» 06.30.03 - Arena Names 25-Man Roster for 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup: CHICAGO (Monday, June 30, 2003) - United States Men’s National Team manager Bruce Arena has selected a 25-man roster to defend the team’s confederation championship in the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup to be held July 12-27 in Foxboro, Mass., Miami, Fla. and Mexico City. Players will report to Providence, R.I., for training camp on July 7, following the USA’s friendly against Paraguay on July 6 in Columbus at 3 p.m. ET live on ESPN2.

Youth and experience are again well represented for the U.S., with 12 veterans of the 2002 World Cup team named to the Gold Cup roster.

"Our goal is certainly to defend the Gold Cup championship,” said Arena, who has improved his all-time best record to 35-21-16 in 2003. “Ultimately, we are trying to develop a squad capable of competing in World Cup qualifying, and to be able to compete against teams from our region in this type of environment is invaluable.”

Returning to defend the title are 10 players from the Gold Cup championship-winning side of 2002. Striker Brian McBride led the U.S. attack in Pasadena last year, netting four goals, including a hat trick against El Salvador in the quarterfinals. Collecting the Golden Boot as the tournament’s leading scorer, McBride was also honored as the Tournament MVP. On the other end of the field, goalkeeper Kasey Keller collected four shutouts in five matches, including saving two penalty kicks in the shootout victory against Canada in the semifinals, in marshalling the U.S. to their second-ever Gold Cup title.

Nine players on the current roster started in the 2-0 championship victory last year against Costa Rica, who are a potential quarterfinal opponent for the U.S. Costa Rica are currently coached by former U.S. MNT boss Steve Sampson, who took the reigns in November of last year. Against the Ticos in 2002, Kansas City Wizards forward Josh Wolff opened the USA’s scoring account after 37 minutes and would eventually be named Chevrolet Man of the Match. Chicago defender Carlos Bocanegra, tied for second in scoring for the U.S. in 2003 with two goals and two assists, was named to the first XI for all five matches in the 2002 event. Also on the field that day were Chris Armas, Frankie Hejduk, Eddie Lewis and Pablo Mastroeni.

Four players from the Chicago Fire were named to the roster, the most of any club. The host New England Revolution have three players on the squad, including 2002 MLS scoring leader Taylor Twellman and goalkeeper Adin Brown, the only player yet to receive his first international appearance.

San Jose Earthquakes forward Landon Donovan leads the U.S. in scoring in 2003, with two goals and three assists. Also the leader in minutes played, Donovan is joined by striker Clint Mathis. The MetroStars forward exploded on a five-match scoring run in MLS action before departing for the Confederations Cup. D.C. United midfielder Earnie Stewart is a veteran of three World Cups and the USA’s all-time leader in World Cup appearances (11). He is joined by United midfielder Bobby Convey, the only player to appear in all 10 of the U.S. MNT’s matches in 2003.

The U.S. opens Group C action on July 12 against El Salvador at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. ET. Having defeated El Salvador 4-0 in the quarterfinal round in 2002, the U.S. now holds a 9-1-4 advantage in the all-time series. The USA will take on Martinique in the first-ever meeting between the nations on July 14 at 9 p.m. ET in Foxboro, with that match scheduled to be broadcast live on Galavision. All of the USA’s matches can be followed live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics.

Should the U.S. advance beyond the group phase, their quarterfinal match would be held July 19 in Foxboro. The semifinals are being played in Miami on July 23 and Mexico City on July 24, with the championship final scheduled for July 27 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

U.S. Men’s National Team Roster
2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
July 12-27 – Foxboro, Miami, Mexico City

Goalkeepers (3): Adin Brown (New England Revolution), Tim Howard (MetroStars), Kasey Keller (Tottenham Hotspur)

Defenders (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Chicago Fire), C.J. Brown (Chicago Fire), Dan Califf (Los Angeles Galaxy), Nick Garcia (Kansas City Wizards), Cory Gibbs (FC St. Pauli), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Greg Vanney (FC Bastia)

Midfielders (10): Chris Armas (Chicago Fire), DaMarcus Beasley (Chicago Fire), Bobby Convey (D.C. United), Chris Klein (Kansas City Wizards), Eddie Lewis (Preston North End), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Richard Mulrooney (San Jose Earthquakes), Steve Ralston (New England Revolution), Claudio Reyna (Sunderland), Earnie Stewart (D.C. United)

Forwards (5): Landon Donovan (San Jose Earthquakes), Clint Mathis (MetroStars), Brian McBride (Columbus Crew), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution), Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards) From USSoccer.com.

» 06.29.03 - EARTHQUAKES REMAIN IN FIRST PLACE FOLLOWING 0-0 TIE WITH KANSAS CITY AT SPARTAN STADIUM: SAN JOSE, CA (June 28, 2003) — The San Jose Earthquakes maintained the best record in Major League Soccer following a 0-0 tie with the Kansas City Wizards at Spartan Stadium. The Earthquakes remained unbeaten in their last four matches as goalkeeper Pat Onstad recorded his fourth shutout of the season and San Jose (6-2-4, 22 points) stayed in front of the Wizards (5-2-6, 21 points) by one point in the standings.

Neither team was able to score in the first half following some physical defending from both teams. The Earthquakes controlled possession for the majority of the first 45 minutes, but were stymied around the Wizards net by goalkeeper Tony Meola and the Wizards defense limiting quality chances.

Landon Donovan had a chance to get the Earthquakes on the score board first in the 10th minute. Donovan settled a deflection eight yards in front of the Kansas City goal, turned and sent a shot towards the net that Meola gathered up.

San Jose continued their offensive pressure in the second half, as Todd Dunivant moved the ball down the left sideline in the 47th minute and sent a nice cross into the middle to an open Brian Mullan, but he could not control the ball. Six minutes later, Dunivant attempted to place a header past Meola after a pinpoint cross from the left side by Ian Russell. Dunivant's header soared over the goal.

The Earthquakes tested Meola again in the 56th minute on a high shot from Russell. Russell started the attack by sending a long ball from midfield to Donovan, who collected the ball at the top of the Kansas City penalty box and then sent a pass back to a streaking Russell on the left side. Russell beat his defender and launched a shot towards Meola, who jumped up and was able to knock the ball over the net.

The Earthquakes continued to pressure Kansas City deep into the game, and almost scored in the 81st minute when Donovan beat Meola to a loose ball in the left corner of the six-yard box following an errant Wizards back pass that went wide of Meola. Donovan attempted to knock the ball past a sliding Meola, who was able to deflect the ball out of bounds for a corner kick. On the ensuing corner kick, Wizards defender Nick Garcia approached the ball as Donovan was waiting to send it back into play, earning a second yellow card and an ejection.

With the Quakes owning a man advantage, second half substitute Brian Ching came close on a header after a cross from Mullan, but his effort went over the goal in the 83rd minute. Five minutes later Ronnie Ekelund received a perfect pass from Dunivant 25 yards in front of the net and blasted a shot just over the Wizards goal.

The match picked up intensity in the waning minutes of regulation, and Igor Simutenkov had the best chance of the game for Kansas City when he broke into the San Jose penalty box on the left side alone. The hard shot by Simutenkov could not get by a sliding Onstad, however, and the game headed into overtime tied 0-0.

San Jose had another opportunity to end the game at the beginning of the second overtime when second half substitute Arturo Alvarez slipped a pass between two Kansas City defenders for Jamil Walker. Walker could not control the ball before it was cleared away. The Earthquakes had a final attempt to score knocked away by a diving Jimmy Conrad when he blocked Chris Ronér's shot following a pass from Donovan.

The Earthquakes take on one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference on Wednesday, July 2 at 4:30 p.m. PT when they play the MetroStars at Giants Stadium. Fans can catch the all the action on KABL 960 AM.

Notes:

Earthquakes forward Brian Ching returned from a hamstring injury for his first MLS action since May 17.

Earthquakes forward Landon Donovan returned to the Earthquakes lineup for the first time since June 7 after missing three games while with the U.S. National Team at the FIFA Confederations Cup.

Earthquakes midfielder Richard Mulrooney is now alone in second place on the Earthquakes all-time appearances list with 119.

The Earthquakes now have a four-game unbeaten streak.

Earthquakes midfielder Manny Lagos missed the match due to a red card suspension.

Quotes:

Frank Yallop, on game: "It was just one of those nights. It wasn't the best game to watch out there, but you can't fault our guys for their effort. They kept going forward looking for the goal right to the end of the game."

Yallop, on injured players: "Some of the guys are still trying to get back to full fitness. Ronnie Ekelund, Ramiro Corrales and Ian Russell are all trying to shake off injuries. It was good to see Brian Ching come back and play well. I thought he made a difference when he came in."

Ian Russell, on game: "I thought we played better in the second half. We had some chances there, and we just didn't put it in. It wasn't the prettiest game, but they are a good team."

Russell, on game: "They are all good defenders and we had to work for everything. They were always around us on defense, and they made us work for every cross tonight."

Richard Mulrooney, on game: "It was a real stalemate out there tonight. I thought we had some opportunities, and they had some opportunities. You have to give Kansas City some credit, they have come in here and earned two ties, so now we are going to have to go to Kansas City twice and get some points, which I think we can do. It was a tough game, and they did what they wanted to do. We would have like to get one in on them." From SJEarthquakes.com.

» 06.27.03 - Donovan's heart in MLS: U.S. COACH QUESTIONED HIM; PLAYER GEARS UP WITH S.J. (By Dylan Hernandez; Mercury News)

Landon Donovan's enthusiasm was questioned this week by U.S. Coach Bruce Arena, shortly before the Americans concluded play at the Confederations Cup in France. The forward conceded the comments had merit, saying he has trouble getting excited about international matches. Asked if he knew why, he answered, ``No. It's something I have to figure out.''

Donovan promises that motivation won't be an issue Saturday against Kansas City when he returns to the Earthquakes' lineup after a three-game absence.

``I don't have that problem here,'' he said, referring to Major League Soccer games.

San Jose faced the Wizards on April 19, getting a late goal from Brian Mullan that equalized an own-goal in a 1-1 tie. Since then, the teams have remained pretty much even. The Earthquakes are atop the Western Conference with 21 points; Kansas City is second with 20. Leading the Wizards is 40-year-old midfielder Preki, whose seven goals and six assists make him MLS's scoring leader.

Tough matchup aside, Donovan's return is especially important given the holes in the Earthquakes' lineup. Manny Lagos, a midfielder who played up front in recent matches, is serving a red-card suspension, and Brian Ching, who teamed with Donovan at the start of the season, continues to be brought back slowly from a right-hamstring strain.

That leaves San Jose with a Lilliputian-sized front line of Donovan and Mullan, both listed at 5-foot-8.

``We're going to have a pretty fast front line now,'' said Mullan, who leads the team with four goals and is tied with Donovan at four assists.

Added midfielder Richard Mulrooney: ``It's going to be a handful to mark them.''

If right-side midfielder Ian Russell, who has been experiencing back pains, can't play, Coach Frank Yallop said he probably would drop Mullan into Russell's spot and start Ching at forward.

Regardless of what formation they settle on, the Earthquakes are pleased to have Donovan back.

``This is his comfort zone,'' Mulrooney said. ``He's happy to be home; you can just tell. He's smiling, having a good time. You'll be able to tell Saturday. I expect nothing but 100 percent from him.''

Though Donovan said Arena's comments disturbed him, he added that the coach spoke with him before they were published. ``He said he didn't want me to take it the wrong way, because it could be misconstrued,'' Donovan said. ``He said, `I was saying what I was feeling,' and that's fine.''

The situation will be revisited in a couple of weeks when Donovan resumes national-team duty at the Gold Cup. Until then, he will do what he can to help the Earthquakes hold off Kansas City.

``It's a huge game,'' Donovan said. ``I don't have to worry about getting motivated.''

Contact Dylan Hernandez at dhernandez@mercurynews.com From Bayarea.com.

» 06.27.03 - McBride, Keller Return to U.S. MNT for July 6 Friendly vs. Paraguay in Columbus: CHICAGO (June 27, 2003) — U.S. Men’s National Team manager Bruce Arena announced an 18-man squad for the match against fellow 2002 World Cup finalists Paraguay on Sunday, July 6 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus. Kickoff for the match is set for 2:55 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2. The game will also be broadcast on Telemundo and the Radio Unica network, and fans can follow the match live online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics.

“Behind the World Cup and qualifying, the Gold Cup is our most important competition,” said Arena. ”The match against Paraguay is vital to our preparation as we prepare to defend the Gold Cup championship, and we have selected a group that gives us the best chance to be successful.”

Columbus Crew forward Brian McBride returns to the U.S. lineup, after club commitments and family matters have allowed him only two appearances for the USA in 2003. McBride, third on the MLS scoring charts with six goals and two assists, is joined by Crew teammate and two-time World Cup veteran Frankie Hejduk, who captained the U.S. for the first time against Turkey in the Confederations Cup. In all, 13 players on the roster recently returned from the tournament in France.

The U.S. roster boasts ten veterans of the 2002 World Cup quarterfinalist team. San Jose Earthquakes forward Landon Donovan leads the U.S. attack in 2003, his two goals and three assists placing him at the head of U.S scorers this year. Also the leader in minutes played, Donovan is accompanied by striker Clint Mathis. The MetroStars forward exploded on a five-match scoring run in MLS action before departing for the Confederations Cup. Preston North End midfielder Eddie Lewis, the Chevrolet Man of the Match in the 2-0 win against Wales on May 26, has four goals and nine assists in 48 appearances for the senior team. D.C. United midfielder Earnie Stewart is a veteran of three World Cups and the USA’s all-time leader in World Cup appearances (11).

The Paraguay match also marks the return of long-time U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who has been sidelined since May after having minor elbow surgery. Second on the USA’s all-time goalkeeping list for victories (31) and shutouts (29), he holds a remarkable 14-0-4 record in U.S. soil dating back to 1998.

