United rattled by Earthquakes 2-0
Brian Mullan hit for a goal in the first half before setting up Dwayne De Rosario's blistering world-class volley late in the match that sealed the three points for the Earthquakes, who kept pace in the Western Conference with the victory.
Both sides squandered early chances to open the scoring, with San Jose's Brian Ching the first to miss the mark. He had a chance to finish from close range only six minutes in, but was unable to redirect the ball on net. United's Ezra Hendrickson then missed a quality chance at the other end when he failed to get his head on an Earnie Stewart corner kick, despite being totally unmarked right in front of goalkeeper Pat Onstad.
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Second-year D.C. United striker Alecko Eskandarian had one of United's few good attempts on net in the 19th minute. He played a short corner to Earnie Stewart, who returned the ball with a one-touch pass. Eskandarian then rocketed in a fierce shot towards the back post, but Onstad punched it to safety.
The home side then nearly hit from a corner just after the half-hour, but Namoff this time was able to clear the danger, as he headed a goal-bound shot over the crossbar.
Ching hit two posts in as many minutes just prior to the break. The first certainly should have been finished, as Perkins was caught out of position after being beaten to the ball by De Rosario, but his diving header hit the crossbar. Moments later he again sent a header from a good position that beat Perkins, only to see it bounce up and off the left post.
D.C. United looked to get themselves back into the game in the second half, but the Quakes defense proved tough to break down. Their first good look at Onstad's net in the second stanza came 15 minutes after the restart from a another corner kick. Hendrickson this time was able to get his head on Eskandarian's corner, though his low header was easily saved by Onstad at the back post.
Rookie winger Josh Gros forced a solid save from Onstad on 70 minutes. Gros cut inside and put a low shot on frame, but the Canadian international got down well to tip the ball around the post. Onstad took care of the ensuing corner kick as well, challenging Hendrickson enough to make him put his header well over the bar.
But after weathering the storm for much of the half, the Quakes awoke enough to try and kill off the game, first coming close when Ramiro Corrales picked Hendrickson's pocket and cut around Namoff and into the left side of the box. But his hard left-footed shot was smothered by United's first-year 'keeper.
Yet there was no way of keeping out San Jose's second goal seven minutes from time. Mullan crossed a long, lofted ball from the right flank that De Rosario connected with a first-time, right-footed strike from just inside the box that rattled off the underside of the bar on its way into the back of the net.
MLSnet.com Man of the Match: Brian Mullan (San Jose Earthquakes)
D.C. United (5-8-6) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (6-6-6)
August 7, 2004 -- Spartan Stadium, San Jose, Calif.
Scoring:
SJ -- Brian Mullan 3 (unassisted) 17
SJ -- Dwayne De Rosario 4 (Brian Mullan 5, Jeff Agoos 4) 82
D.C. United -- Troy Perkins; Brandon Prideaux, Ezra Hendrickson, Bryan Namoff; Earnie Stewart, Ben Olsen, Brian Carroll, Dema Kovalenko (Nana Kuffour 83), Joshua Gros; Alecko Eskandarian (Freddy Adu 73), Jaime Moreno
Substitutes not used: Andrew Terris, David Stokes, Kevin Ara
TOTAL SHOTS: 4; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; TOTAL SAVES: 2; FOULS: 18; OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 8
San Jose Earthquakes -- Pat Onstad; Craig Waibel, Ryan Cochrane (Wes Hart 85), Jeff Agoos, Todd Dunivant; Brian Mullan, Ronnie Ekelund, Richard Mulrooney, Ramiro Corrales; Dwayne De Rosario; Brian Ching
Substitutes not used: Jon Conway, Ian Russell, Arturo Alvarez, Tighe Dombrowski
TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; TOTAL SAVES: 4; FOULS: 19; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 4
Discipline:
DC -- Bryan Namoff (caution; Professional Foul) 48
DC -- Ben Olsen (caution; Pushing, Holding) 89
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Referee's Assistants: Greg Barkey; Steven Davidson
4th Official: Baldomero Toledo
Time of Game: 90:00
Weather: Clear -and- 86 degrees
Attendance: 19,324
All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.
