the game live and Spartan fans can listen to the home broadcast by tuning into KLIV 1590 AM to hear Justin Allegri’s play-by-play call.

Game #27
SJSU (3-23, 0-15 MW) vs. SDSU  (16-10, 8-7 MW)
Saturday, February 24, 2018, 7:00 pm PT
The Event Center (5,000)
San Jose, Calif.

TV: ESPN3
Radio: KLIV 1590 AM

Spartans to honor Welage Saturday
Earlier this season, Ryan Welage became the 15th player to reach the 1,000-point plateau in the 108-year history of the SJSU men’s basketball program. Since then, he has risen among the all-time scoring ranks to seventh place with 1,200 points. SJSU Director of Athletics Marie Tuite and head coach Jean Prioleau will present Welage with a ceremonial 1,000-point basketball prior to the Spartans’ tipoff on Saturday night.

SJSU all-time scoring leaders
1. 1,767 – Ricky Berry (84 games)
2. 1,750 – Adrian Oliver (80 games)
3. 1,504 – Stu Inman (123 games)
4. 1,432 – Wally Rank (102 games)
5. 1,272 – Justin Graham (119 games)
6. 1,236 – Chris McNealy (81 games)
7. 1,200- Ryan Welage (87 games)
8. 1,173 – Coby Dietrick (72 games)
9. 1,139 – Terry Cannon (97 games)
10. 1,136 – Johnnie Skinner (73 games)

King of the three-ball
Welage sank four 3-pointers last game at Nevada, which brought him into a tie with Tim Pierce as the all-time leader for made threes in a Spartan career with 153. His first 3-pointer of the night Saturday would make him the all-time 3-point makes leader in program history.

SJSU career 3-point field goals made leaders
1. 153 – Tim Pierce (86 games)
1. 153 – Ryan Welage (87 games)
3. 138 – Adrian Oliver (80 games)
4. 134 – Rashad Muhammad (58 games)
5. 125 – Robert Owens (61 games)

Spartan opponents have been loading up from downtown
In the last two games, Wyoming and Nevada combined to attempt 79 threes against the Spartans. The two combined to make 40.5 of the shots from beyond the arc. Wyoming jacked up 42 shots from downtown, which was a school record for a Spartan opponent. Kendall Stephens and Hallice Cooke shot 26 of Nevada’s 37 threes in the last game, of which they hit 12. Guarding against easy points in the paint, the Spartans have been playing the 3-point percentages against their opponents. SDSU comes in shooting 34.7 percent as a team from beyond the arch, ranking seventh in the Mountain West.

Series history with SDSU
SDSU holds a 37-35 edge over San Jose State in the all-time series. SJSU’s 76-71 win over the Aztecs last season inside the Event Center last year snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series which dated back to 1999.

Last meeting with SDSU
SJSU suffered a 36-point, 85-49, loss to SDSU earlier this season on January 9 inside the Viejas Arena. The one shining moment of the evening was Welage sinking a pair of free throws in the second half for his career-points 999 and 1,000. With that he etched his name in the SJSU history books as the 15th player in the 108-year history of the program to reach 1,000 points.

Mountain West tournament seeding impact
At 0-15 in league play, SJSU is locked in the 11th spot and will play the sixth-seeded team in the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament. Right now, teams four through eight in the MW standings are all separated by 2.0 games, and one of them is SDSU. The Aztecs are currently in sixth place and one of three teams heading into the weekend with an 8-7 record in MW play.

Team defense continues to hold Spartans back
Just a few weeks ago, the Spartans had a top-five field goal percentage defense in the MW of 42.5 percent. However, in the last five games, Spartan opponents are hitting 46.2 percent of their field goal attempts and averaging 81.4 points per game. SDSU comes into Saturday’s game shooting 46.0 percent as a team and averages 77.8 points per game, which ranks seventh in the MW.

Fisher III extends career-scoring high again
Redshirt freshman Keith Fisher III extended his career-scoring high twice in one week with a 23-point performance at Colorado State on February 10, followed by 26 points last Saturday at Wyoming. Fisher has finished eight of the last 11 games in double-figure scoring. Over the last five games he is averaging 15.4 points and 8.4 rebounds while hitting 52.6 percent of his shots. He was limited to just five points in the last game at Nevada after fouling out with just under 12 minutes to play in the second half.

Hillsman returns to starting lineup vs. Wyoming
Jaycee Hillsman not only returned to the starting lineup for the first time since December 5, but he also played a career-high 39 minutes last Saturday at Wyoming. He finished the game with a double-double including 15 points and 10 rebounds. The junior from Champaign, Illinois, is averaging 9.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 24.4 minutes during conference play.