The U.S. and Paraguay have meet three times in their history, with the U.S. holding an unbeaten 1-0-2 record, including a 3-0 victory in the inaugural World Cup on July 17, 1930 in Uruguay. The teams last met in San Diego on March 14, 1998, resulting in a 2-2 draw. Paraguay sends eight players from the side that advanced to the second round of the World Cup last summer, the South American side falling to eventual second place finishers Germany in the Round of 16 last summer.

Tickets for the U.S.-Paraguay game are currently on sale and are priced at $44 (club seats), $34 (upper and lower midfield), $26 (sidelines and corners) and $20 (North and South endlines). Tickets are available at all area Ticketmaster outlets in Ohio and surrounding states and the Crew Stadium Box office (stadium ticket office open Monday-Friday, 9 am to 5 pm). For group ticket information contact the Crew at 614-447-CREW (2739).

The USA has compiled a 5-3-2 record in 2003, including shutout victories against Canada, Venezuela and Wales. The USA will defend its regional championship in the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup to be held from July 12-23 in Boston, Miami and Mexico City. The U.S. opens group play against El Salvador on July 12 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., with their second match against Martinique in Foxboro just two days later. The 25-man roster for the Gold Cup will be announced Monday, June 30 on ussoccer.com.

U.S. Men’s National Team Roster v. Paraguay
International Friendly
July 6, 2003 – Columbus, Ohio

Goalkeepers (2): Joe Cannon (out of contract), Kasey Keller (Tottenham Hotspur)

Defenders (5): Carlos Bocanegra (Chicago Fire), Dan Califf (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cory Gibbs (FC St. Pauli), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Greg Vanney (FC Bastia)

Midfielders (7): DaMarcus Beasley (Chicago Fire), Bobby Convey (D.C. United), Eddie Lewis (Preston North End), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Richard Mulrooney (San Jose Earthquakes), Claudio Reyna (Sunderland), Earnie Stewart (D.C. United)

Forwards (4): Landon Donovan (San Jose Earthquakes), Clint Mathis (MetroStars), Brian McBride (Columbus Crew), Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards)

U.S. Men’s National Team Staff
Head Coach: Bruce Arena (Fairfax, Va.)
Assistant Coach: Glenn Myernick (Denver)
Assistant Coach: Curt Onalfo (Oak Hill, Va.)
Goalkeeper Coach: Milutin Soskic (Bakersfield, Calif.)
Strength Coach: Pierre Barrieu (Charlottesville, Va.)
General Manager: Pam Perkins (Evanston, Ill.)
Trainers: Rick Guter (Fairfax, Va.), Sheldon Lo (Chicago)
Chiropractor: George Billauer (Los Angeles)
Equipment Manager: Aaron Barrett (Chicago)
Press Officer: Michael Kammarman (Chicago)

For the Player info go to USSoccer.com.

» 06.27.03 - QUAKES TO DEFEND FIRST PLACE SATURDAY AGAINST WIZARDS: SAN JOSE, CA (June 27, 2003) - The top teams in Major League Soccer meet up tomorrow at Spartan Stadium, with the San Jose Earthquakes looking to defend their home turf and first place ranking against the Kansas City Wizards at 7:00 p.m. PT.

The Wizards bring a 5-2-5 record into the contest that should be an entertaining and heated affair following the teams 1-1 tie on April 19, in which Kansas City goalkeeper Tony Meola preserved the point with some spectacular saves late in the game.

The Earthquakes welcome Landon Donovan back to the lineup after a three game absence while with the U.S. National Team at the FIFA Confederations Cup, and injured players like Eddie Robinson, Brian Ching and Ramiro Corrales will all be available for San Jose head coach Frank Yallop on Saturday.

I’m real excited about getting back,” Ching said. “It is frustrating to have to sit out for a month and not be able to help the team. I’m really looking forward to getting back out there. I’m excited, and hopefully I will be able to get back to where I was before I got hurt.”

Ching, who strained his right hamstring May 28 in an exhibition game against Seattle, has eased his way back into playing shape.

“I feel good,” Ching said. “I think I am almost there, I have been doing fine in practice. Of course, the game is always different than practice, but I am ready.”

Ching is likely to come off the bench Saturday, with Donovan and Brian Mullan starting the game up front.

“I think we want to approach this game like any other,” Ching said. “We want to play the way we always do. We want to concentrate on getting the ball to Landon, work our offense through him and he will produce the opportunities that we need.” Defensively, the Quakes will have to worry about shutting down the Wizards scoring opportunities, which could be a tough task with an offense led by the ageless Preki and the quick Josh Wolff.

“Guarding Preki takes the most patience of any player in the league,” Earthquakes defender Craig Waibel. “He is so composed on the ball, he will hold it, and then cut back with it, and then cut back again. If you try to go in after him, you can’t get it and he will go by you.”

Preki leads the Wizards with seven goals and six assists in 2003, and he comes to Spartan Stadium a week after his 40th birthday.

“That is the amazing thing about Preki,” Waibel said. “He still is able to beat you with those moves, and you know that they are going to be coming. He is so creative with the ball. I have seen many experienced defenders get beat by him, and he just keeps beating people, over and over again.”

Earthquakes defender Chris Ronér will be playing against Preki for the first time.

“You need to stay on your feet against him,” Ronér said. “You can’t go diving in there, especially against Preki. If you dive in on him, he’s gone. You know his repertoire, you just have to try and be as prepared as you can be.”

Preki will look to set up Wolff and forward Igor Simutenkov from his midfield position, while former Earthquakes defender Jimmy Conrad has also become an offensive threat, scoring two goals and one assist in 2003.

“We have to be careful about allowing Preki to get position and send in good balls for Wolff,” Waibel said. “We know that Wolff is a good finisher, so we can’t allow them to get comfortable doing that.”

“They are going to come after us,” Yallop said. “They are the team right below us, so we know they are going to come in here gunning for us.” From SJEarthquakes.com.

» 06.23.03 - Howard shuts out Cameroon in Confederations Cup finale: By RONALD BLUM= ^AP Sports Writer

LYON, France (AP) The United States left the Confederations Cup with experience, not wins. With no chance to advance to the semifinals, the Americans completed first-round play Monday night with a scoreless tie against African champion Cameroon.

A U.S. lineup with seven starters 24 and younger dominated play against a second-string Cameroon lineup. The Americans thought it was their best effort of the tournament.

``It's good experience,'' forward Landon Donovan said. ``We still have a ways to go.''

Last year's advance to the World Cup quarterfinals gained respect for American soccer globally, but this tournament got them only education, not results. The U.S. team lost to World Cup semifinalist Turkey 2-1 in its opener and 1-0 to World Cup champion Brazil, getting outplayed both times.

``Our big opportunity was in game one, and we let it slip away,'' midfielder Chris Armas said. ``Here, at this level, in tournament play, there's no room for that.''

In its last trip to France, the United States went 0-3 at the 1998 World Cup. This time, the Americans got a point in France for the first time since a 1-0 win over Estonia in the 1924 Olympics and ended their nine-game, five-year losing streak in Europe.

Cameroon (2-0-1) advanced to a semifinal Thursday with South American champion Colombia (2-1), while defending tournament champion France (3-0) meets Turkey (1-1-1). The Turks played to a 2-2 tie Monday with Brazil (1-1-1), advancing over the World Cup champions on goal difference.

``Our plan was to use these three games or whatever it was going to be as a method of evaluating players, as well as giving them experience. I think we got exactly that,'' U.S coach Bruce Arena said. ``Naturally, we're disappointed we're going home, but I'm not disappointed with the experiences we had here in France.''

Because advancement wasn't at stake for either team, there was a less intense pace than the first two American games. Arena didn't start Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Gregg Berhalter, who played most of the first two games. Cameroon changed nine starters from Saturday. Donovan and Beasley entered as second-half substitutes.

Eddie Lewis created two good chances to score in the first half. In the 14th minute, he pushed the ball in front of the goal only to have Lucien Mettomo clear it. Lewis pushed it back in front, but again no American attacker was there and Ngassam Falemi cleared the ball.

In the 24th minute, Lewis took a flick by Jovan Kirovski near the endline and redirected the ball back to Clint Mathis, but he could only get off a weak shot from about 10 yards, and the ball was cleared off the line by Pierre Njanka. It was the second time in the tournament a shot by Mathis was stopped by a defender at the line.

``That's the way it goes,'' he said.

Joseph-Desire Job had Cameroon's best chance, outjumping Danny Califf in the 17th minute. But with half the net open and Howard beaten, Job sent a header wide from about 6 yards.

Howard made an excellent right-handed save on Job in the 25th, then fell on the rebound. He nearly got in trouble in the 33rd when he missed a punchout of a corner kick and the ball bounced in front of the American goal.

Howard stopped Job again in the 68th minute, coming out to make a leg save when the forward had only the goalkeeper to beat from 16 yards. Howard dived to his left to parry a shot by Valery Mezague in the 74th.

``He was a little tired tonight but again made a big-time save,'' Arena said. ``Overall, he had an outstanding tournament. I think it's one that will give him a lot of confidence as he moves forward.''

Notes: U.S. MF Kyle Martino had an excellent curling shot from 30 yards in the 51st minute that was knocked away when GK Eric Kwekeu dived to his right. Two minutes later, Martino was taken down by Thimothee Atouba and left the field with a severely sprained left ankle. X-rays at Lyon South Hospital Center were negative. ... There was whistling during ``The Star-Spangled Banner'' for the third straight game. ``I'm not very happy with that,'' Cameroon coach Winnie Schaefer said. From USSoccerPlayers.com.

» 06.22.03 - JAMIL WALKER GOAL GIVES EARTHQUAKES 2-1 WIN OVER COLUMBUS CREW AT SPARTAN STADIUM: SAN JOSE, CA (June 21, 2003) — The San Jose Earthquakes used a late goal from rookie forward Jamil Walker to defeat the Columbus Crew 2-1 Saturday night at Spartan Stadium. Walker, who scored the game-tying goal in the Quakes game Wednesday against the Los Angeles Galaxy, finished a brilliant combination from Ian Russell and Richard Mulrooney with a blast past Tom Presthus to keep San Jose in first place in Major League Soccer with a league best 6-2-3 record. The Quakes are now on a three-game unbeaten streak with 2-0-1 record.

The Earthquakes nearly opened up the scoring in the 31st minute. After Columbus goalkeeper Jon Busch came off his line to punch an Earthquakes cross into the air, San Jose defender Todd Dunivant sent the rebound into the middle of the Crew penalty area to an unmarked Brian Mullan. Mullan sent a header toward the goal, where defender Eric Denton, who was standing on the goal line, was able to knock the ball away.

The Quakes continued to pressure the Columbus goal, and were rewarded with the first goal of the game on a Mullan strike in the 43rd minute to take a 1-0 lead. Dunivant sent a long ball over the Columbus defense on the left side of the field, allowing Mullan to win a foot race with Brian Dunseth and take the ball into the Crew penalty area. His rolling shot to the far post beat a diving Presthus, who had entered the game for an injured Busch in the 37th minute. The goal was Mullan's fourth of the season and marked the third straight game he has recorded a point.

Trailing 1-0, the Crew quickly came back in an attempt to tie the match, with Brian McBride turning on a pass in the Earthquakes penalty area from Ross Paule and sending a sharp shot off the left goalpost. Moments later, Columbus had another shot saved by San Jose goalkeeper Pat Onstad on a swerving free kick from Freddy Garcia.

The Crew tied the match 10 minutes into the second half, as Brian West found Paule unmarked inside the 18-yard box. Paule fired a low shot that Onstad blocked, but the rebound fell to McBride who touched the ball into the empty net to make the score 1-1.

Two minutes after the goal, tempers flared as Manny Lagos and Columbus defender Mike Clark got into a shoving match, resulting in red cards for both players. The teams each played the rest of the game with only ten men.

Mullan had a solo effort that nearly put the Quakes back into the lead a minute after the ejections. He controlled a long clearance out of the back and eluded Dunseth before making a run into the Columbus penalty area, where he blasted a shot just past the near post.

Ronnie Ekelund preserved the tie for San Jose in the 68th minute when he cleared a Dunseth header that had gotten behind Onstad off the line.

The Earthquakes secured the win in the 77th minute when Walker, who entered as a second half substitute in the 70th minute, finished off the splendid combination from Mulrooney and Russell. Surrounded by Crew defenders along the right sideline, Mulrooney spun and back-heeled a pass up the wing to a streaking Russell. Russell entered the Columbus penalty box on the left side, and then sent a cross right to the Santa Clara University product Walker, who put the ball away for his second goal in as many games and a 2-1 Earthquakes lead.

The Earthquakes return to action next Saturday, June 28 when they host the Kansas City Wizards at Spartan Stadium at 7:00 p.m. PT in a battle of the top two teams in the Western Conference. The first 10,000 fans will receive a 2003 Earthquakes team poster, presented by Orchard Supply Hardware.

Notes:

The Earthquakes extended their regular season unbeaten streak against the Columbus Crew at Spartan Stadium to six games, winning five and tying one.

Earthquakes forward Jamil Walker scored a goal in his second straight game.

Earthquakes midfielder Ian Russell recorded an assist in his third straight game.

Earthquakes forward Brian Mullan recorded a point in his third straight game when he scored in the 43rd minute.

Earthquakes midfielder Ronnie Ekelund started his first game of the 2003 season. Ekelund had previously appeared in four games while recovering from April ankle surgery.

Landon Donovan missed his third straight Earthquakes game while with the U.S. National Team at the FIFA Confederations Cup in France.

The Earthquakes recorded the 99th win in club history.

Including the MLS playoffs, eight of the last nine matches between the Earthquakes and the Crew have been decided by one goal.

Quotes:

Frank Yallop, on game: "Obviously we are thrilled with the result. It was a little bit of a gut check for us and we came through with flying colors. Our players have been out to prove something this year and they keep on working hard and getting results."

