The Columbus Crew make their 2013 home debut, taking on the current Supporters' Shield holders San Jose Earthquakes in an interconference matchup on Saturday evening at Crew Stadium. The Crew are coming off a two-game split of their season-opening West Coast road swing, falling 2-1 in Vancouver last weekend. The Quakes bounced back from an opening day loss with a 2-1 come-from-behind win at home against New York.
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REFEREE: Jorge Gonzalez. SAR (bench): Jeff Muschik; JAR (opposite): Matthew Nelson; 4th: Sorin Stoica
MLS Career: 89 games; FC/gm: 25.1; Y/gm: 3.3; R: 27; pens: 23
DISABLED LIST: SJ: Mehdi Ballouchy
SUSPENDED: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (36 meetings): Crew 18 wins (2 shootout), 61 goals | Earthquakes 13 wins (3 shootout), 53 goals | Ties 5
AT COLUMBUS (17 meetings): Crew 12 wins (2 shootout), 28 goals | Earthquakes 3 wins (0 shootout), 18 goals | Ties 2
LAST YEAR (MLS):
5/19: SJ 1, CLB 1 (Gordon 90 | Meram 47+)
- This is the only league meeting between the teams this season.
- The teams have played to a draw in each of their last two meetings, including a 1-1 result last May 19 at Buck Shaw Stadium in their only match of 2012.
- The visiting team has not won in the series since 2008, when each team won on their travels in the two meetings that year.
- Coaches record: Robert Warzycha vs. SJ: P8 W2 L2 D4 - Frank Yallop vs. CLB: P21 W7 L8 D6
COLUMBUS CREW
The Columbus Crew couldn't build upon their season-opening win in their second game on their West Coast swing, falling 2-1 to Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday afternoon at BC Place.
LAST MATCH
- Whitecaps FC were in the lead just six minutes in. Daigo Kobayashi caught Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum off his line and hit a lofted shot into the top left corner from all of 30 yards out, his first goal in MLS.
- The Crew equalized through Jairo Arrieta in the 46th minute. He sent Joe Cannon the wrong way in firing a shot into the bottom right corner after receiving a pass from Ben Speas.
- But Vancouver scored the winner just before the hour. Kenny Miller dispossessed defender Glauber after the Brazilian on the ball following a pass from Gruenebaum, and Miller proceeded to race in on goal and fire a shot past the helpless Crew goalkeeper.
- Crew head coach Robert Warzycha made one change to the team that claimed a 3-0 win against Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center. Ben Speas started in a wide midfield position in place of Eddie Gaven.
- COLUMBUS CREW (4-4-1-1): Andy Gruenebaum - Josh Williams, Chad Marshall, Glauber (Ryan Finley 89), Tyson Wahl - Dominic Oduro, Danny O'Rourke (Matias Sanchez 70), Agustin Viana (Tony Tchani 70), Ben Speas - Federico Higuain - Jairo Arrieta.
TEAM NEWS
- The Crew make their home opener after coming away from a season-opening West Coast swing with three points from two matches.
- "I think we made a few mistakes along the road that probably cost us the game. Also in the first half I think they had a couple opportunities to score but we were fortunate not to give up the goal," said Crew head coach Robert Warzycha. "The second half I thought we controlled the game; we made mistakes and then paid for it. Itís a tough place to play on the road and we're going home empty-handed."
- Eddie Gaven was the only starting player in the season opener to miss out on the Vancouver match, after suffering an ankle sprain. Gaven is facing a race to get fit for the Crew Stadium debut and he ís the only player to have started in every home opener for the club since 2006.
- "It's trying to be smart with it," Gaven said during the week. ì"I haven't done anything on it the past three or four days. It doesn't make sense on a very wet field to be running and cutting." Said Warzycha: "If he gets out there the next two days, possibly he will play [Saturday]."
- Homegrown Player Ben Speas made his full professional debut in place of Gaven in a wide midfield role, and recorded his first career assist in setting up the Crew's goal.
- "We were very happy with what we wanted him to do. He was dangerous in areas you're supposed to be dangerous. He made the passes and moved the ball," Warzycha said. Said Speas: "It's nice to get a point. I'd rather have the other kind of point [a tie] but I was happy I was able to contribute."
- Jairo Arrieta opened his goalscoring account for 2013 with the Crew's tally, after scoring nine goals in 18 league appearances in his first MLS season. He recorded an assist in the season opener at Chivas USA.
