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Played
October 20, 2010 10:00 PM EDT
Buck Shaw Stadium — Santa Clara, California
Referee: R. Salazar
Attendance: 9633
October 20, 2010 10:00 PM EDT
Buck Shaw Stadium — Santa Clara, California
Referee: R. Salazar
Attendance: 9633
San Jose Earthquakes - Chivas USA: Head To Head Preview
Could the underdogs pull off an upset?
By Giovanni Albanese and Zac Lee Rigg
On Form
San Jose Earthquakes: Confidence and physicality is up with the Earthquakes. On Saturday night against the Houston Dynamo, they didn’t get the result (losing 1-0 at home) but showed an aggression that, at times, Houston could not match. The likes of Chris Wondolowski, Bobby Convey, Sam Cronin and Jason Hernandez have continued to display the confidence in their game. It could bode well as they head into the postseason.
Chivas USA: Zach Thornton is rounding into excellent form just in time for the . . . oh. Well, if the Goats had qualified for the playoffs, Thornton looks ready to win a game or two on his own. After doing just that against Toronto FC, the 36-year-old kept Chivas USA in the game when Seattle threatened to run away with it on Saturday. Also, Jesus Padilla notched his sixth goal of the season against Seattle, which is a decent haul for his limited minutes.
Off Target
San Jose: Execution on the offensive side of the ball hasn’t been the best. Offensively, San Jose has been lacking creativity to create openings for forwards Geovanni and Ryan Johnson, as well as midfielders Wondolowski and Khari Stephenson. Convey has continually been the lone midfielder to create anything, but it has not been enough. Defensively, the Quakes struggled with set pieces against the Dynamo. Houston scored the lone goal in its 1-0 win on a corner, and came close to adding to their total on other pieces around the box.
Chivas USA: Steve Zakuani slalomed between no less than four Chivas USA defenders to open the scoring on the weekend, with none of them brave enough to poke a foot in the spokes of his run. Timid marking and a soft central defense has undone the Goats throughout the season. Similarly slack attention paid to Chris Wondolowski could be just what the 'Quakes striker needs to catch Edson Buddle in the Golden Boot race.
Tactics
San Jose: For San Jose to get out of its offensive funk, they may elect to add a striker to the formation, going from their traditional 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3. Sliding Wondolowski up top with Geovanni and Johnson, leaving Convey, Stephenson and Cronin in the midfield may open things up for a struggling offensive unit.
Chivas USA: Two goals down and chasing the game against Seattle, Chivas USA pushed three midfielders exceptionally high, leaving Michael Lahoud exposed with rolling pastures of green surrounding him for Seattle to launch counterattacks into. Martin Vasquez will need to keep his midfield more compact at home to stand a chance. As for personnel, there could be a bit of a reshuffle if Dario Delgado and Justin Braun are fully fit by Wednesday.
Intangibles
San Jose: After the 1-0 loss at home to the Dynamo on Saturday, the Quakes have now gone seven games without a goal from anyone not named Chris Wondolowski. It continues to be a concern for a team that will likely go into the postseason as the eighth place club, unless they can put together a couple wins to end the season.
Chivas USA: At this point, San Jose has already locked down a playoff spot, but stands to gain quite a bit by finishing fifth or six in the Western Conference. Fourth place would see the side play the Los
Angeles Galaxy or Real Salt Lake, whereas fifth or sixth provides much easier opposition in the New York Red Bulls or the Columbus Crew. Now, surely San Jose won't blatantly throw the game (though fans might want it to), but Frank Yallop might not be as inclined to roll the dice if trailing late on.
Outcome
San Jose: In their last home game of the season, the Earthquakes will come out looking to get things in gear for the postseason. Going against the Western Conference cellar dwellers in Chivas USA will help make it easier. San Jose will take it, 3-0.
Chivas USA: Let's go with a scoring draw.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
San Jose Earthquakes: Confidence and physicality is up with the Earthquakes. On Saturday night against the Houston Dynamo, they didn’t get the result (losing 1-0 at home) but showed an aggression that, at times, Houston could not match. The likes of Chris Wondolowski, Bobby Convey, Sam Cronin and Jason Hernandez have continued to display the confidence in their game. It could bode well as they head into the postseason.
Chivas USA: Zach Thornton is rounding into excellent form just in time for the . . . oh. Well, if the Goats had qualified for the playoffs, Thornton looks ready to win a game or two on his own. After doing just that against Toronto FC, the 36-year-old kept Chivas USA in the game when Seattle threatened to run away with it on Saturday. Also, Jesus Padilla notched his sixth goal of the season against Seattle, which is a decent haul for his limited minutes.
Off Target
San Jose: Execution on the offensive side of the ball hasn’t been the best. Offensively, San Jose has been lacking creativity to create openings for forwards Geovanni and Ryan Johnson, as well as midfielders Wondolowski and Khari Stephenson. Convey has continually been the lone midfielder to create anything, but it has not been enough. Defensively, the Quakes struggled with set pieces against the Dynamo. Houston scored the lone goal in its 1-0 win on a corner, and came close to adding to their total on other pieces around the box.
Chivas USA: Steve Zakuani slalomed between no less than four Chivas USA defenders to open the scoring on the weekend, with none of them brave enough to poke a foot in the spokes of his run. Timid marking and a soft central defense has undone the Goats throughout the season. Similarly slack attention paid to Chris Wondolowski could be just what the 'Quakes striker needs to catch Edson Buddle in the Golden Boot race.
