Earthquakes won and done at Buck Shaw

By Matthew Cucuzza

The San Jose Earthquakes defeated Toronto FC 2-0 Saturday night to close out their 2008 Major League Soccer regular season in front of a sellout crowd of 10,526.

Santa Clara alumnus Joe Cannon made two saves as goalkeeper to earn his ninth shutout of the season and Ryan Cochrane scored the game-winner as the Quakes completed their first season at Buck Shaw Stadium.

"We were determined to win tonight," Earthquakes Head Coach Frank Yallop said. "We didn't just hope to win this game. We won it and really should have scored more goals."

San Jose finished with a record of 8-13-9 and was eliminated from playoff contention after losing to Kansas City one week before.

Though Yallop prefers not to acknowledge his club as an expansion team, San Jose struggled early in its first season after rushing to place a competitive team on the field.

"We started off badly because we couldn't build the team correctly," Yallop said. "We didn't have enough time to scout and get players in that we thought would really help us."

Yallop and Earthquakes General Manager John Doyle had two months to construct a team that began MLS play in April.

Following the slow start, San Jose made strides and went on a nine-game unbeaten streak during a period in which the Quakes acquired four regular starters: Darren Huckerby, Francisco Lima, Arturo Alvarez and Scott Sealy.

Despite the midseason run, Cannon was disappointed the team could not capitalize on its chance to make the playoffs.

"We feel that we're one of the better teams, especially at home," said Cannon. "We performed well, but when the time came, we dropped the ball as far as dealing with the pressure."

San Jose played much like a playoff team in its final match, controlling most of the play and keeping Toronto FC goalkeeper Greg Sutton busy with 17 shots.

Cochrane scored the winning goal off of a corner kick from midfielder Ronnie O'Brien in the 49th minute. The goal is Cochrane's second of the season

"I was marked pretty loosely most of the game on set pieces," Cochrane said. "Both Hucks and O'Brien said they would be looking for me on set pieces tonight. It just happened to fall right to me."

Shea Salinas scored his second goal of the season on a penalty kick in stoppage time to ice the game.

"We're disappointed not to make the playoffs," Salinas said. "But we thought that winning tonight would give us momentum going into next season. It feels good to get the goal and get the win."

Prior to the game, Cannon was awarded the team's U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year award for his work in the community. Defender Jason Hernandez was named Earthquakes Defensive Player of the Year and Huckerby earned the team's Most Valuable Player honor.

Team owner Lew Wolff, who also co-owns the Oakland Athletics, has refreshed MLS soccer in San Jose after the first Earthquakes team, one of the original MLS teams, departed to become the Houston Dynamo in 2005. This was following what many fans regarded as a weak effort to keep the team in Silicon Valley by its owners, the Anschutz Entertainment Group.

In 2006, Wolff and John Fisher, another A's owner, negotiated a deal with MLS commissioner Don Garber to place a new club in San Jose if Wolff and Fisher could iron out a deal for a soccer-specific stadium in San Jose.

On July 18, 2007, Garber announced the Earthquakes would resume play beginning in the 2008 season, maintaining the logo, colors and records of the original team.

The Earthquakes will play at Buck Shaw for the next two seasons after supplying Santa Clara with the necessary funds to further upgrade the aging stadium.

Wolff and the Earthquakes are reportedly making progress on an 18,000-seat soccer-specific stadium that will be built next to San Jose International Airport.

The club hopes to move into their new home in time for the 2011 season.

Contact Matthew Cucuzza at (408) 551-1918 or at mcucuzza@scu.edu.