Original Joe’s downtown San Jose podcast Sportstalk for Thu Jan 4, 2018

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yelp.com photo: San Jose Original Joe’s downtown San Jose at 301 First Street since 1956

Welcome back to another edition of Sportstalk podcast on www.sportsradioservice.com with your host Matt Harrington (San Jose Sharks reporter and host of the show), Mary Lisa Walsh (San Jose Sharks weekend reporter), A’s Spanish play by play announcer Amaury Pi Gonzalez, Mahal and Amrita from IND TV, Marko Ukalovic (San Jose Barracuda reporter), Len Shapiro (San Jose Sharks podcaster), and producer Lee Leonard.

We were podcasting from a San Jose tradition Original Joe’s 301 South First Street in downtown San Jose. Our thanks to our hosts at Original Joe’s: the owners and management Matt, Brad and Bob; the Rocca family; and our server and guest on the program Jason. Established in 1956 by the Rocca family, Original Joe’s Restaurant in San Jose, California, has been the cornerstone of an ever-changing downtown and the growth of Silicon Valley. Descended from the first Original Joe’s founded in 1937 in San Francisco, Calif., the San Jose Original Joe’s was the first San Francisco-based restaurant to open in San Jose in the South San Francisco Bay Area now known world wide as the heart of Silicon Valley.

That’s Original Joe’s at 301 South First Street in downtown San Jose.

 

Earthquakes fall short at home in international friendly

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by Michael Martinez

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Earthquakes invited C.F. Pachuca, a club from Mexico and last year’s Liga MX champions, to play in an international friendly in San Jose. The Quakes attempted a big comeback but ultimately fell short, losing 4-3 as time expired.

The first half was all Pachuca as the international club netted two first half goals to hold a two goals to none lead. It appeared that if the first half continued into the second, San Jose was headed for some major trouble.

And when the second half begun, it looked troubling as the visiting team struck first with another goal early in the half from a penalty kick. Fortunately, San Jose was poised to fight back down by  three goals and they did just that.

In minute 64, the Earthquakes were on the scoreboard, when midfielder Tommy Thompson found the back of the net for the first time this season. Thompson has been on loan from SJ’s affiliate, the Sacramento Republic FC, since July. Four other players from the Sac Republic squad came on loan to compete in the friendly as well.

The Quakes showed a ton of fight, even though their opponent scored on a penalty kick again just two minutes later. San Jose battled back down by three goals and actually scored a minute after Pachuca. Midfielder Shea Salinas was the shooter as he nailed the far side netting.

In between minutes 60 and 70, the two teams scored three goals altogether as both offenses hit their stride with a little bit of help from chippy play. Pachuca’s midfielder, Ruben Botta, received two yellow cards and was sent off the field around the same time as all the goals.

With their opponents down a man, the Earthquakes hoped to take advantage and cut the two goals lead. However, it took the team too long as they  were finally able to cut the lead to one in the second minute of extra play.

Once again it was Salinas who got it past the goalkeeper, but ultimately the Earthquakes fell short, 4-3.

Salinas had a tremendous game and some incredible  goals to go with it. The Quakes have struggled to score recently so Saturday night’s friednly was a positive for them going forward.

San Jose’s next matchup is against the Seattle Sounders, next Saturday in San Jose at Avaya Stadium.

 

Pavelski Scores a Pair But Sharks Stumble Against Blue Jackets

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Sharks saw Tuesday night’s contest at SAP Center against the reeling Columbus Blue Jackets as an opportunity to take advantage of a team in turmoil. Instead, the Sharks (6-6-0) now find themselves looking answers after losing 5-2 in a match-up against a team with only a pair of wins on the season.

Joe Pavelski scored both goals for the Sharks and goalie Martin Jones struggled through a 17 save, 4 goal performance against a Columbus team that recently fired their coach and was struggling under new coach John Tortorella.

“It was not good enough,” said Jones. “We played a backwards game, let up an early goal and let in a few soft ones in the 2nd. We need to be better. Everyone needs to be better. We got outworked tonight.”

The Sharks dug an early hole after committing two penalties in the opening five minutes. They managed to kill off a Chris Tierney stick infraction a minute and a half into the game, but weren’t as lucky after defenseman Brenden Dillon skated to the box 4:23 into the game.