Tactics
San Jose: For San Jose to get out of its offensive funk, they may elect to add a striker to the formation, going from their traditional 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3. Sliding Wondolowski up top with Geovanni and Johnson, leaving Convey, Stephenson and Cronin in the midfield may open things up for a struggling offensive unit.
Chivas USA: Two goals down and chasing the game against Seattle, Chivas USA pushed three midfielders exceptionally high, leaving Michael Lahoud exposed with rolling pastures of green surrounding him for Seattle to launch counterattacks into. Martin Vasquez will need to keep his midfield more compact at home to stand a chance. As for personnel, there could be a bit of a reshuffle if Dario Delgado and Justin Braun are fully fit by Wednesday.
Justin Braun | Chivas USA are much stronger with striker
Intangibles
San Jose: After the 1-0 loss at home to the Dynamo on Saturday, the Quakes have now gone seven games without a goal from anyone not named Chris Wondolowski. It continues to be a concern for a team that will likely go into the postseason as the eighth place club, unless they can put together a couple wins to end the season.
Chivas USA: At this point, San Jose has already locked down a playoff spot, but stands to gain quite a bit by finishing fifth or six in the Western Conference. Fourth place would see the side play the Los
Angeles Galaxy or Real Salt Lake, whereas fifth or sixth provides much easier opposition in the New York Red Bulls or the Columbus Crew. Now, surely San Jose won't blatantly throw the game (though fans might want it to), but Frank Yallop might not be as inclined to roll the dice if trailing late on.
| Earthquakes are safely in the playoffs
Outcome
San Jose: In their last home game of the season, the Earthquakes will come out looking to get things in gear for the postseason. Going against the Western Conference cellar dwellers in Chivas USA will help make it easier. San Jose will take it, 3-0.
Chivas USA: Let's go with a scoring draw.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
-
San Jose 1-0 Chivas USA
- 26.32 %
-
San Jose 1-2 Chivas USA
- 15.79 %
-
San Jose 0-0 Chivas USA
- 15.79 %
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | May 13, 2012 | San Jose 1 - Chivas USA 1 |
|
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | Jul 6, 2011 | Chivas USA 2 - San Jose 0 |
|
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | Apr 23, 2011 | San Jose 1 - Chivas USA 2 |
|
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | Oct 20, 2010 | San Jose 3 - Chivas USA 0 |
|
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | Apr 24, 2010 | Chivas USA 3 - San Jose 2 |
|
San Jose
    |
||
| May 27, 2012 | Sporting Kansas City 2 - San Jose 1 | MLS |
| May 23, 2012 | Los Angeles Galaxy 2 - San Jose 3 | MLS |
| May 19, 2012 | San Jose 1 - Columbus Crew 1 | MLS |
| May 13, 2012 | San Jose 1 - Chivas USA 1 | MLS |
| May 5, 2012 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 - San Jose 1 | MLS |
Chivas USA
 |
||
| May 26, 2012 | Chivas USA 1 - Seattle Sounders FC 1 | MLS |
| May 23, 2012 | New York Red Bulls 1 - Chivas USA 1 | MLS |
| May 19, 2012 | Chivas USA 1 - Los Angeles Galaxy 0 | MLS |
| May 13, 2012 | San Jose 1 - Chivas USA 1 | MLS |
| May 4, 2012 | Chivas USA 1 - Chicago Fire 2 | MLS |
| 18 | Jon Busch | Goalkeeper |
| 33 | Steven Beitashour | Defender |
| 5 | Brad Ring | Midfielder |
| 23 | Eduardo | Striker |
| - | Bobby Burling | Defender |
| - | Cornell Glen | Striker |
| 9 | Ryan Johnson | Striker |
| 19 | Scott Sealy | Striker |
| 12 | Ramiro Corrales | Defender |
| 14 | Brandon McDonald | Defender |
| 10 | A. Álvarez | Striker |
| - | Brian Edwards | Defender |
| 33 | Chris Leitch | Defender |
| - | Bobby Convey | Midfielder |
| 7 | Khari Stephenson | Midfielder |
| 8 | Geovanni | Midfielder |
| 8 | Chris Wondolowski | Striker |
| 31 | Kevin Guppy | Goalkeeper |
| - | Michael Lahoud | Midfielder |
| - | Jorge Flores | Midfielder |
| 55 | Marcelo Saragosa | Midfielder |
| - | Yamith Cuesta | Defender |
| 6 | Ante Jazic | Defender |
| - | Michael Umaña | Defender |
| 8 | Mariano Trujillo | Defender |
| - | Paulo Nagamura | Midfielder |
| - | Rodolfo Espinoza | Midfielder |
| 17 | Justin Braun | Striker |
| - | Zach Thornton | Goalkeeper |
| 21 | Ben Zemanski | Midfielder |
| - | Osael Romero | Midfielder |
| 9 | G. Maldonado | Striker |
| - | Jesús Andrés Padilla | Striker |
| 8 | Jonathan Bornstein | Defender |
| 7 | Salvatore Zizzo | Midfielder |
Results
Times In EST
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Kenny Cooper
Striker NY Red Bulls |
11 | 2 |
|
Chris Wondolowski
Striker San Jose Earthquakes |
11 | 1 |
|
Thierry Henry
Striker NY Red Bulls |
9 | 0 |
|
Saer Sene
Striker New England |
7 | 1 |
|
Maicon Santos
Striker D.C. United |
7 | 0 |