Yallop, on play of Brian Mullan: "He was fantastic all night again. He is just determined to do well every game and he puts forth a great effort. He is playing as well as anyone in the league right now."

Jamil Walker, on goal: "I saw Ian [Russell] break down the left side and I was yelling for him to cross it into me. It was a great pass from Ian and I was able to finish it. I was lucky that it went through a couple people and got to the goal. It felt good when I hit it. I thought I struck it well with my left foot, but I didn't see it go in, I just heard the crowd."

Brian Mullan, on goal: "I saw the play shift over to the left side and Todd [Dunivant] just put a perfect ball over that I was able to run in on. I went in toward the goal and [Tom] Presthus came out, so I just tried to put it around him."

Richard Mulrooney, on game: "This probably wasn't our prettiest game, but I really think that after playing Wednesday, that game in LA took a lot out of us. That isn't an excuse, and we were able to get it together in the second half to get the win. I think that is what you have to do if you want to be a good team, win the games even when you are not playing your best, and that is what we did tonight." From SJEarthquakes.com.

» 06.21.03 - U.S. Falls to Brazil 1-0 on Defensive Miscue: LYON, France (June 21, 2003) -- The U.S. Men's National Team came up a goal short in the second consecutive 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup match, falling 1-0 in front of 20,306 fans at Gerland Stadium in Lyon, France, today.

"Give Brazil credit. They took advantage of the one mistake that we made, and at the international level, that's what good teams do," said U.S. MNT head coach Bruce Arena, whose 2003 record drops to 5-3-1 on the year. "While we're disppointed with the loss, this was a much better performance than Thursday's game."

The top-ranked team in the world, Brazil was dangerous from the outset as powerful forward Adriano, wearing the #9 jersey usually reserved for Ronaldo, played like his counterpart from the opening whistle and finished with seven of his team's 13 shots.

The first good chance for Brazil came in the 7th minute when Adriano brought down a looping pass in the penalty box with U.S. defender Gregg Berhalter on his back, quickly spun to his left and fired a shot under Berhalter's outstretched leg that went just a foot wide of the post.

Brazil then took advantage of a giveaway by Berhalter in the U.S. defensive third to get on the scoreboard in the 22nd minute. After playing the ball up and then receiving a pass right back to him, Berhalter was pressured and then dispossessed by Adriano, who raced in alone on goal. Howard came charging out and saved Adriano's initial shot with his left hand, but the rebound fell right in the path of the strong-as-an-ox striker and he slotted it home as Carlos Bocanegra tried in vain to stab at the ball as it sailed across the goal line.

Ronaldinho was also in top form as the playmaker in Brazil's 4-5-1 formation. He almost created a second goal in the 35th minute when de deftly flicked the ball to an onrushing Ricardinho, but two U.S. defenders quickly converged and forced a weak shot that was easily saved by Howard.

The first good chance for the U.S. came after Steve Cherundolo was brought down on a dribbling run a few yards outside the right side of the Brazil penalty area. Clint Mathis stepped up to take the shot, and tried to swerve it into the upper right corner, but pushed a few feet outside the post.

The U.S. has another chance to equalize in the second minute of stoppage time, as team captain Earnie Stewart sprung free on a counter-attack down the right flank. The 34-year-old midfielder outraced his defender and sent a low bouncing cross to the center of the box, where Donovan was charging in with a defender on his back. Donovan jumped up to take the ball out of the air, but his first touch sent the ball wide right of the goal as the defender clipped his trailing leg and brought him down. No penalty was called, since the ball was already across the end line when the foul occurred.

While play and possession evened out in the second half, it was Howard who kept the U.S. in the match, time and time finding a way to keep Brazil shots on goal from the back of the net.

In the 50th minute, Howard was forced to make a quick reaction save as a Ronaldinho free kick found the head of Kleberson, who snapped a shot toward the far post. Howard hit the deck to stop the shot, barely keeping it from crossing the goalline as the rest of his body lay just behind the goal line.

Ten minutes later, Howard made another huge save. After a flurry in front of the U.S. goal, Adriano laid the ball back to Alex at the top of the box, where he uncorked a blistering shot that Howard dove and barely pushed wide of the post and out for a corner kick.

The U.S. had a decent chance to tie it at 1-1 in the 71st minute when Donovan raced in on the right side of the box, and held off two defenders before drilling a low shot across the goalmouth that Dida bobbled and then smothered the rebound as DaMarcus Beasley sped in at the far post.

Howard saved another sure goal in the 76th minute when he got a good jump and stretched to push a perfect, bending 25-yard free kick from Ronaldinho right over the crossbar.

The 24-year-old keeper, who finished with five saves, earned Chevrolet Man of the Match honors for the second consecutive match for his efforts.

The U.S. finishes opening round play against Cameroon on Monday (June 23) live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker at 3 p.m. ET and via Same Day Delay broadcast on Galavision at 9 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. PT.

In the first Group B match of the day, Cameroon stole a 1-0 win over Turkey on a penalty kick that midfielder Geremi converted in the 91st minute after second-half sub Joseph-Desire Job was brought down in the area. With today's results, Cameroon leads the group with six points, followed by Turkey and Brazil tied for second with three points, and the U.S. in last with zero points. Turkey and Brazill will play for the other semi-final spot on Monday, with the match broadcast via Same Day Delay on Galavision at 7 p.m. ET / PT.

In Group A action, France slipped by Japan 2-1 in a well-played match in Saint-Etienne, while Colombia came back from a 1-0 defecit and scored three goals in the final 31 minutes to defeat New Zealand 3-1 in Lyon. France leads the group with six points, with Colombia and Japan are tied for second with three points and New Zealand in fourth with zero points. Colombia and Japan will battle it out for second place in Group A and a semi-final spot tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT live on Univision.

- U.S. Men’s National Team Game Report -

Participants: United States vs. Brazil
Competition: 2003 Confederations Cup – Group B Opening Round
Venue: Gerland Stadium – Lyon, France
Date: June 21, 2003 – 9 p.m. (local) / 3 p.m. ET
Weather: 72 degrees; warm, clear
Attendance: 20,306

Scoring Summary:
1 2 F
USA 0 0 0
Brazil 1 0 1

BRA – Adriano (unassisted) 22nd minute.

Lineups:
USA: 18-Tim Howard; 6-Steve Cherundolo, 3-Gregg Berhalter, 12-Carlos Bocanegra, 23-Cory Gibbs (15-Bobby Convey, 78); 4-Pablo Mastroeni (20-Taylor Twellman, 84), 8-Earnie Stewart (Capt.), 17-DaMarcus Beasley, 22-Chris Klein (7-Eddie Lewis, 57), 10-Landon Donovan; 11-Clint Mathis.
Subs Not Used: 1-Joe Cannon, 19-Marcus Hahnemann; 2-Frankie Hejduk, 5-Greg Vanney, 9-Jovan Kirovski, 13-Kyle Martino, 14-Chris Armas, 16-Dan Califf, 21-Jeff Cunningham.
Manager: Bruce Arena.

BRA: 1-Dida; 2-Belleti (13-Maurinho, 70), 3-Lucio, 4-Juan, 16-Kleber; 5-Emerson (Capt.), 7-Ronaldinho, 8-Kleberson, 10-Ricardinho, 20-Alex (11-Gil, 73); 9-Adriano (21-Ilan, 89).
Subs Not Used: 12-Julio Cesar, 23-Fabio; 6-Gilberto, 14-Fabio Luciano, 15-Edu Dracena, 17-Eduardo Costa, 18-Dudu, 19-Adriano de Souza, 22-Luis Fabiano.
Head Coach: Carlos Alberto Parreira.

Statistical Summary:

USA BRA
Shots 6 13
Saves 5 1
Corner Kicks 3 5
Fouls 17 17
Offside 4 6

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Steve Cherundolo (caution) 63rd minute.
BRA – Belleti (caution) 69.
USA – Earnie Stewart (caution) 72.
USA – Carlos Bocanegra (caution) 79.
BRA – Gil (caution) 89.

Referee: Lucilio Cardoso Batista (Portugal)
Assistant Referee #1: Paulo Januario (Portugal)
Assistant Referee #2: Jose Silva (Portugal)
Fourth Official: Coffi Codjia (Benin)

Chevrolet Man of Match: Tim Howard From USSoccer.com.

» 06.19.03 - Donovan: Turkish Fans "Sad" and "Embarrassing": (By Ben Grossman; Special to MLSnet.com) SAINT ETIENNE, France (June 19, 2003) -- FIFA has mandated that the teams in the 2003 Confederations Cup meet in the center circle after each match to shake hands in a show of sportsmanship and class. However, just prior to the kickoff of their country’s opening game of the tournament on Thursday night in Saint-Etienne, a large percentage of the Turkish fans seated behind one goal seemed to indicate they were not much interested in such FIFA-encouraged feelings of goodwill.

The second the U.S. national anthem began to play in the Stade Geoffroy Guichard, the Turkish fans began to loudly boo and whistle, and the noises continued to cascade through the stadium throughout the song.

U.S. and San Jose Earthquakes forward Landon Donovan was less than impressed with the actions of the Turkish contingent.

“It’s sad, it’s embarrassing,” he said. “It is just so disrespectful and it just says a lot about who those people are.”

Immediately after Chicago Fire star DaMarcus Beasley headed in his cross in the 36th minute, Donovan looked directly into the Turkish section of fans behind the goal and cupped both hands behind his ears.

Donovan made no bones about whether his action was a reaction to what the fans did during the anthem.

“Sure it was, absolutely,” he said. “It’s one thing to boo and whistle, but to do that during a national anthem is just rude.”

Then, just before a Turkish corner kick early on after the interval, the game was delayed briefly as Turkish fans in the same end threw several projectiles at MetroStars and U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard. Also, in the 68th minute, a water bottle thrown from a Turkish section of the stands narrowly missed hitting referee Jorge Larrionda.

As for Howard, his concern was simple: “I just didn’t want to get injured,” he said after the match.

But U.S. manager Bruce Arena was less bothered by the crowd.

“I don’t pay attention to that,” he said. “That’s not the first time that’s happened. Try coming to a U.S.-Mexico match sometime.”

QUOTESHEET:

U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the change in formation: We tried to start the game with three types of forwards, with Beasley and Lewis being wingers. We couldn’t hold the ball, we couldn’t get them in the game, so I just moved Landon up to be a second forward.

On naming Frankie Hejduk team captain: “In the group we had today, he’s our most experienced player. He’s been through a lot, and he deserves that recognition.”

On the game: “Our lack of continuity on the field in all positions was a factor in the game. We had a bunch of players that had sub-par performances, and you can’t get away with that.”

U.S. GOALKEEPER TIM HOWARD:
On the unfamiliarity of the U.S. defenders: “You have to gel, and there isn’t a lot of time to do that here. I don’t know why we didn’t play well, but I thought we could have done better.”

On whether there is extra pressure on him to play well in this tournament: “I can understand why people would think that, but if you allow it to affect you, it could hurt your performance on the field. I’m very focused on trying to play well every game for this team.”

U.S. MIDFIELDER DAMARCUS BEASLEY:
On scoring the USA’s goal: “It doesn’t mean anything unless you win the game. It’s good to go up 1-0 early, but we got careless and we gave a way a goal in the next two minutes. It was a tough loss, but we have to regroup and get ready for Saturday.”

Describing the goal: “I think Eddie Lewis played it to Landon. He was by himself, and the guy wasn’t marking me. Landon played a great ball over his head, and I got my head on it, and it went in. It was a great goal for me, but at the same time it’s terrible because we lost the game.”

On Turkey's players: "They've got a lot of great players. Even though they only had four guys from the World Cup, they have 23 guys who can really play and know what to do when they get the ball."

On whether the pro-Turkey crowd made a difference in the game: "It crowd doesn't bother us. Even when we play at home we have to deal with it. The crowd has nothing to do with it. We tried to get the crowd out of it in the beginning and that's what we did with the first goal, but we just didn't keep our lead. That s just the way football plays sometimes."

U.S. MIDFIELDER EDDIE LEWIS
On whether the team’s inexperience was a factor: “Overall, looking back it was probably a factor. Having said that, one of Bruce’s goals was to give young players experience. He didn’t put a ton of emphasis on results for this tournament. If you look back, in some key positions on the field, we had some very young and inexperienced players. That’s a tough role, but if they were to grow from today, and they are better players a year from now in qualifying, then maybe it’s the right decision. But it’s disappointing to lose anyway.”

U.S. DEFENDER FRANKIE HEJDUK:
On wearing the captain's band for the first time ever for the national team: "To have Bruce let me wear the captain band felt great and showed he has confidence in me. It s a good feeling."

On how the defense played together: "I thought in the first half we should have dropped off a little more. We were really trying to really hold our line tight and test them. We weren't pressuring the ball deep enough in the first half and they were able to play some long balls over the top of us. It was a new back four. It was our first time playing all together in the back. Anytime you start a new group its tough. The back four is definitely something that takes time to work on, you can't get it done overnight. It's something that needs work, but I think we did decent playing all together for the first time." From MLSNet.com.

» 06.19.03 - U.S. Men Open 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup with 2-1 Loss to World Cup Semifinalist Turkey: ST. ETIENNE, France (Thursday, June 19, 2003) - The U.S. Men's National Team fell to Turkey, 2-1, today in their 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup opener in front of 16,944 fans at Geoffroy Guichard Stadium in Saint Etienne, France.

"Over 90 minutes, they positioned themselves better and won a number of second balls," said Bruce Arena, whose record in 2003 drops to 5-2-1. "They were more of the dominant team for 90 minutes, and they deserved to win. We did not play well today. We need to regroup and get ready for Brazil."

The U.S. grabbed a short-lived 1-0 lead when midfielder DaMarcus Beasley headed home a perfect cross from the left flank from Landon Donovan in the 36th minute, but Turkey equlized just three minutes on a penalty kick. Despite what appeared to be a handball by Turkey forward Tuncay Sanli, play went on and he was brought down in the box by U.S. defender Frankie Hejduk, who wore the captain's armband for the first time in his MNT career.