With the man advantage, Brandon Dubinsky skated to the left faceoff dot and took a shot on Sharks goalie Martin Jones. Jones stopped the initial attempt, but Brandon Saad was waiting in the goal crease to tuck the loose puck home for a 1-0 lead with 12 seconds left on Dillon’s infraction.

“We got the first kill,” said Pavelski. “We almost got through the second one which would have given us a boost. We were on our heels early. It has to change, we have to break this mold where we’re getting scored on first.”

The Sharks Captain matched the team-best of 7 goals on the season in the waning seconds of the first period. Pavelski crept into Sergei Bobrovsky’s crease, redirecting a point shot from Justin Braun past the Russian netminder with 1:04 left in the period.

The Blue Jackets regained their lead nearly halfway through regulation after Scott Hartnell beat Jones for his 5th goal of the season at the 8:54 mark. Hartnell started the play behind the Sharks net, skated out towards the faceoff dot to Jones’ right then spun around and ripped a shot rapid-fire that beat Jones over the near post shoulder.

Pavelski again drew the Sharks three minutes later, receiving a backhand feed from Joonas Donskoi before deking out Bobrovsky to move past Joel Ward for the team lead in goals.

Pavelski’s goal was the result of a heads-up forecheck from Donskoi along the offense boards. Donskoi snuck behind Nick Foligno preparing to move the puck out of the Columbus defensive end and sent it back towards the goal line for Pavelski’s tally. The assist on the play was Donskoi’s 2nd career NHL point and first since returning from injury October 28th.

“It’s hard to come back after an injury,” said Donskoi. “I think it’s getting better but I’m not happy. We still lost. It’s disappointing.”

The tie was short lived due to miscommunication by Jones and defenseman Brent Burns. Jones went to play a dump-in behind his net and settle the puck for Burns. Burns, however, didn’t react in time to stop an advancing Blue Jacket from springing the puck loose. Columbus forward Boone Jenner snuck in to net his 7th goal with 1:28 left in the 2nd.

If the Jenner goal didn’t deflate the Sharks heading into the 2nd intermission, defenseman Ryan Murray’s strike with 59 seconds left in the period certainly did. Murray slid a point shot through a crowd in front of the net to put Columbus up 4-2 and chase Jones from the contest.

“I think it went off one of our guys’ gloves,” said Jones. “It was a bit of a deflection, a bit of a screen.”

Over his 40 minutes of ice time Jones allowed 4 goals while making 17 saves. His replacement, Alex Stalock, faced only 2 shots over the final period, but Matt Calvert scored an empty netter for the final 5-2 marker.

At the other end of the ice, Bobrovsky stood on his head for most of the contest to earn his third win of the season. The former Vezina trophy winner turned aside 41 of 43 shots he faced, keeping the Sharks power play off the board after four opportunities.

“For our power play we demand a lot out of ourselves,” said Pavelski. “We expect a lot. It’s just unacceptable. It was a big momentum swing for us. We’ve created some momentum off it when we’ve had chances. It doesn’t do anything for the wins.”

“Everybody goes through tough stretches,” said Jones. “We know we have a good group in here. We know we’ll respond. We’ve got the group in here to do it. The main thing is to show up tomorrow, have a good practice and move on.”

The Sharks will have to move on quickly with the Florida panthers coming to town Thursday night followed by a visit from another reeling team, the Anaheim Ducks. The Southern California rivals come to town Saturday night with a lowly 2 wins and six points, tied for the lowest mark in the NHL.

Rinne, Predators Fourth Line Prey on Sharks

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Sharks hoped having a pair of forwards return to the line-up Wednesday night might bring about scoring depth, especially at home where coach Pete DeBoer had final change and a chance at exploiting mismatches. Despite the returns of Joonas Donskoi and Ben Smith, the Sharks (5-4-0) scoring woes continued in a 2-1loss to the visiting Nashville Predators (7-1-1). Pekka Rinne held the Sharks to a lone goal, a goal by center Joe Pavelski, on 21 shots.

“He’s a good goalie,” said Pavelski. “He’s one of the better ones in the league. With all the goalies you have to get traffic. If they see it, they stop it.”

The Finn shut down San Jose to one goal or less for the fourth time in the last six games. In those games, the Sharks are 1-3-0, topping the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in the shootout for the sole victory on October 16th.

Nashville winger Eric Nystrom baffled Jones early, unleashing a dart from the left circle that beat the San Jose netminder to his stick side at the 3:22 mark of the 1st.

“You need a save there,” said Jones. “Early in the game you need a save there. It’s tough to come back from. That’s a tough defensive team with a good goalie.”