- "I'm happy that I scored again, my first goal of the season," said Arrieta. "Unfortunately it didn't help the team to win the game so I'm kind of frustrated because of that. But that's what the forwards do, they score goals so I will try to keep scoring and try to do everything to win."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
The San Jose Earthquakes once again found some late heroics for their first win of 2013, getting two late goals for a 2-1 win against the New York Red Bulls on Sunday evening at Buck Shaw Stadium.
LAST MATCH
- Once again, New York went up early. Thierry Henry's left-wing cross originally sought Tim Cahill, but after San Jose defender Jason Hernandez put a head to it, the ball floated to the back post, where an unmarked Eric Alexander cantered in and volleyed home from just inside the six-yard box.
- The Quakes, once again, had some late dramatics to call upon. In the 83rd minute, rookie Adam Jahn scored his first professional goal, getting a reaching boot to Sam Croninís whipped cross at the right-hand post.
- Then in stoppage time, Jahn won a penalty when he nodded down a San Jose corner kick into the raised left arm of New York defender Roy Miller.
- From the spot, Quakes striker Chris Wondolowski saw his first attempt was saved by diving New York goalkeeper Luis Robles, but referee Ricardo Salazar spotted Miller entering the penalty area well before the kick and gave the Quakes another opportunity. Wondolowski did not miss again, tucking a well-placed ball inside the right post for the game-winner.
- Quakes head coach Frank Yallop made no changes to the team that fell to a pair of late goals in a 2-0 defeat by Real Salt Lake at Buck Shaw Stadium.
- SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (4-4-2): Jon Busch - Ty Harden, Jason Hernandez, Victor Bernardez, Justin Morrow - Shea Salinas (Sam Garza 70), Sam Cronin, Rafael Baca (Adam Jahn 66), Ramiro Corrales - Chris Wondolowski, Mike Fucito (Cordell Cato 77).
TEAM NEWS
- It was yet another late comeback for the Earthquakes. On their way to winning the Supporters' Shield a year ago, the Quakes won or tied eight games with a goal in second-half stoppage time, by far an MLS record.
- "I wasn't sure how we would play with the guys we had out, but overall, I thought we did enough to get something out of the game," said Quakes head coach Frank Yallop. "We created a number of good chances and we moved the ball, especially in the first 60 minutes. It was a frustrating night, but there were some positives we can take out of it moving ahead to next week."
- Rookie Adam Jahn, a Supplemental Draft selection out of Stanford University, made his second consecutive substitute appearance and scored his first professional goal.
- Before I went in, our coaching staff told me, "Just get in the box, fight for balls,'"Jahn said. "So I just went back into the thick of things. And I noticed a lot of people were making good runs near post, so I just peeled around to the back. Sam Cronin played a beautiful ball and I was just there to tap it in."
- "I love Supplemental Draft picks," Chris Wondolowski said. "Jason Hernandez, Supplemental Draft pick. ... Adam Jahn. We're just full of Supplementals. Team Supplemental, weíll take that. I love it. To be fair, Adam Jahn has had a great preseason. ... I couldn't be happier for him. It was great to see him come in and add that spark."
- Last July 18 vs. FC Dallas, Wondolowski saw a goal scored from a penalty kick ruled out and ordered retaken an attempt he subsequently missed, a goal that would have given him 28 for the season, a new MLS all-time record.
- "You never expect it to happen again," Wondolowski said. "But truthfully, I really did see him out of the corner of my eye. He came up pretty close. ... Iím just so relieved to have a second one. Last year, that bit me, but this year, Iíll take it."
- Mike Fucito was able to pass a fitness test and start alongside Wondolowski in attack, but he came off in favor of Cordell Cato after 77 minutes.
- "We're set up to play, pretty much, with a target guy," Yallop said. "I think that Mike does a great job of trying to do that, but obviously his stature and the way he plays the game is a little different to the way weíve set up. We feed off crosses and different things like that. We've kind of gotten away from that, not having our big boys, but I think Adam now will have the confidence to be able to do that."
- While Yallop kept the same first XI for the New York match, he also brought on the same three substitutes, with Jahn, Cato and Sam Garza all brought on.
- "The three subs we put on made a big impact on the game. Cordell [Cato] and Sam [Garza] were dangerous with the ball and kept New York off balance, and obviously Adam [Jahn] came through with the big goal," said Yallop.
