FC Dallas vs. San Jose Earthquakes | MLS Match Preview

FC DALLAS vs SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
FC DALLAS STADIUM, Frisco, Texas
August 24, 2013 (WEEK 26, MLS Game #237)
8 p.m. CT (TWCSN-TX; CSN-CA)

A huge match in the playoff ambitions for both clubs is ahead Saturday night in Frisco as FC Dallas entertain the San Jose Earthquakes. Both clubs currently sit outside the playoff positions: FC Dallas is tied for fifth on 36 points, with the Quakes just three points behind. FCD put an end to their 11-game winless run at midweek in a come-from-behind win at Chivas USA, while the Quakes are coming off a 1-0 home win against Sporting KC last weekend at Buck Shaw Stadium.

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REFEREE: Baldomero Toledo. AR1 (bench): Kermit Quisenberry; AR2 (opposite): Greg Barkey; 4th: Kevin Terry Jr.
MLS Career: 160 games; FC/gm: 25.0; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 56; pens: 60

DISABLED LIST: DAL: Peter Luccin; Ugo Ihemelu (season-ending injury) … SJ: Ty Harden, Peter McGlynn
SUSPENDED: DAL: Jackson (through August 25)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: DAL: Blas Perez, Jackson … SJ: Rafael Baca, Steven Lenhart
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: DAL: George John, David Ferreira, Je-Vaughn Watson, Jair Benitez … SJ: Chris Wondolowski, Sam Cronin
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (48 meetings): FC Dallas 16 wins (3 shootout), 54 goals … Earthquakes 22 wins (4 shootout), 78 goals … Ties 10
AT FC DALLAS (24 meetings): FC Dallas 10 wins (1 shootout), 30 goals … Earthquakes 9 wins (0 shootout), 33 goals … Ties 5
FUTURE MATCH: 10/26: San Jose Earthquakes vs. FC Dallas, 2:30 p.m. PT (NBCSN)

• The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Fabian Castillo scored the game’s lone goal in the 33rd minute for an FC Dallas victory May 25 in Frisco.
• The win ended a six-game FCD winless streak vs. San Jose. FC Dallas had last defeated the Earthquakes on June 5, 2010, a 2-0 victory in Frisco.
• FC Dallas hasn’t won in Santa Clara since 2009. The Quakes have won two of the four home meetings since, with two draws.
• Coaches record: Schellas Hyndman vs. SJ: P11 W3 L3 T5 … Mark Watson vs. DAL: first game

LAST MEETING (MLS)
5/25: DAL 1, SJ 0 (Castillo 33)

• The game's lone goal came in the 33rd minute. A cross from the left was cleared directly to David Ferreira, who then carried the ball 40 yards upfield before passing to forward Fabian Castillo. He then cut around San Jose’s Jason Hernandez and curled a well-placed left-footed shot into the bottom left corner of the goal.
• FC Dallas goalkeeper Raul Fernandez had a brilliant night, stopping all six shots he faced, including a point-blank stop on Chris Wondolowski in the 81st minute.
• FC DALLAS (4-2-3-1): Raul Fernandez - Zach Loyd, Walker Zimmerman, George John, Jair Benitez - Je-Vaughn Watson, Michel - Jackson (Matt Hedges 86), David Ferreira, Fabian Castillo (Bobby Warshaw 83) - Kenny Cooper (Eric Hassli 68).
• SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (4-1-3-2): Jon Busch - Steven Beitashour, Jason Hernandez (Mike Fucito 83), Victor Bernardez, Justin Morrow - Sam Cronin - Marvin Chavez, Adam Jahn, Walter Martinez (Shea Salinas 58) - Chris Wondolowski, Alan Gordon (Steven Lenhart 46).

FC DALLAS
FC Dallas put an end to their long winless run after 11 matches, going down a man yet coming back for a 3-1 victory against Chivas USA on Wednesday evening at StubHub Center. FCD is in a tie for sixth place in the Western Conference with 36 points from 25 matches.

LAST MATCH

• Chivas USA took the lead just before halftime. Bryan de la Fuente settled a perfectly placed chip in from Marco Delgado in the heart of the area and stroked it past Raúl Fernández.
• FC Dallas pulled even in the 71st minute when Blas Pérez scored the equalizer on a shot from outside the box that took a nasty deflection and rolled past Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.
• FCD then went a man down with nine minutes remaining when Jackson received a second yellow card for a hard challenge on Carlos Bocanegra.
• But FC Dallas overcame the disadvantage to score over the game's final five minutes. David Ferreira scored in the 86th minute on a deft, angled chip past Kennedy after he was freed on the left side of the area, then Ramon Nuñez sealed the result with a curling blast into the top corner in the 90th minute.
• FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman made two changes to the team that lost 2-1 to the Portland Timbers at Jeld-Wen Field. Jair Benitez came in at left back for Michel, and Je-Vaughn Watson started in the midfield in place of David Ferreira.
• FC DALLAS (4-2-3-1): Raul Fernandez - Kellyn Acosta, Matt Hedges, George John, Jair Benitez - Erick, Jackson (ejected 81) - Je-Vaughn Watson (Kenny Cooper 57), Mauro Diaz (David Ferreira 62), Fabian Castillo (Ramon Nunez 82) - Blas Perez.