The Sharks held a 9-7 advantage in shots on goal after the period, but goalie Pekka Rinne and the Predators withstood a San Jose power play to get the home team off the stat sheet after 20 minutes.

It took 15 shots, but the Sharks final snuck a puck past Rinne in the 3rd period, with the Sharks captain tying the game 1:28 into the frame. Pavelski pounced on a rebound in the crease off a Matt Tennyson shot for his fourth of the season. Matt Nieto, taking a turn on the top line after playing the majority of the game on the third forward unit, also picked up an assist.

“It feels good to score,” said Pavelski. “But that’s that moment, then you move on for the next one. They got the next one. It takes away from it.”

Calle Jarnkrok gave Nashville that next one halfway through the period, taking a Gabriel Bourque pass and ripping it over Jones’ glove for his first goal of the season, the game winner Wednesday.

“The difference tonight was that their fourth line had two goals,” said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer. “That was the difference in the game. Everyone else cancelled each other out.”

In total, Nashville scored on 2 of 24 shots against Jones.

“They didn’t have much,” said Pavelski of the Predators offensive chances on the night. “We didn’t have much. That’s how it is against those guys. The power play has to start putting one in.”

The Sharks special teams was 0-2 on the night, extending a scoreless streak to six straight opportunities with the man advantage. They also went 2-2 on the penalty kill.

“The special teams battle was even tonight,” said DeBoer. “They didn’t get one either. We need to start scoring there for sure. We had some great looks. Eventually something is going to go in.”

The Sharks will be looking for some treats from their nearly-whole lines and power play unit on Halloween when they visit the Dallas Stars Saturday before continuing the road trip with a pit stop in Colorado. After that, the team returns to SAP for four-straight home contests.

In Battle of the Streaks Quakes Beat LA

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. –  If the San Jose Earthquakes expected to continue their three-game win streak, let alone the run of 270-plus minutes without yielding a goal, to continue Friday night at Avaya Stadium they’d need their A-game. Facing in-state rivals the Los Angeles Galaxy in the third and deciding leg of the California Clasico between the first two California-based MLS Sides, the Quakes needed to find a way to slow one of the MLS’ most potent offenses and red-hot sides down.

“That’s life in MLS,” said Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear. “It’s a league of streaks.”

San Jose did just that, extending its own streak to four-straight triumphs, topping the Western Conference leaders 1-0 to move ahead of Settle into the fifth spot in the table.

“I’m really happy with this group,” said Kinnear. “The last three weeks we’ve been good. We’ve followed those performances up with a good level of consistency. That’s the reason why we’re winning games.”

Shea Salinas scored and David Bingham made 4 saves to pick up a quartet of clean sheets in as many games. The Quakes earned the crown as Clasico victors, beating LA 3-1 at Stanford Stadium June 27th before being thrashed in Carson 5-2 on July 17th.

The Galaxy entered Friday’s match having scored a league-leading 49 goals over 27 games backed by imports like Steven Gerrard and MLS mainstay Robbie Keane. Despite coming into play with the 2nd most saves in the MLS (86) and ranking third in shutouts (9), Bingham and San Jose had their hands full keeping an LA squad off the board and out of the win column for a fifth-straight match.

“If anybody has been awake,” said Kinnear. “If anyone has been alive in the last five years in soccer, you know those players already. You want to show them you belong, that you’re a good player. If you step on the field and you’re just looking at the names, you’re going to be in for a long night. They’re not good players, they’re great players.”

The road-weary Quakes now find themselves with the upper hand in the closing weeks of the MLS season. They finish up the season with 6 of 8 matches at home as they look to lock up a playoff spot for the first time since 2012 when San Jose won the Supporters Shield with a league-best 19 wins.

A dogged effort by midfielder Shea Salinas put the Quakes on top 1-0 in the 19th minute. Forward Quincy Amarikwa headed a shot onto Galaxy keep Donovan Ricketts, but the MLS vet got his gloves on the bid. Amarikwa’s header proved too strong for a clean grab, instead popping the ball into the air. Salinas capitalized, hitting the goal box on a dead sprint, to head the loose ball into the top right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.

“Marvell made a great cross and Quincy fought it,” said Salinas of his goal. “Ricketts made a great save. God just put me in the right place and I was able to put it in the back of the net.”

“He just looks confident,” said Kinnear of Salinas and his two-game goal streak. “I think he feels that, no matter who the defender is playing against him, he feels he can beat them.”

