Earthquakes look ahead to winning season

By Matthew Cucuzza

Last Monday's magnitude 4.4 earthquake in San Jose was just an aftershock.

The San Jose Earthquakes, who have a record of 1-1, earned their first victory of the 2009 campaign as Ryan Johnson, Arturo Alvarez and Cam Weaver each scored a goal for the Earthquakes in a 3-2 win over rival Houston Dynamo Saturday night. All five of the game's goals were scored during a 14-minute stretch to end the first half.

The early-season outburst was a good sign for the second-year team, who struggled to score goals early on in the season last year. Earthquakes defender Eric Denton thinks that this year, this team can shake up the Major League Soccer standings.

"I think we have a side that can compete for the championship, and I don't think that's fooling anybody whatsoever,"'»¿ said Denton, a former Santa Clara soccer player. "I think with our roster depth, our style of play and the atmosphere we get here at Buck Shaw, with a good home field advantage, I don't think there's any reason why we shouldn't be contending towards the top of the pack this year."

The 2008 Earthquakes squad was assembled in the two months prior to the season opening, which made for a shaky start. The team was 3-9-4 before acquiring Francisco Lima, Arturo Alvarez, Scott Sealy and 2008 MLS Newcomer of the Year Darren Huckerby and hitting a nine-game winning streak that brought them back into playoff contention.

Sealy, Lima and midfielder Ronnie O'Brien have since left, but this year's team will have star player Huckerby all season, who should add stability to help San Jose avoid the tremors of last season.

Though Denton said his team was off their game on Saturday, the victory makes up for a strong effort two weekends ago against New England that ended in a 1-0 loss.

Denton believes the Earthquakes have played some of their best games against New England, despite the fact that the ball hasn't rolled their way.

"We had five clear-cut scoring chances that we should have scored on," Denton said of the March 21 loss.

San Jose dominated the sold-out home-opener against New England, but could not find the back of the net. As rain fell, newcomer Weaver struck a point-blank shot off the post, which was the Earthquakes' best chance for a goal all night.

Denton said the Earthquakes have high hopes for newcomers Weaver and Bobby Convey, who should be mainstays for head coach Frank Yallop.

The 6-foot-4 Weaver will team up with another Santa Clara alumnus, Ryan Cochrane, to give the Quakes much-needed height on corner kicks.

Convey, who appeared in all three games for the U.S. in the 2006 World Cup, will patrol the wing for San Jose and will replace O'Brien, who controlled the Quakes's attack last season with Huckerby.

"Having Bobby with his attacking mobility and ball skills, it's been working out really well so far," said Denton.

Denton said Yallop moved Alvarez to the right side, where O'Brien played, and instituted a new style of play, which adds more diversity to the Earthquakes' attack.

"We're so much more dynamic, more versatile as a team," said Denton. "We have a lot more depth this year, and the guys are then able to pick up the slack."

While team owner Lew Wolff's plans for a new Oakland Athletics stadium have hit several obstacles, his plans for a new Quakes stadium seem to be moving along. There is still no time frame for the start of construction of the 15,000-seat stadium, but plans have been scaled back to reduce costs in the slumping economy.

Luxury boxes and seats have been removed from the stadium plan, which reportedly now holds a construction cost of around $100 million. The former Food Machinery Corporation lot across Coleman Avenue from Mineta San Jose International Airport is still slated to house the stadium.

Until then, Buck Shaw will have to do, but Denton said that's not so bad.

'»¿"The field they put in is immaculate," said Denton of Buck Shaw. "It's kind of like a shrine. We love playing here."

Hopefully, the older stadium can withstand the shaking.

Contact Matthew Cucuzza at (408) 554-1918 or mcucuzza@scu.edu.