After Donovan was issued a yellow card caution in the 39th minute for arguing the call, forward Okan Yilmaz stepped up to drill the resulting PK past goalkeeper Tim Howard, who was starting in his first major competition at the senior level and was named Chevrolet Man of the Match for his six-save performance.

Turkey broke open an even second half in the 70th minute when Tuncay Sanli, making his debut with the Turkish Men's National Team, worked a counter-attack combination with midfielder Volkan Arslan that ended with him dribbling sharply around Howard and converting from a difficult angle.

Having substituted forward Clint Mathis for Jovan Kirovski in the 59th minute, Arena brought in even more offense with his final two subs as the U.S. pushed for the equalizer. A ragged Eddie Lewis was replaced by Earnie Stewart in 72nd minute, and forward Taylor Twellman came on for defender Gregg Berhalter in the 79th minute, but the U.S. could not even the score despite creating several good scoring chances and owning much of the possession as Turkey bunkered in defensively.

Fans can watch the match tonight via Same Day Delay broadcast on Galavision at 7 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. PT, followed by Brazil-Cameroon at 9 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. PT.

The loss marked the first time that a UEFA team defeated a CONCACAF team in the history of the bi-annual competition, which dates back to 1997.

Following today's loss, the U.S. will face Brazil on Saturday (June 21) live on TeleFutura at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT. Meanwhile, Turkey faces Cameroon in their next encounter. The U.S. finishes group play against African power Cameroon on Monday (June 23) in a match that will be broadcast later that night on Galavision at 9 p.m. ET. Both games will be played in Lyon. All U.S. matches will be available live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT.

In Group A action yesterday, tournament host France needed a penalty kick goal from Thierry Henry to get by Colombia 1-0 in Lyon, while Japan got two goals from Shunsuke Nakamura and easily handled New Zealand, 3-0, in Paris. Group A action continues tomorrow with Colombia-New Zealand at 7 p.m. ET/PT (Galavision) in Lyon and France-Japan at 9 p.m. ET/PT in St. Etienne.

- U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report -

Participants: United States Men's National Team vs. Turkey
Competition: 2003 Confederations Cup – Group B Opening Round
Venue: Geoffroy Guichard Stadium – Saint Etienne, France
Date: June 19, 2003 – 7 p.m. (local) / 1 p.m. ET
Weather: 78 degrees; sunny, warm
Attendance: 16,944

Scoring Summary:
1 2 F
USA 1 0 1
Turkey 1 1 2

USA – DaMarcus Beasley (Landon Donovan) 36th minute.
TUR – Okan Yilmaz (penalty kick) 39.
TUR – Tuncay Sanli (Volkan Arslan) 70.

Lineups:

USA: 18-Tim Howard; 2-Frankie Hejduk (Capt.), 3-Gregg Berhalter (20-Taylor Twellman, 79), 16-Dan Califf, 4-Greg Vanney; 7-Eddie Lewis (8-Earnie Stewart, 72), 17-DaMarcus Beasley, 14-Chris Armas, 15-Bobby Convey; 10-Landon Donovan, 9-Jovan Kirovski (11-Clint Mathis, 59).
Subs Not Used: 1-Joe Cannon, 19-Marcus Hahnemann; 4-Pablo Mastroeni, 12-Carlos Bocanegra, 13-Kyle Martino, 21-Jeff Cunningham, 22-Chris Klein, 23-Cory Gibbs.

TUR: 12-Omer Catkic; 2-Fatih Sonkaya, 5-Alpay Ozalan, 3-Bulent Korkmaz (Capt.), 15-Ibrahim Uzulmez; 13-Ahmet Yildirim (6-Ergun Penbe, 42), 8-Volkan Arslan, 22-Gokdeniz Karadeniz, 20-Selcuk Sahin; 9-Tuncay Sanli (21-Ibrahim Toraman, 80), 16-Okan Yilmaz (Huseyin Kartal, 92+).
Subs Not Used: 1-Rustu Recber, 23-Murat Sahin; 4-Fatih Akyel, 7-Serkan Balci, 10-Yildiray Basturk, 11-Nihat Kahveci, 14-Deniz Baris, 17-Servet Cetin, 19-Necati Ates.

Statistical Summary: USA TUR
Shots 9 9
Saves 6 4
Corner Kicks 6 2
Fouls 15 17
Offside 2 6

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Gregg Berhalter (caution) 22nd minute.
USA – Landon Donovan (caution) 39.
USA – Danny Califf (caution) 42.
USA – Greg Vanney (caution) 55.
TUR – Ibrahim Uzulmez (caution) 67.

Referee: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay)
Assistant Referee #1: Fernando Cresci Fripp (Uruguay)
Assistant Referee #2: Walt Rial Hernandez (Uruguay)
Fourth Official: Masoud Moradi (Uruguay)

Chevrolet Man of Match: Tim Howard From USSoccer.com.

» 06.19.03 - No rest for weary Donovan: (By PAUL OBERJUERGE, Sports Editor) LYON, France - Landon Donovan is more than tired. He is bone weary, and has been since before he realized it.

"I don't think I have recovered from the World Cup,' he said Wednesday, referring to an event last June. "I went straight into all the media stuff, flying here and flying there and doing appearances. It wore me out. I should have said something.'

Only now, one year and hundreds of public appearances later, is the soccer star from Redlands finally noticing the fatigue.

He is pooped. It shows in his eyes and his posture, as he distractedly dips a tea bag into a small cup and slumps in a chair at the team hotel. He yawns in the middle of an interview.

It is a half-hour before noon.

"I was excited, and I wanted to' live with a hectic schedule, he said. "But thinking back it would have been better to take a little bit of time off and let myself recover.'

Now, Donovan has very little recovery time in sight. He is in the middle of the Major League Soccer season, which he will return to when he is finished with his national team commitments which could be a two-month gap.

He is here with the national side to play in the Confederations Cup, beginning with a match against formidable Turkey tonight in nearby Saint-Etienne. Followed by a match here with World Cup champion Brazil on Saturday.

In the absence of convalescing veteran Claudio Reyna, Donovan likely will orchestrate the American offense from the attacking midfield spot.

When this tourney is over, after no fewer than three matches and as many as five, comes the Gold Cup, the hemispheric tournament. Donovan will be there. Then it is back to MLS with the San Jose Earthquakes. Then a short break, followed by national training camp in January and the start of the eternal World Cup qualifying process, and another MLS season - and somewhere along the way he will be an integral member of the team attempting to qualify for the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Donovan still gets excited for matches. But the edginess is not there days before kickoff. Now, it comes perhaps hours before. At the tender age of 21.

"It's not that I'm not motivated,' he said. "But it's another game, as opposed to 'I've got another game tomorrow and I can't wait.' It's just a different sort of preparation.'

Donovan can't afford the luxury of mailing in a performance. Not when you've been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Not when you are the designated star of the Earthquakes, if not MLS.

Not when you are a de facto leader of the national team. At 21.

"Landon's now a player with a fair amount of experience at this level,' national coach Bruce Arena said. "I expect Landon to step up and emerge as one of our key players in this next four-year cycle.'

Donovan, already 13th on the U.S. career scoring list with nine goals in 35 appearances, understands and accepts that responsibility.

A majority of the players called in for the Confederations Cup has less national-team experience than Donovan does, and he realizes that. The wet-behind-the-ears kid of Korea '02 is now a veteran whom others look to for cues.

"It's a different challenge,' he conceded. "Last year, it's proving you're good enough to be here to the people on the team. And now it's 'Definitely, you deserve to start.' And now it's kind of like people are watching and expecting more of you.

"I think about that sometimes and that's why you have to be careful what you do. As much as I would like to think (less experienced players) don't look at me that way, I think it's probably true. I think they do probably look up to me, and I need to set a good example.'

He looks forward to a day when that leadership is formalized, and he slips on the captain's armband, as he did for the under-23 (Olympic) team in a match in Guadalajara last month.

"Totally, I want that,' he said. "That doesn't mean I'm ready for it yet, but I definitely want to. It might take some time, but I like to be a leader.

"When I was captain in Mexico, I didn't know what to do. It's exciting. It's quite a feeling. Immediately, after you put that on, you become a leader. You assume that role.'

Something else he aspires to is rest. Preferably at the family home in Redlands.

"Laying on the couch is always good,' he said of spending time off. "I would love to go somewhere and chill, maybe Hawaii, because I've never been, but I really don't want to travel. I love being home and just relaxing and enjoying California weather and being myself.'

He said his quite public romance with "Dawson's Creek' actress Bianca Kajlich (they were featured in Glamour magazine's Valentine's Day spread) is over. "Unfortunately.'

He added: "The tabs have been all over it.' Really? "No. Just kidding.' Another strain to add to the list.

In the meantime, Donovan continues to be all things to all teams. Or tries. "I absolutely expect him to be a good player for us,' Arena says. "Anything less than that would be disappointing.'

That goes for the Earthquakes, too. And the Olympic team. His entire soccer public.

"The only thing that bothers me,' Donovan said, as he failed to stifle a yawn, "is people just forget that it's not so easy, in the middle of your season, to come over, play a tournament, potentially play another tournament, and go back and be super-hyped and motivated to play the rest of the (MLS) season.

"It's very difficult. Last year was the World Cup, and we were together a month and a half, and you're fried afterward. This year, it could be two full months together in a quote-unquote off year. It gets a little bit tiring. I hope people understand.'

He sat through a TV interview, patiently did a set of promotional voice-overs for the Eurosport network, then got up to leave.

"What time is it?' he asked a team official. When told it was 11:30, Donovan said, "Good.' And one tired young soccer star headed back to his room, and his bed. From SBSun.com.

» 06.19.03 - EARTHQUAKES EARN 1-1 TIE AGAINST GALAXY IN FIRST APPEARANCE AT THE HOME DEPOT CENTER: CARSON, CA (June 18, 2003) — The San Jose Earthquakes got an early second half goal from rookie Jamil Walker to earn a 1-1 tie against the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center. Quakes goalkeeper Pat Onstad made a career high 10 saves in the match, helping the Quakes move into first place in the Western Conference with 18 points, one ahead of the Kansas City Wizards. With the tie, the Quakes finished their three-game road trip with a 1-1-1 record. San Jose now plays five of the next seven matches at Spartan Stadium.

Onstad made two big saves in the opening 15 minutes to keep the match scoreless. On the first, Carlos Ruiz broke free from Craig Waibel and attempted to curl a shot into the far post. Onstad dove to his left to make the stop. Minutes later, Gavin Glinton got around his mark and had an open shot at goal from the 18-yard box. Glinton drove his shot low to the near post, but Onstad was again there to make the stop.

Sasha Victorine had a shot that Onstad could not stop in the 21st minute as he headed home a corner kick for a 1-0 Galaxy lead. Cobi Jones curled the corner in from the left side and Victorine elevated over the Quakes defense to knock a header by Onstad at the back post.

Quakes rookie Todd Dunivant tried to bring the Quakes back even with a strong individual effort in the 26th minute. After receiving a pass from fellow rookie Arturo Alvarez, Dunivant made a run into the Galaxy penalty box, eluding three defenders in the process. He then spotted Craig Waibel at the back post and pushed a cross through the goalmouth that bounced just out of Waibel’s reach and over the endline for a goal kick.

Onstad came up with another important save in the 35th minute after Chris Albright was able to get behind the Quakes defense. Albright broke in with Waibel on his shoulder, before sliding a shot that Onstad blocked out for a corner kick.

Brian Mullan and Chris Ronér combined for a chance to even the score in stoppage time at the end of the first half. Mullan got the ball at the edge of the 18-yard box and sent a through ball for Ronér. Ronér got a shot off, but his effort was blocked by a Galaxy defender.

Walker tied the match in the 63rd minute after some pinpoint passing by the Quakes on the right wing. Mullan beat a defender 25 yards from goal on and then slid a ball through to Ian Russell. Russell took a touch and then fed Walker in front of the net for a tap-in goal to even the score at 1-1.

Mullan had a chance to break the deadlock eight minutes later after an excellent long ball from Dunivant on the left wing. Mullan got behind Alexi Lalas and broke in at a bad angle. He blasted a left-footed shot that went wide and hit the side netting.

Both teams continued to go forward as the game went into the final minutes, but neither side could break the deadlock and the match headed to overtime.

In the overtime, the Galaxy challenged on a number of corner kicks, but were denied by Onstad or the Quakes defense each time and the teams settled for a 1-1 draw.

The Earthquakes play the first of two straight home matches this Saturday, June 21 at Spartan Stadium against the Columbus Crew at 7:00 p.m. PT. The first 10,000 fans will receive Earthquakes Bangers, presented by the U.S. Army.

Notes:

Earthquakes defender Todd Dunivant became the first Quakes rookie to start the first 10 games of his career, breaking the record of Jamie Clark, who set the record of nine in 1999.

Jamil Walker became the third rookie in 2003 to score for the Quakes when he scored against the Galaxy. Todd Dunivant and Arturo Alvarez have also netted goals this season.

Ian Russell notched an assist for the second straight match on Wednesday night.

Quotes:

Frank Yallop, on game: “I think that it was a good result for us. I thought that we could have even got out of here with a win if we had broken better on a couple of occasions. We had a spell after we scored during which we controlled play and created a number of good chances. It was great to see us fight back again on the road and get a result.”

Yallop, on Quakes defensive effort: “The guys just refused to lose that game. We got great defending starting with Pat (Onstad) in goal all the way up to the forwards. It was an excellent effort by everyone.”

Jamil Walker, on first career goal: “It is always great to come in and contribute. Frank (Yallop) tells me to get in the box and try and get on the end of some plays and that is what happened tonight. Ian (Russell) made a great move and played me a perfect ball and all I had to do was touch it in.”

Ronnie Ekelund, on returning to form: “I feel more comfortable each game I play in. Obviously it is a building process, but I felt good out there tonight and I am looking forward to the next game.”

