Split decision for Wizards, Quakes
Burciaga's goal just before the halftime break gave the Wizards the lead, but after piling on the pressure in the second half, the Earthquakes finally cracked the Kansas City defense as Mulrooney's equalizer with a little more than 10 minutes to play preserved San Jose's undefeated home record.
Neither team had much attacking success in the first half, as a series of Earthquakes crosses failed to threaten the Wizards goal, and the Wizards' best early chance - a break on goal by Josh Wolff in the sixth minute - was thwarted by onrushing Quakes 'keeper Pat Onstad.
The Earthquakes gave Wizards 'keeper Tony Meola little to do in the first half, with no shots on frame and just one clear chance in the 39th minute when Dwayne DeRosario played a ball into the left side of the penalty area for Landon Donovan, but his shot cleared the bar.
But just when it appeared the first half would expire goalless, the Wizards jumped ahead. On the counterattack, Kansas City midfielder Chris Klein carried the ball up the field and then passed to his left to Burciaga, who ripped a first-time shot from the left past Onstad into the roof of the net.
The Earthquakes came out of the locker room after the break with urgency and pressured the Wizards, with midfielder Brian Mullan especially active on the right side of the field. With the added pressure, the Quakes started to win corners, getting their first of the game in the 56th minute. Ten minutes later, Craig Waibel redirected another corner toward the near post with his heel, but Meola was able to make the save.
At the other end, Onstad was called on to keep the game within reach with just under 20 minutes left as Klein fired a long free kick toward the far post, Onstad sprawling to his right to save it.
The Earthquakes continued to push for an equalizer and the Wizards defense finally broke in the 79th minute as Mulrooney scored his first regular season goal since June 8, 2002, a rocket of a shot from 20 yards out into the left corner.
The Wizards play at home for the first time in a month next Saturday when they take on the Dallas Burn (8:30 ET; HDNet), while the Earthquakes visit the Galaxy on the Fourth of July (10 p.m. ET).
MLSNet.com Man of Match: Richard Mulrooney (San Jose Earthquakes)
Kansas City Wizards (6-4-4) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (4-3-5)
June 26, 2004 -- Spartan Stadium
Scoring Summary:
KC -- Jose Burciaga Jr. 1 (Chris Klein 6) 45
SJ -- Richard Mulrooney 1 (Landon Donovan 5, Brian Mullan 3) 79
Kansas City Wizards -- Tony Meola, Alex Zotinca, Jimmy Conrad, Shavar Thomas (Taylor Graham 35), Nick Garcia, Jose Burciaga Jr., Diego Gutierrez, Kerry Zavagnin, Chris Klein, Davy Arnaud, Josh Wolff.
Substitutes Not Used: Francisco Gomez, Jack Jewsbury, Bo Oshoniyi, Matt Taylor.
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Josh Wolff 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Davy Arnaud 2, Josh Wolff 2); FOULS: 18 (Nick Garcia 4); OFFSIDES: 2 (Josh Wolff 2); CORNER KICKS: 6 (Chris Klein 6); SAVES: 4 (Tony Meola 4)
San Jose Earthquakes -- Pat Onstad, Wes Hart (Ronnie Ekelund 76), Ryan Cochrane, Craig Waibel, Ramiro Corrales, Brian Mullan, Landon Donovan, Richard Mulrooney, Ian Russell (Arturo Alvarez 69), Brian Ching, Dwayne De Rosario.
Substitutes Not Used: Chris Brown, Jon Conway, Steve Cronin, Tighe Dombrowski, Todd Dunivant.
TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Ramiro Corrales 3, Dwayne De Rosario 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (5 tied with 1); FOULS: 18 (3 tied with 3); OFFSIDES: 3 (Dwayne De Rosario 2); CORNER KICKS: 6 (Richard Mulrooney 4); SAVES: 5 (Pat Onstad 5)
Misconduct Summary:
KC -- Diego Gutierrez (caution; Tackle from Behind) 12
SJ -- Ramiro Corrales (caution; Reckless Foul) 21
KC -- Nick Garcia (caution; Reckless Foul) 51
SJ -- Landon Donovan (caution; Tackle from Behind) 84
KC -- Jose Burciaga Jr. (caution; Reckless Foul) 90
Referee: Erich Simmons
Referee's Assistants: -Chris Strickland; David Bragg
4th Official: Kari Seitz
Attendance: 10,188
Time of Game: 1:52
Weather: Clear-and-67-degrees
All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.
