Game Guide: SJ-HOU

San Jose Earthquakes vs. Houston Dynamo, March 17, 2012, 2 p.m. PT OPPONENT INFO Earthquakes – Houston Dynamo Connections Following the 2005 MLS season, the San Jose Earthquakes relocated to Houston as the Houston Dynamo … The Earthquakes (2001, 2003) and Dynamo (2006, 2007) each have a pair of MLS Cup championships, with only D.C. United (4) and the LA Galaxy (3) having earned more MLS titles … Seventh-year Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear compiled a regular-season record of 27-14-21 as the head coach of the Earthquakes for two seasons (2004-05), after serving as the top Quakes assistant coach for three years (2001-03) and during both MLS Cup runs, and spending the 1997 season as a player for the San Jose Clash … Dynamo assistant coach Wade Barrett played for San Jose from 1998-2002, and again in 2005, and still ranks among the club’s all-time leaders in several statistical categories, including fifth in appearances (142) … Dynamo goalkeeper coach Tim Hanley was the goalkeeper coach for the Quakes from 2002-05 … Forward Brian Ching, Houston’s all-time leading scorer with 51 goals, is No. 5 on the Earthquakes’ scoring chart, having played in San Jose from 2003-05 and tallied 25 goals in 56 appearances … San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski played for the Dynamo from 2006-09, scoring four goals in 37 games … Houston forward Cam Weaver played in nine games for the Quakes in 2009, scoring one goal and tallying two assists … Wondolowski and Weaver were traded for each other on June 9, 2009 … Weaver and San Jose midfielder Joey Gjertsen are both from Tacoma, Wash. … Houston midfielder Brad Davis played with the Quakes in 2005, scoring two goals and notching eight assists in 18 games, and with Ching, makes up the two holdovers from the squad that moved from San Jose … Davis (2000-01) and Quakes defender Tim Ward (2004) both played at Saint Louis University … Former Houston defender Eddie Robinson, who retired following the 2011 season and moved into the Dynamo front office, made 70 appearances for the Quakes from 2001-05 … Quakes midfielder Brad Ring played with Dynamo forward Will Bruin at Indiana University during the 2008 season …

Quakes midfielder Anthony Ampaipitakwong played with Houston right back Kofi Sarkodie at Akron for three seasons from 2008-10, with the duo aiding the Zips to their first national title in 2010 … Sarkodie and Quakes defender Ike Opara took part in the U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team camp in Texas from Feb. 19-29, with the back-line tandem playing the full 90 minutes of a 2-0 shutout victory for the U.S. over Mexico at FC Dallas Stadium on Feb. 29 … Opara and Sarkodie are currently among 20 players in training camp for the U23 side in Nashville, Tenn. … Quakes goalkeeper David Bingham (2008-10) and Houston forward Calen Carr (2001-05) both starred at the University of California … Quakes right back Steven Beitashour and Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall spent two seasons together at San Diego State (2005-06) … Quakes midfielder Khari Stephenson, Dynamo midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson and Dynamo defender Jermaine Taylor have all drawn caps for the Jamaica national team.

History of the Quakes – Houston Dynamo Rivalry The history of the Earthquakes-Dynamo rivalry pre-dates their first meeting on the field, as the original San Jose Earthquakes moved to Houston following the 2005 season, with MLS eventually returning to San Jose in 2008 … The Earthquakes own an even 4-4-1 all-time record against the Dynamo, including 3-1-1 at home … The first meeting between the two clubs came on May 22, 2008, when the Earthquakes edged the Dynamo, 2-1, at Buck Shaw Stadium on the strength of second-half goals by Kei Kamara and Ivan Guerrero …

On Sept. 13, 2008, the Earthquakes and Dynamo battled to the lone tie in the all-time series between the two clubs, a 1-1 draw at Buck Shaw Stadium … Later that season on Oct. 15, the Dynamo handed the Earthquakes a 2-1 defeat at Robertson Stadium … In 2009, the Earthquakes and Dynamo split the season series, with the Earthquakes winning 3-2 at Buck Shaw on March 28, and the Dynamo earning a 3-1 victory on May 23 at Robertson … With a 2-1 triumph over Houston at Robertson on Sept. 5, 2010, San Jose became the first of the two clubs to record a win on the road, as Earthquakes midfielder Khari Stephenson and former forward Geovanni each scored the first goals of their MLS careers … Houston returned the favor with a 1-0 decision at Buck Shaw on Oct. 16, 2010 … On June 4 of last year, San Jose earned a 2-0 home victory, the second-half goals coming from Steven Lenhart and Simon Dawkins … In the latest match-up, the Dynamo produced a come-from-behind 2-1 win in Houston on Sept. 17 … The match on March 17 will be the only meeting this season between the teams with the unbalanced league schedule in 2012.

Earthquakes Leaders vs. Houston Dynamo Midfielder Khari Stephenson has two goals in four matches … Forward Steven Lenhart has one goal in three matches, the game-winner in a 2-0 San Jose victory at home on June 4, 2011, in his only match-up with Houston as a Quakes player … Midfielder Simon Dawkins has one goal in two matches, clinching the 2-0 win last June … Newcomer Marvin Chavez assisted on one goal in two matches against Houston last season while with FC Dallas … Forward Chris Wondolowski has yet to register a goal or an assist in three games against his former team … Goalkeeper Jon Busch is 2-6-0 and has one shutout in eight career games … Busch is 2-2 with a clean sheet against Houston in a Quakes uniform over the past two seasons.

Houston Dynamo Leaders vs. San Jose Former Quakes forward Brian Ching has netted three goals in six games against his former team, but did not play in either meeting in 2011 … Midfielder Brad Davis has three goals and five assists in 19 games against San Jose, with all but one assist coming as a Dynamo player … Defender Andre Hainault has one goal in four games, that being the lone score in Houston’s win at Buck Shaw Stadium on Oct. 16, 2010 … New forward Macoumba Kandji compiled one goal and two assists in three meetings with the Quakes while with the New York Red Bulls … Forward Cam Weaver has not produced a goal or an assist in four games … Goalkeeper Tally Hall is 11-0, with both appearances coming a season ago.

Houston Dynamo Scouting Report Like the Quakes, the Houston Dynamo are off to a 1-0-0 start following a 1-0 season-opening triumph. The Dynamo snatched three points in the waning moments of their match against Chivas USA on March 11, with defender Andre Hainault hammering home a leftfooted effort in the 92nd minute. Teammate Adam Moffat gained credit for the assist, while fourth-year goalkeeper Tally Hall notched his first shutout of the year, making a pair of saves. The 2011 MLS Cup runners-up visit the Bay Area in the midst of a seven-game road stretch to begin the season, as the franchise awaits the official opening of its brand-new, 22,000-seat BBVA Compass Stadium in the