Ekelund, on earning point on the road: “It was great to come in here and earn a point and take two home points away from them. Any time you can earn points on the road, you have to be happy.”

Pat Onstad, on playing LA: “They are a very talented team and the first two games between us this year have been tough. I think that we gave them a little too much respect in the first half, but we came out in the second half and played some good football. I thought that we could have even won this game.” From SJEarthquakes.com.

» 06.18.03 - U.S. MNT Faces Turkey on Thursday in First Match of Confederations Cup: 24 HOURS AWAY: After a nearly three week training camp across two continents, the U.S. will finally test get to test its mettle tomorrow when they open their 2003 Confederations Cup campaign against Turkey. Kickoff is set for 9 p.m. local time, and the match will be broadcast via same-day delay on Galavision beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Fans can follow the match live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics.

ON TOP IN EURO ’04: Turkey sits in first place in Group 7 of UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying, amassing 15 points with a 5-1-0 record. England, which beat Turkey 2-0 in its first match at home, is two points behind (13) with a game in hand. In their latest game on June 11, Turkey twice overcame one-goal deficits to topple F.Y.R Macedonia 3-2 in Istanbul. In six matches, Turkey has scored a whopping 14 goals, while only allowing four against. Turkey’s next qualifying match will be against Liechtenstein on Sept. 6, in advance of its much-anticipated rematch against England on Nov. 10 in Istanbul.

2003 RESULTS:

Date Opponent Result Venue U.S. Goal Scorers

Jan. 19 Canada 4-0 W Lockhart Stadium Bocanegra, Mathis, Klein, Ralston
Feb. 8 Argentina 0-1 L The Orange Bowl
Feb. 12 Jamaica 2-1 W National Stadium Bocanegra, Klein
March 29 Venezuela 2-0 W Seattle Seahawks Stadium Kirovski, Donovan
May 8 Mexico 0-0 T Reliant Stadium
May 26 Wales 2-0 W Spartan Stadiums Donovan, Lewis
June 8 New Zealand 2-1 W University or Richmond Klein, Kirovski

CAPTAIN FRANKIE: U.S. Men’s National Team defender Frankie Hejduk will have the honor of wearing the captain’s armband for the first time in his career when he leads the team onto the field in St. Etienne. A veteran of two World Cups (’98, ’02), Hejduk has been a solid defender for the MNT the past five years, employing speed and a tireless work-rate to help cement the U.S. backline. Since Hedjuk’s debut appearance for the national team on Aug. 30, 1996 against El Salvador, he has amassed 46 career caps and five goals, including four appearances as a starter in the 2002 World Cup.

23 AVAILABLE: The Confederations Cup rules of competition allow all 23 players to be available for selection during each of the USA’s three games in Group B play. If history is any indication, a large number of players will most likely see playing time in at least one game. During group play in the ’99 Confederations Cup in Mexico, all 20 players on the roster started at least one of the team’s first three games, including both goalkeepers. Arena made wholesale changes to the roster for the USA’s 2-0 win against Germany in their final match in the group, selecting nine new players.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: Five players on the roster were a part of the team that placed third in the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup in Mexico. Along with fellow 2002 World Cup veteran Hejduk and Birmingham City forward Jovan Kirovski, Gregg Berhalter, Eddie Lewis and Earnie Stewart were all part of the side that defeated Saudi Arabia in the third-place match after beating New Zealand and Germany in the group phase. Kirovski scored the game-winning goal in the USA’s 2-1 win against New Zealand in the opening match, before the U.S. team fell to eventual champions Mexico 1-0 in the semifinal.

FIRST TIMERS: Eight players on the roster for the Confederations Cup are participating in their first FIFA sanctioned tournament with the U.S. Men’s National Team. Joe Cannon, Dan Califf, Bobby Convey, Cory Gibbs, Marcus Hahnemann, Tim Howard, Kyle Martino and Taylor Twellman were all called in by Arena and will be available for the team’s first three games in Group B play.

CONFEDERATIONS CUP FACTBOX: USA

How qualified - 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup champions
No. of appearances - 2 (1992, 1999)
Confederations Cup record: 4-3-0 (11 GF, 8 GA)
Best finish - 3rd place (1992, 1999)

TURKEY

How qualified - FIFA invitation, third-place finish in 2002 World Cup
No. of appearances - 0
Confederations Cup record: 0-0-0
Best finish - n/a

QUICK HITS:

Midfielder Chris Klein is the leading goal scorer for the U.S. MNT so far in 2003 with three goals, the first three goals of his MNT career. He is tied for the most points with Landon Donovan and Carlos Bocanegra, both of whom have two goals and two assists.

The referee for tomorrow’s match is Jorge Larrionda. He has run the center in one previous match involving the United States, having refereed the USA's 1-0 win against Costa Rica in final round World Cup qualifying on April 25, 2001 in Kansas City.

The U.S. and Turkey have met just one other time, with the teams battling to a 1-1 tie in Istanbul on Sept. 4, 1991.

Turkey has made one change to their original 23-man roster. Real Sociedad midfielder Tayfun Korkut is unavailable due to injury, and will be replaced by 19-year old Balci Serkan. National associations are permitted to replace a listed player in the event of serious injury up to 24 hours before the team’s first match.

CONFEDERATIONS CUP FACT: No European team has ever beaten a team from North and Central America in the Confederations Cup. In 1995, Mexico tied Denmark 1-1 and went on to win on penalties, and in 1999 the USA beat Germany 2-0 (with goals by Ben Olsen and Joe-Max Moore).

NOT OUR FAVORITE COLOR: Much like the Korea match in the World Cup last summer, the U.S. will likely be surrounded by a sea of red at the Stade Geoffroy Guiland tomorrow night - mostly in support of its opponents. Turkey is one of the principal sources of immigration for France, with an estimated 300,000 nationals based in Turkish communities among the Paris and Rhone-Alpes regions. While the match will not be played in Paris, the trip to St. Etienne is definitely close enough for Turkey fans to travel to the stadium in time for kick-off.

SAY WHAT?: For the first time in an official FIFA competition referees will be testing earpieces as a means of communicating with one another during the games. The head referee can talk to his assistants whenever he wants, while the assistants have to press a button to speak with him. All 27 of the referees and assistants assigned to the Confederations Cup have been training together here in France since last Sunday and the results have been optimistic.

TODAY’S QUOTES: Following are quotes from the USA’s final press conference in advance of their opening match against Turkey tomorrow night:

How important is this Confederations Cup to the U.S.?

Arena: "I think there are a lot of advantages for our team to play in the Confederations Cup. First, it gives our less experienced players the chance to play against some outstanding teams and players. Secondly, it gives our team the opportunity to prepare for the Gold Cup in July, which is our Confederation tournament. Thirdly, it gives us the opportunity to evaluate our pool of players for World Cup qualifying, which will begin in January of 2004. There are a lot of positives that can come out of it. Having said that, we all know the timing of the Confederations Cup is perhaps a little bit awkward and difficult for all the participants here, but overall I think it is a positive experience for our team."

This is the first chance for Tim Howard to test himself on a big stage. Is he ready?

Arena: "I think he his. He’s an outstanding goalkeeper. He’s still only 24-years-old with a big future ahead of him and I think we need to give him the time to mature as an international goalkeeper, but ultimately he will arrive. He’ll make a good showing for himself in this tournament.

Is it difficult being away from your club when you are with the national team at the Confederations Cup and Gold Cup?

Donovan: It’s hard to be away from your team, but that’s part of being a professional and if Bruce calls on you then you need to come in and play. It’s difficult after a World Cup to come in here and play during your MLS season because you know your team misses you, but its part of it and you have to look at bigger things like qualifying for the World Cup which starts in 2004. There’s no better opportunity than these two tournaments to show yourself. It’s a good opportunity for a lot of players.

What are the challenges Turkey will provide?

Donovan: "Turkey surprised some people in the World Cup and are a good team. I remember when I played at Leverkusen and there were a lot of Turkish players in the Bundesliga and they’re very good players. They are a great team. They come together, are proud and like to play for their country."

How will you try and handle the Turkish forwards?

Berhalter: They are good players and will have I think they are going to have opportunities. We just have to stay concentrated and limit what they try to do. I think if we play as a group and stay organized, we’ll be able to do that.

Compare your state of mind from the World Cup a year ago to now at the Confederations Cup?

Donovan: You can’t really compare playing in a World Cup to anything, except maybe playing in the Olympics. But, it’s a tournament with a lot of the best teams in the world and if you can’t get motivated for that then you shouldn’t be playing. I’m certainly ready.

Berhalter: It is different because of the coverage and the World Cup is the biggest event there is. But, it’s a similar situation where we have three games to put yourself in position to advance and I think that’s the way we’re looking at it. We have to do what it takes to get four points or more to advance to the next round. So, in that situation it’s similar. From USSoccer.com.

» 06.15.03 - Arturo Alvarez and Brian Mullan Lead Earthquakes To Third Road Victory Of 2003: SOUTHLAKE, TX (June 14, 2003) — The San Jose Earthquakes received a late goal from rookie Arturo Alvarez to defeat the Dallas Burn 2-1 Saturday night at Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Tx. With five players unavailable due to injury and Landon Donovan away with the U.S. National Team for the Confederations Cup, the short-handed Earthquakes (5-2-2) managed to rally from a 1-0 halftime deficit to earn the win on Alvarez's first MLS goal, a header in the 87th minute. At 17 years old, Alvarez becomes the youngest member of the Earthquakes to score in a game.

The win was the third road victory of the season for San Jose as they surpassed last year's road victory total of two in just their fifth game away from home.

Dallas took the lead in the 25th minute on a goal from Jason Kreis. The Burn's Oscar Pareja started the play, finding a streaking Chris Gbandi on a penetrating run into the right side of the Quakes penalty area. Gbandi touched the ball past the San Jose defense to an open Kreis six-yards in front of the Quakes goal, where he powered a shot past Pat Onstad for a 1-0 lead.

San Jose nearly tied the score five minutes later when Brian Mullan punctuated a Quakes attack with a pass to Todd Dunivant about six-yards away from the Dallas net, but Burn goalkeeper D.J. Countess blocked his attempt to score. The Quakes continued the pressure, forcing Countess to make another tough save in the 34th minute on a point-blank shot by Ian Russell from the right side after a nice combination by Mullan and Manny Lagos.

One minute later, Dunivant sent a perfect cross to Lagos in the middle of the Dallas penalty area, but his volley was sent over the goal.

The Earthquakes tied the match at 1-1 just four minutes into the second half on a brilliant volley from Mullan. Arturo Alvarez, making his first career MLS start for San Jose, sent a ball from midfield to a streaking Dunivant on the left side of the Dallas penalty area. As he headed toward the endline, Dunivant curled a left-footed cross into the middle of the area, allowing Mullan to jump and volley a low shot past a diving Countess for his third goal of the season.

Following the San Jose goal, the Burn applied pressure to the short-handed Quakes, as Onstad knocked a Kreis shot off a corner kick wide of the net in the 51st minute and then slid and knocked away a Pareja cross from Kreis two minutes later.

The Quakes survived another scary moment in the 61st minute when Kreis ran onto a long ball behind the San Jose defense. The Dallas forward gathered the ball and blasted a shot past a diving Onstad that bounced squarely off the far post.

The game picked up intensity in the games final minutes as both teams attempted to pressure the goal. The Earthquakes came away with the game-winner when Mullan held the ball at the right corner of the Burn penalty area and then launched a beautiful cross into the middle of the box. Alvarez emerged from a crowd and powered the ball home with his head past Countess for his first MLS goal and a 2-1 lead.

The Earthquakes travel to face Western Conference rival the Los Angeles Galaxy at the new Home Depot Center on Wednesday, June 18 at 7:30 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast live on HDNet and on the radio on Talk 910 KNEW.

Notes:

Earthquakes midfielder Arturo Alvarez made his first career MLS start and scored his first career MLS goal.

Alvarez is the youngest Earthquakes player to score a goal in team history.

Earthquakes defender Todd Dunivant made his ninth straight start, tying Jamie Clark for the San Jose record for most consecutive starts by a rookie.

Landon Donovan missed his first MLS game of the year. Donovan is with the U.S. National Team in France preparing for the Confederations Cup.

The Earthquakes 2003 road record of 3-1-1 is already better than last season's 2-10-2 mark.

The Earthquakes played without injured Brian Ching, Troy Dayak, Eddie Robinson, Dwayne De Rosario and Roger Levesque. Midfielder Ronnie Ekelund made just his second appearance since April ankle surgery.

Quotes:

Frank Yallop, on game: "This win was huge for us. We felt like we had to go after them and get something out of this game. Before the game, I usually write something on the board in the locker room, and today I just wrote one word: 'Win' - and that is what we did."

Frank Yallop on, game: "They had some chances and we were a bit fortunate there [in the second half], but we felt like we played well in the first half and created some chances and if we continued to play that way, the goals would come."

Frank Yallop, on Arturo Alvarez: "He is a great kid who works hard and wants to do well. He plays smart, and we saw that tonight. We had success with getting balls into the box, and he came up with just a great finish at the end of the game when we needed it."

Brian Mullan, on goal: "I saw Todd [Dunivant] moving down the wing and I know that anytime he is in that position, he is looking to cross the ball. I made a late run forward and he just sent in a great ball, I was able to knock it in. I didn't get much on it, and I wasn't sure if it had enough to get in, but luckily it did."

Arturo Alvarez, on game-winning goal and first MLS goal: "It feels good. That's really all I can say. It was a great ball from [Brian] Mullan and as I saw it coming I knew that I just had to put it in."

Pat Onstad, on game: "I think the guys were pretty down at half-time when we were down 1-0, but we knew that if we could just keep attacking them then we would be able to put the pressure on them and earn three points." From SJEarthquakes.com.