“The Quakes started the second half holding most of the momentum, but found themselves further in control after the officials sent Leonardo off with a red card. The Galaxy defender hauled Amarikwa down from behind in the 47th minute to put his team down a man for almost half the contest. LA handcuffed itself in the 74th minute Dave Romney was given a yellow card as well. While the Quakes didn’t score with the man-advantage, they ran the Galaxy ragged with the edge.

After building the streak by breaking Eastern Conference Leaders D.C. United and Sporting Kansas City, third best in the West, the Quakes can make it 5 against the scuffling Philadelphia Union next Saturday. The Union currently sits one win ahead of Chicago as the leg of the Eastern Conference table.

“Teams can come here and beat anyone on any given day,” said Bingham. “We have to continue to play well.”

Goodson Returns, Nets Game-winner for Quakes

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. – On a night when the City of San Jose’s Department of Environmental Services sponsored the match with blurbs regarding littering and pollution, it was the San Jose Earthquakes who properly disposed of the unwanted Friday. In blanking the visiting Colorado Rapids 1-0 at Avaya Stadium, the Quakes (8-10-5) tossed away a six-game unbeaten stretch to pick up their first win since June 20th.

Clarence Goodson, returning from injury, netted the game-winner in the 53rd minute and goalkeeper David Bingham collected the clean sheet to keep San Jose out of the bottom leg of the Western Conference table and pull within three points of Seattle for the final playoff spot. Colorado (5-9-9) meanwhile, falls five points back of San Jose in last place in the conference.

“I’m really happy with the effort,” said Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear. “The guys were good. A real good goal, a lot of second efforts on that part of it. It would have been nice to have gotten a second to kind of ease the pressure on us a little bit, but any time you shut out a team it gives you a chance to win and one goal was enough for us tonight.”

The contest wasn’t without its drawbacks. Defender Jordan Stewart played an integral part in withstanding an early Rapids onslaught, but exited the contest in the 27th minute with an Achilles injury. While the severity of the injury is unknown, it appears he’ll be absent from the San Jose roster for a sizeable period of time.

“He’s a great soccer player and an even greater person,” said Wondolowski. “True professional in every sense of the word. I’m definitely going to miss him, he’s a good friend. He’s been playing great this whole season. Shaun Francis did a great job stepping in there.”

Another Quake was hampered by injury, but isn’t expected to miss any time. Matias Perez Garcia was limited to 50 minutes with a hamstring ailment before being replaced by recent acquisition Marc Pelosi.

“You could tell it was kind of hindering him a little bit,” said Kinnear. “We tried to hopefully get him going a little bit at halftime, and it just wasn’t happening.”

Goodson looked like he put behind his left leg injury in a fantastic effort that included stalwart defense and the winning score. Chris Wondolowski, playing closer to midfield in a new alignment for Kinnear, managed to place the ball at Quincy Amarikwa’s left foot. Amarikwa lofted it to the right post where Goodson could cash it in for the 1-0 lead.

“I’m not going to miss too many of those,” said Goodson on Amarikwa’s perfect feed. “He said get back there so I got back there. That’s such a good ball. It was a slam dunk.”

While Goodson was making his first MLS appearance since July 26, another player for San Jose was making his MLS debut. Midfielder Anibal Godoy made his debut after touching down in the United States just 24 hours earlier.

“He was brilliant tonight,” said Wondolowski. “He covered some serious ground tonight.”

Godoy landed in Los Angeles Thursday night from his native Panama, spent the night in SoCal before flying up to the Bay Area on the morning of the match. There was no hesitation for Kinnear to insert the International into the line-up and allow him to play a full 90 minutes.

“At this time in the season when you bring in a player like him,” said Kinnear.  “Or you bring in somebody new that you think can help the team, he’s not here to blend in and to work his way into the game.

Godoy, contrary to the expected, said he felt very comfortable in his maiden match with the Quakes, in large part due to the cohesion of the group.

“I felt like I had played with this team for 15 games,” said Godoy after the match through a translator. Godoy was familiar with some Quakes players previously and noted that their team communication made it easy to jump in.

On paper it still is only one match for Godoy, but he’ll get another chance to work on team chemistry on Wednesday when the Quakes head to Kansas City followed by a Saturday match in D.C. From there, Godoy and his Quakes mates will return home for a four-game homestand amidst their playoff push.

“This group of guys knows if we can stay hungry and stay united, we can win some matches,” said Godoy. “Today we demonstrated that we are a solid squad and if we continue to play like this we will reach our goal.”