TEAM NEWS

• The FC Dallas winless streak ended after 11 games, two games shy of the 13-game streak set last season, from April 21-July 7. FCD had last won a league game on May 25, a 1-0 win against San Jose.
• “The mood in the locker room was, everybody was smiling, everybody was like it was back to the old days, everybody’s happy with themselves,” said FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman. “They are playing for their families and they’re playing for the FC Dallas fans and everybody who loves FC Dallas and that was a monkey on their backs as well as on the coach’s back. I don’t think we’re in that position where we can get just a point. We have to fight for three points.”
• Blas Perez scored his second goal in the last three games since returning from CONCACAF Gold Cup duty with Panama. He also added his second assist of the season.
• Ramon Nuñez collected his first goal of the season, making his eight appearance in the last 11 matches, all off the substitutes’ bench. Nuñez also had his second assist, first since June 22.
• “I think that was the most productive he’s looked,” Hyndman said. “There’s things that we’ve still got to get him to do, but the thing that he likes to do is he likes to get forward, he likes to penetrate and he likes to shoot the ball. In this game, we needed him to do those things and it paid off making that sub.”
• Said Nuñez: “It was special for me because I’ve been out for a long time due to injury, that’s something of the past. And it was my first goal back from injury so it was something special in that sense and also because I was also able to help the team.”
• After playing in a wide midfield role in the Portland match, David Ferreira was brought off the substitutes’ bench for the final half-hour vs. Chivas USA.
• “It’s not the perfect place for David to help the team from there,” Hyndman said. “There was a lot of frustration because he wasn’t getting the touches on the ball and he worked awfully hard coming back. It’s hard to have two similar players play the same position when there’s only one [of that] position [on the field].”
• Ferreira scored his second goal of the season – his first since March 10 – and also collected his eighth assist this season, second in the last three games.
• “I always have that responsibility with the team. I knew that we had to get out of the situation at any given time. … It was a great joy because I haven’t scored in a while and even more because the team wasn’t earning the result that we wanted,” said Ferreira.
• Fabian Castillo collected an assist for a second consecutive match, setting up the FC Dallas opener.

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
The San Jose Earthquakes extended their home winning streak, scoring the game’s only goal for a victory against Sporting Kansas City on Sunday evening at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Quakes sit in a tie for seventh place in the Western Conference with 33 points from 25 matches.

LAST MATCH

• The game's lone goal came in the 55th minute. Steven Beitashour delivered a first-time volley cross off a deflected ball on the right wing, and Chris Wondolowski knifed in behind Sporting’s backline to head home inside the near post past helpless goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen.
• Quakes goalkeeper Jon Busch had a night to remember, making three saves to earn his 100th MLS victory on his 37th birthday.
• Quakes interim head coach Mark Watson made three changes to the team that suffered a 2-0 defeat by Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place. Jaime Alas and Marvin Chavez came into the wide midfield roles in place of Cordell Cato and Shea Salinas, and Alan Gordon started up top for Steven Lenhart.
• SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (4-4-2): Jon Busch - Steven Beitashour, Clarence Goodson, Victor Bernardez, Jordan Stewart - Jaime Alas (Cordell Cato 68), Sam Cronin, Rafael Baca, Marvin Chavez (Justin Morrow 81) - Chris Wondolowski, Alan Gordon (Steven Lenhart 90).

TEAM NEWS

• The Quakes won their fifth consecutive game at Buck Shaw Stadium, their longest home winning streak since returning to the league. They last had a home winning streak as long as five games in 2005; the club record is 12 wins in a row, from the end of the 2001 season through the first half of the 2002 campaign.
• “We started a little slowly tonight and we were not moving the ball as well as we can.  But our defending was pretty good,” said Quakes interim head coach Mark Watson. “Our big message this week was to be smart and keep our shape defensively for 90 minutes and I think we did that tonight. Also, we know that if Wondo [Chris Wondolowski] gets a few chances, he will bury one and win the game.”
• Wondolowski scored his third goal in as many games, his first goals since May 8. Wondolowski has scored each of the Quakes’ last three goals, all since returning from CONCACAF Gold Cup duty with the U.S. national team.
• “It’s pretty cool to have a bobblehead and it’s pretty cool to score on your bobblehead night,” Wondolowski said. “I thought Steven [Beitashour] did a great job putting that ball. When you get service like that, it makes my job a lot easier.”
• On his birthday, goalkeeper Jon Busch kept the clean sheet and was credited with the 100th victory of his MLS career.
• “For me, the most important thing was getting three points and keeping ourselves in the playoff hunt today,” Busch said. “No matter what it took, we wanted the three points. That was the only birthday present I wanted. And the icing on the cake is obviously getting the shutout and making that my 100th win, on my birthday. I guess the stars all lined up for us.”
• Fullback Steven Beitashour collected his third assist of the season, all over the last seven matches. Beitashour has been ever-present since entering the lineup on April 21 following offseason sports hernia surgery.
• “When you’ve been off for five months, you don’t train for two weeks and you’re 100 percent match fit,” Watson said. “It takes a couple of months sometimes. I think [Beitashour] is getting progressively better every week. He’s getting fitter, he’s getting stronger and his performances have been good of late.”
• Jaime Alas made his first MLS start, playing 68 minutes on the right side of the midfield. He had come on as a substitute in each of the previous two contests.
• Marvin Chavez made his first start since July 27, missing the last two league matches though he played in the CONCACAF Champions League game in Montréal.
• The Quakes hit the road for the trip to FC Dallas having lost their last four on the road, the club’s longest road losing streak since dropping seven in a row in 2008-09.
• “We’ve done great all season protecting our home field, but I think we need to prove that we can get three points on the road,” Beitashour said. “I think we only have one win away from home this season so we have to make sure that we fight, battle and get a result.”