» 06.13.03 - U.S. MNT Conducts First Practice in Lyon, France: U.S. MNT Confederations Cup Notes (June 13, 2003 - Lyon, France)

TRAINING BEGINS: The U.S. MNT went through its first training session in France this morning at the Complexe Sportif Limonest, a beautiful municipal stadium located in a small town outside Lyon. Set in the hills, the city-run park serves as the match field for local amateur competetions, with the ability to hold about 500 spectators (view pictures of the facility in the "Sights and Sounds" section of ussoccer.com). Despite warm temperatures and the difficulties of travel, the team conducted a spirited 90-minutes session on an impeccable surface. Training began with a short-field scrimmage with three goals on each end, then moving to a finishing exercise. The team finished with a game of 6v6 on a shortened field with regulation-sized goals, with the goalkeeping trio of Tim Howard, Joe Cannon and Marcus Hahnemann the stars of day, turning aside numerous quality scoring chances. The team continues once-daily sessions tomorrow at 10 a.m.

VIVA LA FRANCE: Two days into their stay in Lyon, several players discussed the environment surrounding team as the opening matchday now sits just six days away. The USA's first match against Turkey on June 19 ( 7 p.m. local, 1 p.m. ET) will be broadcast via same-day delay on Galavision beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Fans can follow the match live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics.

Are you getting adjusted to the time change?

Bobby Convey: I think it will be a couple more days until everyone gets adjusted. I slept a lot yesterday and rested up, so I should be ready in a couple days. I’m just trying to get on schedule here. Even if I’m tired during the day, I might sleep for 30 minutes and try to stay up a little bit later. That way I can go to bed at a normal time, get up at a normal time and start eating at the right times.

DaMarcus Beasley: It’s [the time change] taking me a little while to get used to. I went to bed at 8:30 last night, so I was up from 1:30 to 4:30 in the morning. But I think the next couple days will be alright as long as we get out of the hotel and walk around a bit we should be fine. As for me, I’m struggling a bit, but I should be alright. I’ll probably take a nap today, so I won’t be as tired tonight and can stay up a little later and sleep until 8 or 8:30 tomorrow morning.

Chris Klein: I’m trying to get adjusted. I haven’t been over here too much, so I tried to listen to guys who have more experience flying back and forth and try and figure out ways to adapt. I got a good night sleep last night and will try to get into my normal routine as quickly as I can.

What are your first impressions of Lyon:

Chris Armas: The few times I’ve been to Europe I’ve always loved the feel you get when you are over here. The weather is nice, and the people give you a warm welcome. We walked around the town a little bit and there’s a lot of people out and about. There were a lot of kids playing soccer. We saw three different games going on yesterday in the streets. It’s a nice feel over here.

Chris Klein: I think it’s beautiful. Anytime you come to Europe the thing that strikes me the most is the history and how old everything is, which is pretty cool coming from Kansas City where everything is growing and is brand new.

How was the first day of training?

DaMarcus Beasley: The facility is very nice and the field is great. The weather was a little hotter than we thought it would be, but everything else is good. The field was good to play on because it was kind of slick and wet so the ball moved well. Everything has been pretty much first class so far.

Chris Armas: The facility is fantastic. We couldn’t ask for anything better. The great weather and beautiful field make for good training. The field was fairly soft and level and a little wet, so it was good.

Chris Klein: The field and surroundings were very nice. I think the practice was good because it was important for us to get into our normal routine as quickly as possible. We did a good job of getting the travel out of us.

CONFEDERATIONS CUP FACT OF THE DAY: This will be the sixth edition of the Confederations Cup, with the inaugural tournament being held in 1992 in Saudi Arabia. The four other tournaments were held in 1995 (Saudi Arabia), 1997 (Saudi Arabia), 1999 (Mexico) and 2001 (Korea/Japan). Each tournament has crowned a different champion, with Argentina, Denmark, Brazil, Mexico and France having collected the championship trophy. The U.S. has finished in third place both times it entered the event, in Saudi Arabia in 1992 and Mexico in '99.

WRITING DEBUT: OFF THE BALL, a chronicle of the U.S. Men's National Team and their journey in France as seen from the unique perspective of U.S. defender and SoCal native Carlos Bocanegra, can now be read at ussoccer.com. Click here to read the rest of the journal: www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=37368.

From USSoccer.com.

» 06.13.03 - EARTHQUAKES TIE CHICO ROOKS 1-1; WIN SHOOTOUT 4-2: CHICO, CA (June 11, 2003) — The San Jose Earthquakes earned a 1-1 tie in an exhibition match against the Chico Rooks of the Men’s Premier Soccer League and then won the ensuing penalty kick shootout 4-2. Brian Mullan netted the Quakes lone goal in the 59th minute, and Jon Conway made a strong diving save in the shootout to lead the Quakes to the win.

The Quakes moved into the lead behind Mullan’s goal in the 59th minute. The third-year striker out-hustled a Rooks defender for a loose ball and cut into the middle of the field before firing a low shot to the far post that beat Rooks goalkeeper Dominic Jakubek.

The Rooks came back to even the score with under 10 minutes remaining. George Medina received the ball on the right wing and moved up the field. He then sent a cross into the box that Joao Macedo ran onto and headed past Conway to even the score at one goal apiece.

In the penalty kick shootout, both teams made their first shots, before Chris Ronér shot high for the Quakes on their second attempt. Conway came up big on the Rooks second attempt, as he saved a Calum Robertson’s shot diving to his right. However, the referee whistled Conway for moving early and the kick was re-taken. Conway proved equal to the task as he saved Robertson’s shot again with a sprawling save to the lower right corner. The Quakes did not miss their remaining shots and sealed the victory when Chico’s Justin Selander sent the final shot over the crossbar.

The Earthquakes return to Major League Soccer action this Saturday, June 14 at Dragon Stadium against the Dallas Burn. The match kicks off at 6:00 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net and Talk 910 AM KNEW.

Notes:

Quakes midfielder Ian Russell played with Chico Rooks defender Joel Hurd at the University of Washington.

The match marked the first time the Earthquakes have played in Chico. However, they have faced the Rooks once before in an exhibition match in 2001 at West Valley College.

In conjunction with the Quakes visit to Chico, the Earthquakes will host Chico Day in San Jose on Sunday, August 24 at Spartan Stadium when the Quakes take on D.C. United.

The Earthquakes used a mix of six guest players and nine roster players in the match. From SJEarthquakes.com.

» 06.10.03 - Arena Discusses Confederations Cup, Gold Cup, Tim Howard during Conference Call: The following comments are from U.S. Men’s National Team manager Bruce Arena's media conference call June 10 to discuss the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, which will be played in various cities in France from June 18-29. The U.S. has been placed in a very challenging Group B with 2002 World Cup champion Brazil, third-place finisher Turkey and 2000 Olympic champion Cameroon. The U.S. will depart for France tomorrow (June 11).

In the last FIFA Confederations Cup in Mexico in 1999, the U.S. finished third in the eight-team field. The U.S. advance to the semi-finals after finishing second in the group after a 2-1 win over New Zealand and a 2-0 win over Germany sandwiched around a narrow 1-0 loss to Brazil. After losing 1-0 to Mexico, the U.S. finished with a 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia to claim the bronze medal.

The U.S. MNT is coming off yesterday’s 2-1 win over New Zealand in Richmond, Va., in which they wore retro jerseys styled after those worn in the USA’s shocking 1-0 win over England at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. The U.S. is now 5-1-1 in 2003.

After the Confederations Cup, the team returns home to face Paraguay on July 6 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The busy schedule continues with the U.S. defending its confederation title in the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which will be played in three cities from July 12-23. The U.S. will begin group play in Boston against El Salvador on July 12 and Martinique on July 14.

Bruce Arena, U.S. MNT Manager

Opening Comments: “Our 23-man team is finally complete for the first time. Hopefully we can take advantage in order to have our team properly prepared for the opening game against Turkey. We look forward to the Confederations Cup. It is a great opportunity to test our team against some of the best teams in the world. Additionally, it gives me a great opportunity to evaluate some of our players as we prepare for not only the Gold Cup in July, but also World Cup qualifying which we anticipate will start next January.”

On the timing of the tournament: “Well, first of all I think having the Confederations Cup following the World Cup the next year is difficult. The big complaint with clubs is noticably in Europe where a lot of their players were involved in World Cups and in other competitions. Many of those players have had a long year. And we have that same situation with our European players, such as Friedel and Keller and Sanneh and O’Brien, which is why they are not here. It is difficult on the players. I think the timing of the Confederations Cup isn’t great.

For the U.S. team we can look at it as good or bad as well. It's great that we have a large group of our players who are relatively fresh in our MLS players. However, it’s a major burden on MLS because MLS is not suited to have players gone for long periods of time, because their rosters are quite small and they cannot afford to lose the kind of players that they’re losing. It’s very difficult on everybody. In my opinion I would say that the timing of the Confederations Cup is not good and needs to be thought up again down the road. But hopefully we can put a good team together and have a good showing at the Confederations Cup.”

On what players in camp he is evaluating closest: “I don’t think it is any particular player as much as really the entire group. We have one veteran here in Earnie Stewart where clearly I don’t think I am going to see that much more out of, except the fact that we continue to see that he can help us even at 34 years old. We have a young goalkeeper ... it will be interesting to see. I still feel comfortable having goalkeepers prepare to play international soccer. In my mind I am still not convinced that Friedel and Keller will be around in 2006 if we will be there. They will be 36 and 35 years old. It’s important for our goalkeepers that are here. Not only if they step on the field, but just to see them in training and see how they handle themselves around the team.

If you look at our defenders, we have a number of young ones. It is important for all of them from Cherundolo to Califf to Bocanegra to Gibbs. It’s almost every player. Armas is coming off from a long layover. Chris Klein is getting his first opportunity in compeition at this level. Then we have our three younger players in Convey, Beasley and Donovan that I continue to look at. We have new forwards here, Twellman in particular. We want to look at Mathis and Kirovski. I don’t think there are a couple players that I could single out, it’s the entire group that I really need to get a handle on as we move forward.”

On how opponents view the U.S. after the World Cup: “I think as we enter the competition our opponents are well aware of the fact that we have the ability to win games at this level. I don’t think they are going to be taking us for granted. However, we are playing against three countries that have pretty impressive credentials. I don’t think they are worried about the U.S. You have a semifinalist in Turkey, the World Champion in Brazil and the African Champion in Cameroon, so we are in some pretty difficult company there.”

On a previous statement about ‘bloodying’ some of the younger players: “Well I don’t know if 'bloody' is a good word. I think whatever we’ve done with these players is good, it’s a positive. I told the team minutes ago: I don’t even know what the lineup is going to be for Turkey. So at this point I’m not sure how we are going to use our 23-man roster. They all need to be prepared to play. I told them that. It’s the same thing I told them in the World Cup. We played 19 players in the World Cup out of a 23-man roster, and two that didn’t play were goalkeepers and one was injured, so I think we’re prepared to make full use of our roster here. And whether guys get a lot of minutes or not I think it’s still a positive. An example is Kyle Martino. I think just having him with us, giving him the opportunity to witness this type of competition is going to help him develop as a player. Using the word bloody, I used it in a positive fashion. I think its going to help all these guys develop at this level as well as giving me the opportunity to clearly evaluate where every player is.”

On the risk of using this method to test many younger players against such a high level of competition: “Bloodied means giving the players experience; not killing them. It’s how to find the right balance between trying to win games and trying to give players experience, and that’s what I’ve got to get a grip of. And how I do that, I can’t tell you right now. It’s not something I’ve been working on in the lab. Like with the World Cup, you work with the instincts. I told our team we are going to put a team on the field in the first game that will hopefully put us in a position to beat Turkey. And after that game is over we will worry about Brazil. We’re going to take it one step at a time. The only difference between this and the World Cup is you don’t have that much time in between games to prepare, so all of the 23 guys have to be ready. It is highly unlikely that many players can play three games in five days. Some of these young players are going to get thrown in there whether we like it or not.”

On the Group B teams in the Confederations Cup:

On Turkey: “I have not seen their roster. That has not been announced anywhere, so we don’t know the group that they are bringing. If it has any similarities to the team we have seen in European [Championship] qualifying and the World Cup, it’s a team that’s very aggressive going forward and with good players in every position. Their outside backs will go forward. They are skillful and quick in the counter. Their goalkeeping has been outstanding. They are a good, aggressive attacking team, and I think that you saw that in the World Cup.”

On Brazil: “There are some new faces. However, I will tell you that they have some outstanding players in every position. You have Ronaldinho as an attacking player, you have Emerson in the midfield, Lucio as a defender and Dida in goal. Right there are four outstanding players in the middle of the field. It’s a very good team and it will be interesting to see them play.”

On Cameroon: “From what I saw in the World Cup is obviously a very athletic, attack-oriented team as well. They look like a team that will be fun to play against. I know they are bringing over a number of veterans from the World Cup. They are going to be obviously a very difficult team to beat in this group.”

On the team’s and his personal mindset going in to the tournament: “We are going to step on the field and think we can win every game. We are not worried about it. I think it is great that we can play in this competition against quality teams and really not have the pressure to produce results. I think it is great for our team. I don’t feel any pressure. I don’t know if you could say that I am confident, but I really look forward to the games. They are going to be interesting to see how our team responds to playing against teams of this caliber. It should be fun.”

On the grind on players based in Europe: “First I think the players that were really in a grind in Europe were the players out of Italy who had to play in the Champions League finals, and not all these players have been in Champions League playing two or three games a week for four or five months. Everybody always thinks about the grind that Real Madrid has been in, Man. U. has been in, Inter and A.C. Milan, but realistically when you look at these rosters, it’s not the case. Where it is the case, those players have been given the Confederations Cup off. An example of that would obviously be Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, etc. So I don’t think you are going to show up to the Confederations Cup with eight countries with players that are exhausted. I don’t think that’s the case. I think that has resulted in some players being left off the roster, but I think you’re going to see teams that are prepared to play and are going to give a great effort and have something to show.”

