Dynamo vs. Earthquakes Game Notes

San Jose Earthquakes vs. Houston Dynamo, Sept. 17, 2011 5:30 p.m. PT The Sept. 10 match against the Chicago Fire saw the fourth consecutive sellout at Buck Shaw Stadium with 10,525 fans in attendance.

The current sellout streak is the longest in franchise history. Two home games remain for the Earthquakes in regular season play, on Oct. 1 against Sporting Kansas City and on Oct. 22 against FC Dallas.

Busch Auctions Gear for Navy SEAL Foundation Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch honored all United States servicemen and women by wearing commemorative gloves and cleats during the match on Sept. 10 against the Chicago Fire. At the game, fans participated in a silent auction and winner Stephanie Hawk took home the game-worn gloves for $500 and cleats for $1,000. Busch’s jersey, gloves and cleats from the second half are available in separate auctions on eBay and can be found by visiting www.sjearthquakes.com/buschgear. Proceeds from the auctions will go to benefit the Navy SEAL Foundation.

Hernandez Earns Humanitarian Award for September As part of Childhood Cancer Awareness month, MLS W.O.R.K.S. awarded Earthquakes defender Jason Hernandez as well as New York’s Mehdi Ballouchy, Chivas USA’s Michael Lahoud and Chicago’s Logan Pause the Humanitarian of the Month for September.

Hernandez visited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital along with the other players as MLS Ambassadors to the Goals for St. Jude program, which is part of the league’s “Soccer Kicks Cancer” initiative. The visit and their support in the fight against cancer earned the players recognition as Humanitarians of the Month. Hernandez and Pause met with the young patient, Stephanie, before the kickoff on Sept. 10 when the Earthquakes hosted the Chicago Fire at Buck Shaw Stadium.

Hernandez Moves Up All-Time Starts List Hernandez moved to within five starts of No. 8 on the Earthquakes’ all-time starts list on Sept. 10 with his 61 minutes played against the Chicago Fire. The defender has started 95 games since joining San Jose at the outset of the 2008 campaign. Next on the list is Eddie Lewis who started 100 games during his Quakes career from 1996-1999.

Beitashour Leads Team in Assists With his assist on Alan Gordon’s goal against Portland on Aug. 6, Steven Beitashour moved into sole possession for the team lead in assists with four. The last right back to lead the team in assists was Chris Leitch, who tallied seven in 2009.

Dawkins Ranks No. 21 in MLSsoccer.com’s 24 Under 24 List Earthquakes midfielder/forward Simon Dawkins was named the 21st-best player in MLS under the age of 24 according to MLSsoccer.com’s annual 24 Under 24 list. Dawkins has four goals and one assist in 19 games played this season. He joined the club on loan from Tottenham Hotspur on March 16, 2011. The 24 Under 24 list is decided by a panel of experts that includes former MLS players and respected soccer writers from around the U.S. Quakes Resume Road Stretch The Earthquakes are in the midst of a road-heavy stretch. Five of the Quakes’ final 7 games will be on the road, including trips to face Houston Dynamo, Portland Timbers, Colorado Rapids, New England Revolution and Seattle Sounders FC. Busch the Shot Stopper Twenty-seven games into the season, Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch is No. 3 in the league in saves with 94. Next on the list is Toronto FC’s Stefan Frei with 100 saves in 27 matches. New England Revolution keeper Matt Reis leads the pack with 106 saves in 24 matches.

Wondolowski Plays in 100th Career Game Chris Wondolowski played in his 100th Career MLS game on Aug. 6 against the Portland Timbers. The striker started and played a full 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw. In his career Wondolowski has won two MLS Cups (both with Houston Dynamo), won the MLS Budweiser Golden Boot in 2010 and he was selected to the MLS All-Star First XI this season. Wondolowski has netted 33 goals and notched six assists in his MLS career.

Corrales Hits 200 Veteran defender Ramiro Corrales played his 200th career game for the Earthquakes on July 2 against the New York Red Bulls. He made his first appearance on April 28, 1996 against the LA Galaxy.

Busch Among MLS Career Leaders for Shutouts and Saves Jon Busch picked up his 60th career clean sheet on Sept. 10 in a 2-0 win against the Chicago Fire at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Earthquakes’ starting goalkeeper is eighth among MLS all-time leaders. He has recorded 14 shutouts in two seasons with San Jose, 21 during three seasons (2007-09) with the Chicago Fire and 25 in five seasons (2002-06) with the Columbus Crew. Next on the list is former MLS standout Tony Meola with 62. Busch is also No. 8 all-time in saves in MLS history with 782 in his career.

Scoring First Under Yallop During Frank Yallop's tenure with San Jose, the Earthquakes are one of the best teams in the league when scoring the first goal. The team went 36-2-1 from 2001-03 when scoring the first goal of the game. The Quakes only gave up leads two times in 2002, losing 2-1 to Los Angeles on July 4 and falling 2-1 to Kansas City on July 27. Yallop's team was 8-1-3 in 2008 when scoring first, 6-1-5 in 2009, 12-02 in 2010 and so far is 4-2-3 in 2011 when netting the first goal.