On younger players looking at this tournament as a way to grab his attention: “Well, they better. I mean that’s the way to do it. There’s competition coming from our players. We have a number of players who are not here so our guys know that there’s a lot of competition not only within the roster of 23 players but within our entire pool. So if you’re going to grab my attention, it would probably be a smart thing to have a big showing in the Confederations Cup.”

On Clint Mathis and his expected contributions: “I know he had a little bit of a tough going in MLS last year. This year he is off to a great start in MLS. He has scored five goals. I think he is pretty focused and dedicated to getting himself better. He is in better shape this year than last year. I am hopeful that Clint can get an opportunity to show what he can do. I think he has done a good job of moving forward from what I saw out of him in January when we were in camp in Florida. He has definitely put himself in a better position to be successful. I anticipate that we are going to see some good soccer out of Clint.”

On how many players he will look at for the Gold Cup: “I am certainly going to look at some other players in the Gold Cup. That is going to depend on what happens in this Confederations Cup -- how long we go, what kind of injuries we suffer -- as well as how the players are doing in MLS over this next month while we are away. I will follow their progress and hopefully most of them stay fit so that they can be considered for the Gold Cup. We do want to look at some other players.

There are some players who we would have liked to bring in for the Confederations Cup but couldn’t do that. We already know that Kasey Keller is going to be included on the Gold Cup roster. If Claudio Reyna gets fit, we will include him as well. There are going to be changes, and changes for the good to give more players opportunities to impress before we get into the serious stuff of qualifying next year.”

On the pool of defenders and thoughts on that position: “I don’t have complete answers on this. Obviously losing Eddie Pope was a big blow because we were counting on Eddie to be our veteran player back there for this Confederations Cup and that’s not happening. Additionally Tony Sanneh’s not fit, so that’s a loss. So that’s two more veteran defenders that we’re not able to go with. When we look at the group we have now we have two on the right side in Hejduk and Cherundolo. And Frankie has played in two World Cups and wants to play in a third one. He has definitely proven to me that he is a big game player and he’s a reliable guy. He’s a guy you can count on.

In the center back we’re looking at a combination of players: Dan Califf is one. Dan’s only 23. We’re looking at Califf, Bocanegra, Berhalter and Gibbs in that position as well as Vanney on the left, and you know our last game we had the opportunity to look at [Ryan] Suarez out of Dallas, C.J. Brown and Jeff Agoos. So there are a couple of players that are still pretty big and some young ones that I think need to have the opportunity. So certainly I’m going to give Califf and Bocanegra and Gibbs and Cherundolo a look in the Confederations Cup and see what they are like.”

On whether Claudio Reyna could potentially play right back for the U.S. in the future: “We think at this point he is a midfielder. Can he play at the right back? Sure he could. He is a good player. He could play anywhere, like [John] O’Brien could play as a left back. That would a nice situation where we could afford to play Claudio at right back and O’Brien at left back. If that ever happens I don’t think it could be the worst thing for us. But, my thinking right now is that we need Claudio playing in the middle of the field.”

On Landon Donovan’s current and future role with the team: “Landon’s now a player with a fair amount of experience at this level. I expect Landon to step up and emerge as one of our key players in this next four-year cycle. Landon continues to impress me. He is also a player who is versatile enough to play both in the midfield and up front. That remains to be an issue that we need to deal with inside this team to see where we need to put him to make our team the best team possible. I clearly expect Landon to step up and be a good player in this Confederations Cup, and a good player as we continue to move forward.”

On John O’Brien’s fitness: “I have not talked to him recently. Glenn Myernick has. We know that at the end of the season with Ajax he dealt with an issue with his Achilles again. Right now, he’s on holiday in Spain and we haven’t been able to talk to him. But certainly, John had a tough year because it took him probably five months to rehabilitate that Achilles injury and when he got back on the field Ajax was in the Champions League and he was playing three games a week and it beat him up pretty good. I know at the end he was exhausted and again his Achilles flared up. He needs some time off. My guess is we probably won’t see John until next year.”

On the pool of U.S. goalkeepers: “I think they get stronger every year. You can only play one goalkeeper at a time. That is what I have figured out in all my years at this. We know we’ve got two pretty good ones right now in Friedel and Keller. They are proven, the others are not. Tim Howard has great potential.

I think there are a number of other goalkeepers in MLS that are in that position as well. Adin Brown is one. Nick Rimando played our last game against Wales and did well. There are a number of players like that: (Kevin) Hartman and there’s a young one in Dallas as well. Just our domestic keepers alone are solid. This time around is the first time around that I have seen Hahnemann and Cannon. They demonstrated to be pretty good. I saw Marcus play this year for Reading; he played probably 40 matches and had a good year. He is an experienced guy; he is solid. Joe in the last week has impressed me. The first week in San Jose was difficult for him with all of the travel in a short amount of time to get ready for that game. But again, they are two good goalkeepers. It is hard for me after our first two to really place them in any kind of order.

The only thing I know at this point is that we have a pretty solid pool of goalkeepers that follow both Keller and Friedel. Tim has gotten enough experience in the last half year to demonstrate to me that he is a player who can play at this level as well.”

On the changes in American soccer since the World Cup in Korea: “I think it brought a lot more attention to this sport in this country. Coverage has been better. I think it’s been good for the MLS, who kicked off their eighth season in a good fashion. And now with the Women’s World Cup coming to the U.S. I think that’s another positive for soccer in our country. The more soccer that stays in the minds of sports fans in this country I think is beneficial to the sport. Additionally we see in our youth programs and our youth systems that we’re continuing to produce good players. That, coupled with the results in the World Cup and the continuation of the professional leagues, I think it’s been a real plus for soccer in this country. And clearly at this point in time soccer continues to grow and I would anticipate will continue to move forward. This past weekend, the opening of the Home Depot Center was a major shot in the arm for the sport in this country. So all I see is positive things happening in the sport, and I anticipate that things are only going to get better.”

On Tim Howard’s ability and room for improvement: “Experience is important. Tim is still relatively young. He is 24 years old. He maybe has 150 professional games under his belt, maybe a couple of more or less. He needs more games. If you think about it, our top two guys have played in thousands of games at this point. They have 60, 70 or 80 international caps. They have played in World Cups; they have played against some of the top teams in the world. They have a lot more experience.

However, I have said recently that Tim, at this stage of his career, is ahead of those guys because he has gotten more professional games than they had. He doesn’t have the experiences at the international level. I think he needs more games, and as he gets more games he is going to get better. He is a terrific shot-blocker. His distribution is very good. He needs to get a little better at commanding the players in front of him, but that comes with experience. I think his feet can get a little better in the goal, but he is good in that area as well. I think Tim is the full package. As he continues to move forward and if he is in the right environment he is only going to get better.”

On whether the rumored signing of Howard with Manchester United would be a good move for him: “It’s much easier for field players to mimic game conditions in training than it is for goalkeepers. The goalkeepers that don’t play have a tough time improving. If this eventual transfer to Man. U. happens and Tim never steps on the field again I don’t think that is going to help his progress. However, my guess is that the reason Man. U. is acquiring Tim is because they see the potential there. In their minds, they are going to try to get Tim on the field and move him forward. It may not happen immediately, but I think if he does make that move it’s being made to get him on the field and show what he can do.” From USSoccer.com.

» 06.10.03 - LOSING STREAK DOESN'T STIFLE QUAKES: SAN JOSE, CA (June 9, 2003) - The San Jose Earthquakes were just five minutes from sending their Saturday match against the Columbus Crew in Columbus, Ohio into overtime. With the game tied at 0-0, despite several near misses on goal from the Quakes, injury-riddled San Jose was close to pulling out some much needed points on the road when disaster struck.

A hard smash into the Earthquakes goal mouth by Brian Dunseth deflected off San Jose defender Jeff Agoos directly to Brian McBride, who put the ball home for Columbus, giving them the late 1-0 lead and a win. The loss was the Quakes first on the road this season, but it was their second straight defeat of the year. San Jose looks to reverse that recent trend on Saturday, June 14 when they take on the Dallas Burn in Dallas at 6:00 p.m. PT.

“I am disappointed for the guys because they put out such a good effort,” Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop said. “A lot of players are out and a lot are playing injured, but they gutted the game out. Maybe in the last bit of the game, the injuries showed a little.”

The Quakes continued to suffer with injuries as leading scorer Brian Ching was kept out of the lineup with a hamstring strain joining Troy Dayak (knee/hernia surgery), Eddie Robinson (hamstring strain), Dwayne De Rosario (Torn LCL) and Roger Levesque (Torn ACL) on the sidelines. Midfielders Ramiro Corrales and Richard Mulrooney played despite injuries, as did Agoos. Midfielder Ronnie Ekelund played for three minutes Saturday, marking his return from ankle surgery in April.

It was a different team than the one that had defeated the Crew 4-3 on May 17, and Columbus was able to take advantage of several players in new positions to hold on for the victory. The Quakes tough play did not go unnoticed, however.

“[The Earthquakes] are a terrific team,” Columbus head coach Greg Andrulis said. “We’re called ‘The Hardest Working Team in America’, but look at those guys. They work their rear ends off and don’t give you an inch. You’ve got to fight for everything.”

Columbus was forced to get their offense from a different source against San Jose, as Crew forward Jeff Cunningham was held without a point for the first time in eight meetings between the teams. While Cunningham didn’t score, it was McBride who was able to do the damage and break the Quakes road shutout steak at 319 minutes.

“It was a classic scrappy goal that they capitalized on,” said Earthquakes defender Todd Dunivant. “They played a low cross into the goal mouth and it deflected right to McBride. He was in the right place at the right time.”

The regular season continues to not be a good time for San Jose to visit Columbus, as the Quakes lost their seventh consecutive regular season match at Crew Stadium on Saturday.

“I that that we defended well for the majority of the game,” Dunivant said. But we did not have enough possession to create a lot of opportunities. We need to do a better job of playing our game and keeping possession.”

The Earthquakes out-shot Columbus 13-8 in the game and had several chances to score, with forward Landon Donovan testing Crew goalkeeper Jon Busch early in the game with a long-range blast. Donovan then had two more opportunities in the second half. Midway through the second half, a sliding Columbus defender ended one threat and in the closing minutes, he had a volley sail too high.

“I thought that we had a good second half and we generated enough chances to get a goal,” Earthquakes midfielder Ian Russell said. “Then we gave up a soft goal at the end, so we are disappointed. It hurts to come all the way out here and play hard and lose at the end like that.”

The game was a turning point for Russell, who was named the Earthquakes Man of the Match in just his second game back in 2003 after missing much of the preseason and early year with an Achilles injury. Russell started on the right wing, while Brian Mullan moved over to left midfield, pushing Manny Lagos into the starting forward position with Donovan.

Whether Lagos remains at forward is yet to be determined, but his attacking partner will certainly change in the coming weeks, as Donovan, who enjoyed a reprieve from U.S. National Team duty this week to stay with the injury ravaged Quakes; will join the U.S. team Monday for the FIFA Confederations Cup in France. Donovan missed his first national team game of the year on Sunday to play with the Quakes on Saturday, but he will miss the Earthquakes next four matches while in France.

A bright spot for San Jose was the continued steady play of Chris Ronér. The second-year player scored his first MLS goal in his first MLS start May 31 vs. Chicago, and he was just as impressive in his second MLS start, playing tough and physical on defense throughout the game.

“I thought that we started a little slow,” Yallop said. “But we played a lot better in the second half and we created a lot of good chances. I thought that we deserved to get something out of the match, but we did not take our chances when we had them.”

The Quakes will get their next chance on Saturday, May 14 at Dallas. The match will be aired live on Fox Sports Net and Talk 910 AM KNEW. From SJEarthquakes.com.

» 06.10.03 - U.S. Tops New Zealand 2-1 in Confederations Cup Send Off: RICHMOND, Va. (Sunday, June 8, 2003) — In their final tune-up before the prestigious 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, the U.S. Men's National Team defeated New Zealand, 2-1, today in front of 9,116 fans at the University of Richmond Stadium as part of a doubleheader with the A-League’s Richmond Kickers.

Coming off Chevrolet Man of the Match honors in the last U.S. game, a 2-0 win over Wales, Eddie Lewis provided both assists to lead the U.S. to victory. Midfielder Chris Klein scored his team-leading third goal of the year in the 20th minute after dribbling around the keeper and cutting a shot at a difficult angle into an open net. The visitors equalized minutes later in the 23rd on a goal from New Zealand leading scorer Vaughan Coveny. Forward Jovan Kirovski scored the game winner in the 65th minute, marking his second goal in his last three appearances, to earn Chevrolet Man of the Match honors.

U.S. goalkeeper Joe Cannon and defender Cory Gibbs came on as second-half substitutes to earn their first caps, while starting goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann made his first appearance for the MNT since 1994.

U.S. enjoyed control of the possession for most of the first half, creating several early opportunities. The best came in the ninth minute with a flurry of three shots, all saved by New Zealand’s Michael Utting. The U.S chance began with Klein putting Taylor Twellman through with a ball to the right side of the box. Twellman launched a hard shot at the far post, with Utting cutting down the angle with a kick save. Kirovski heads the ball on goal, but it is deflected back to his feet by a defender. His low shot from point-blank is saved, but the rebound rolls to Earnie Stewart whose low, skipping shot is again put back by Utting.

In the 20th minute, Chris Armas won a 50-50 challenge in the midfield that squirted to Lewis. Lewis’ pass found Klein racing behind the New Zealand defense. Klein pushed the ball past Utting toward the end line, and slotted a deep angle shot across the goal line and past two sliding New Zealand defenders. This was his third career goal with the U.S., all coming in 2003.

Just three minutes later, New Zealand equalized to snap the U.S.’s 331-minute shutout streak. Coveny took a pass from Ivan Vicelich at the top of the 18, and moves the ball to the right side of the box with U.S. defender Steve Cherundolo marking him tightly. Moving to his right, he held off the defender and rifled a 12-yard shot that left Hahnemann with no chance to make the save.

The U.S. continued with more chances in the half. In the 30th minute, Armas tries a centering pass to Kirovski that forced New Zealand’s Duncan Oughton to clear the ball out over his own goal. Just one minute later, a corner kick by defender Greg Vanney bounced around the box before U.S. captain Earnie Stewart left it for Gregg Berhalter at the top of the box for a shot that whistled just wide of right post.

The second half marked the debuts for Cannon (46th minute) and Gibbs (63rd minute) and more chances for the U.S. Kirovski often drifted wide right early in the half, and it paid off in the 65th minute after Lewis sent the ball wide to the forward. Kirovski attempted to send a cross far post, but it deflected of a New Zealand defender’s shoulder and sailed over Utting’s head into the far side netting.

The goal returns the momentum to the U.S., who continued to hold the ball and did not allow New Zealand a second-half shot until the 90th minute. Lewis, Twellman and Kirovski as well as second-half subs in the midfield Bobby Convey and Kyle Martino continued to spark the U.S. The U.S. had two scoring chances in the 79th minute. The first was Kirovski finding Lewis for a header in the six-yard box that was saved, and the second was Lewis serving Kirovski from the left side for a diving header that missed just to the right of the goal.

The game marked the introduction and one-time wearing of Nike retro jerseys that were styled after the jersey worn when the U.S. beat England 1-0 in a landmark upset at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. The one-of-a-kind jerseys are now available at ussoccerstore.com.

From June 18-29, the U.S. joins the champions of the six regional confederations around the world and two guest teams in the FIFA Confederations Cup in France. The U.S. will face World Cup champions Brazil, third-place finisher Turkey, and African champion Cameroon in the opening round of the tournament.

The U.S. qualified for the event by capturing the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup, a title which they will defend from July 12-23 in Boston, Miami and Mexico City. Playing at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, the Americans will face El Salvador and Martinique in Group B action.

U.S. Men’s National Team Game Report

Match-up: USA vs. New Zealand
Date: June 8, 2003
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: University of Richmond Stadium – Richmond, Virginia
Kickoff: 1 p.m. (ET)
Attendance: 9,116
Weather: 76 degrees; overcast

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 1 1 2
New Zealand 1 0 1

Scoring:
USA – Chris Klein (Eddie Lewis) 20th minute.
NZL – Vaughan Coveny (Ivan Vicevich) 23.
USA – Jovan Kirovski (Eddie Lewis) 65.

Lineups:
USA: 19-Marcus Hahnemann (1-Joe Cannon, 46); 5-Greg Vanney, 12-Carlos Bocanegra (24-Cory Gibbs, 63), 3-Gregg Berhalter, 6-Steve Cherundolo; 14-Chris Armas, 7-Eddie Lewis, 22-Chris Klein (15-Bobby Convey, 76), 8-Earnie Stewart (capt.; 13-Kyle Martino, 67); 20-Taylor Twellman (17-DaMarcus Beasley, 88), 9-Jovan Kirovski.
Subs not used: 10-Claudio Reyna

NZL: 19-Michael Utting; 2-Duncan Oughton, 4-Chris Zoricich (Capt.), 7-Ivan Vicelich, 14-Ryan Nelsen (5-Danny Hay, 75); 12-Simon Elliott (17-Raf de Gregorio, 85), 20-Gerard Davis (3-David Mulligan, 80), 21-Noah Hickey, 9-Mark Burton; 11-Chris Killen (15-Shane Smeltz, 75), 16-Vaughan Coveny.
Subs not used: 1-Jason Batty, 6-Gavin Wilkinson, 13-Chris Bouckenooghe, 22-Michael Wilson, 23-Mark Patson.

Stats Summary: USA NZL
Shots 18 6
Saves 2 6
Corner Kicks 4 1
Fouls 12 23
Offside 4 2


Misconduct Summary:
NZL – Simon Elliott (caution) 35th minute.
USA – Jovan Kirovski (caution) 37.
USA – Taylor Twellman (caution) 47.
USA – Eddie Lewis (caution) 54.
USA – Steve Cherundolo (caution) 72.
USA – Gregg Berhalter (caution) 91+.

Referee: Mr. Hi Liu (CAN)
Senior Assistant Referee: Mr. Eric Roy (CAN)
Junior Assistant Referee: Mr. Amato DeLuca (CAN)
Fourth Official: Mr. Brian Hall (USA)

Chevrolet Man of the Match: Jovan Kirovski From USSoccer.com.

» 06.06.03 - EARTHQUAKES ATTEMPT TO GET BACK ON TRACK IN COLUMBUS: SAN JOSE, CA (June 6, 2003) - Coming off their first loss of the 2003 season, the San Jose Earthquakes are attempting to stop a mini-losing streak before it starts Saturday at Columbus Crew Stadium against the Crew at 4:30 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports World as well as on the radio at Talk 910 AM KNEW.

Historically speaking, however, the Quakes are coming to the wrong place to stop losing, as Columbus has not been a kind place to visit recently for San Jose during the MLS regular season. The Quakes did clinch the 2001 MLS Cup at Crew Stadium and defeated Columbus 3-1 there in those same playoffs, but other than that, the capital of Ohio has been nothing but trouble for San Jose.

The Quakes saw their season end on the turf of Crew Stadium last year following a 2-1 loss in the playoffs, and San Jose has not won a regular season game in Columbus since July 20, 1996.

“Columbus is a tough team, a good team,” said Earthquakes defender Chris Ronér, who will probably be making his second career MLS start Saturday in place of the injured Troy Dayak and Eddie Robinson. “We know that we are going to have to come out and play tough, strong defense against them. We already saw what they can do last time we played.”

Ronér was referring to the Quakes 4-3 victory over the Crew on May 17 at Spartan Stadium, a high-scoring affair that saw both teams push the tempo and aggressively attack each other’s net.

The Quakes lineup will certainly have a different look to it from that game, with Dayak, Robinson and forward Brian Ching, who scored a goal in that game, all sidelined with injuries. San Jose will likely counter with Ian Russell, making his second consecutive start since recovering from injury, in the midfield while moving the speedy Brian Mullan to forward to replace Ching. Manny Lagos is also a possibility to play up top alongside Landon Donovan with Mullan and Russell manning the wing midfield positions. Ronér will play on defense, while goalkeeper Pat Onstad, who missed the Quakes, 4-1 loss to Chicago last weekend while with the Canadian National Team, will be back in goal against Columbus.

San Jose is heartened by the return of All-Star midfielder Richard Mulrooney to the lineup. The rock of the Quakes midfield sat out the Chicago loss with an injured hamstring and ankle, but he is expected to play Saturday. Ramiro Corrales, who left last week’s game with an injured ankle, is also anticipated to be in the starting lineup. For the first time since the first game of the year on April 12, 2002 against Colorado 2002 MLS Pepsi Best XI midfielder Ronnie Ekelund will be available to play.

The former English league player underwent surgery to repair bone spurs in his ankle following the first match of the year, and has been practicing with the team for the last week and half in anticipation of his first game action.

Along with Ekelund, Mulrooney is happy to be back on the field. “I’m looking forward to playing,” Mulrooney said. “We are banged up right now, but we know that we have a lot of guys that are going to be able to help us play well and get the result we are looking for.”

One of those guys is Donovan, who was scheduled to be in Washington, D.C. this week with the U.S. National Team, training for the FIFA Confederations Cup that takes place in France June 18-June 29. Due to the recent rash of Quakes injuries, however, Donovan stayed with his club team for this week and he will play his last game for San Jose until July this Saturday against Columbus. Donovan joins the U.S. team following the Quakes match.

“I’m happy that I will be able to stay here and help my team this week,” Donovan said after the loss to Chicago. “I know we have a lot of injuries right now, and I think that we need as much cohesiveness as possible right now.”

One hundred percent healthy or not, Columbus is a tough opponent for the Quakes to face, especially after San Jose’s recent one-goal win. The Crew’s Jeff Cunningham and Frankie Hejduk, both in training with the U.S. National Team this week, have been released to play in Saturday’s game by U.S. head coach Bruce Arena and they will both play against San Jose.

Their addition makes the Crew even more dangerous, as they team with forward Brian McBride to form a dangerous attack. On May 17, the Quakes did a solid job of limiting Cunningham and McBride’s chances in the run of play. It was on set pieces and crosses from the wing, however, where the Crew was able to find some holes in the San Jose defense.

Still holding on to their first place position in the Western Conference standings and off to the best start in team history, the Quakes are hoping to continue their road turnaround tomorrow against the Crew. A win in Columbus would give San Jose more wins than they managed on the road (2-10-2 in 2002) throughout all of last season.

“We’re going to be ready,” Ronér said. “We will have no problem bouncing back from the Chicago game, and we are going to go out there looking for the win.” From SJEarthquakes.com.

» 06.01.03 - EARTHQUAKES DROP FIRST GAME OF 2003 SEASON, FALL TO FIRE 4-1 AT SPARTAN STADIUM: SAN JOSE, CA (May 31, 2003) — The San Jose Earthquakes lost their first game of the 2003 season Saturday, falling 4-1 to the Chicago Fire at Spartan Stadium. The Quakes, (4-1-2) already depleted with six players out due to injury and one player on national team duty entering the match, were slowed even more when defender Eddie Robinson and midfielder Ramiro Corrales were forced to leave the game with injuries.

Chris Ronér, making his first MLS start for San Jose, scored the Earthquakes lone goal in the 59th minute to bring the Quakes to 2-1. However, a make-shift San Jose lineup, featuring three players with a combined 70 minutes of MLS action and several others playing out of position, was not enough to catch up to the Fire.

The Fire opened the scoring on a Beasley goal in the 28th minute. Following a Chicago corner kick, Carlos Bocanegra dished the ball to an open Beasley at the corner of the Quakes 18-yard box. Beasley dribbled towards the net and then sent a blast to the opposite corner of the goal that eluded a diving Jon Conway to give Chicago a 1-0 lead.

The injury-plagued Quakes were dealt another blow in the 37th minute when defender Eddie Robinson re-injured his right hamstring and was forced to leave the game, with Arturo Alvarez replacing him. Alvarez made his presence known quickly though, receiving a pass on the left side and moving toward the end line moments after entering the match. He sent a cross into the middle of the Fire penalty box, where Manny Lagos received it and spun on his defender before sending the ball past Thornton. The goal was disallowed, however, as the linesman ruled that the ball was out of bounds before Alvarez crossed it.

San Jose received more bad news at halftime when Ramiro Corrales, who suffered an ankle injury moments before halftime, was forced to leave the match and was replaced by Jamil Walker.

Just two minutes into the second half, the Fire extended their lead when Damani Ralph scored past Conway to give Chicago a 2-0 lead. Ante Razov sent a long ball in front of the net, where Jeff Agoos headed it to the left of the goal. However, the ball went directly to the feet of Ralph, who placed his shot into the far corner of the goal.

The Quakes cut the Chicago deficit in half in the 59th minute following a San Jose corner kick. Todd Dunivant found Landon Donovan on a short pass near the corner, and Donovan delivered the ball right back to the Quakes defender. Dunivant then fired a perfect pass into the middle of the Chicago penalty box, where a surging Ronér deflected the ball into the net for his first career MLS goal.

The goal gave the Quakes momentum, as they continued to pressure Chicago. Dunivant nearly tied the game in the 61st minute when he broke into the Fire area with only Thornton to beat. Thornton was able to deflect his shot away, leading to a corner kick that Walker nearly headed into the net at the far post.

The Fire added a third goal in the 81st minute when Evan Whitfield received a pass on the right side of the field in what appeared to be an offside position. Whitfield then hit Razov with a pass at the top of the box, and the Chicago forward finished the play by sending a shot past Conway for a 3-1 lead.

Chicago extended the lead to 4-1 on another Beasley goal in the 90th minute off a pass from Nate Jaqua.

The Earthquakes travel to face the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium on Saturday, June 7 at 4:30 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net, Fox Sports World and on the radio on Talk 910 KNEW.

Notes:

Eddie Robinson, Ian Russell and Jon Conway made their first starts of the 2003 season and saw their first action of the year.

Midfielder Chris Ronér made his first career MLS start and scored his first career MLS goal.

For the first time in six games, Quakes head coach Frank Yallop was forced to change his starting lineup.

Quakes forward Landon Donovan, who was called in to the national team for their friendly game on Sunday, June 8 against New Zealand, has been released from the national team for this week. Donovan will practice with the Quakes this week and be available to play next weekend against Columbus. He will join the rest of his national team teammates in Washington, D.C. for the team's trip to France for the Confederations Cup following the game in Columbus.

Quotes:

Frank Yallop, on game: "I am proud of the way the guys played today. We had a lot of adversity and we played hard throughout the game. I thought we had a chance when it was 2-1. The no call on the penalty on Manny (Lagos) seemed to be a turning point. However, you have to give full credit to Chicago. They played well."

Frank Yallop, on game: "I thought that we fought back well and we tried to stay in the game. I don't think that the scoreline reflects the game. We were pushing forward at the end and we left ourselves a little exposed at the back."

Chris Ronér, on first MLS goal: "It was a great ball by Todd Dunivant. I saw him cross it into the middle, and I didn't know if I would be able to get to it. I just tried to get something on it and direct it toward the goal, and it went in."

Jeff Agoos, on game: "It was a tough game. It was hard for us with the injuries and we kind of had to patch together a team today. It was a tough way to lose, but what you have to remember is that it is just our first loss. We showed that we weren't going to go down without a fight. Everyone was out there kicking and fighting and putting pressure on, and that is what you like to see. Overall with just one loss, I think we are looking good."

Jamil Walker, on MLS debut: "When I saw that Ramiro [Corrales] was down and [assistant coach] Dominic [Kinnear] told me to start warming up, I was nervous, but I just tried to get mentally prepared to get in there and help the team. I was excited to be out there, and everyone gave me a lot of support and told me that they believed in me. I just wish that I could have finished a couple of the chances that I had." From SJEarthquakes.com.