The Houston Dynamo finished their preseason trip to Northern California unbeaten after earning a 0-0 tie against the San Jose Earthquakes tonight at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.
In the second contest between the clubs this week and with a starting lineup made up of first-team players, Houston had its first opportunity to score in just the sixth minute. Richard Mulrooney delivered a free kick that Brian Ching headed just past Preston Burpo’s right post.
Ching had another opportunity to score in the 27th minute, with Burpo denying Ching’s shot with his left hand from close range. Dwayne De Rosario had a great individual play down the right side of the field in the 38th minute, but it was quickly brought to a halt by Burpo.
Houston’s best opportunity of the first half came in the 44th minute. On a corner kick from the right by Stuart Holden, Bobby Boswell put in a solid header, only to be denied yet again by a diving Burpo.
San Jose started the second half on the offensive. The Earthquakes almost scored the first goal of the game on a header by second-half substitute Jason Hernandez in the 49th minute, but Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad denied Hernandez with a quick save. The teams traded scoring chances during the remainder of the game, with neither side breaking through.
The game’s last minutes were tense and physical. Brian Ching was ejected after he received his second yellow card of the game for a hard foul on Matt Taylor.
The Dynamo will now travel to Hawaii on Sunday to participate in the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship. The Orange will face Sydney FC on Wednesday night, with kickoff set for 12:30 a.m. CT on Thursday in Houston.
Houston Dynamo vs. San Jose Earthquakes
February 16, 2008 -- Kezar Stadium, San Francisco CA
Scoring Summary:
Houston Dynamo -- Pat Onstad, Patrick Ianni, Eddie Robinson, Bobby Boswell, Stuart Holden, Richard Mulrooney, Ricardo Clark, Dwayne De ROsario, Corey Ashe (Geoff Cameron 41), Chris Wondolowski (Mike Chabala 76), Brian Ching.
San Jose Earthquakes -- Preston Burpo (Joe Cannon 46), Taylor Graham (Jason Hernandez 46), James Riley (Chris Pozniak 46, Jay Ayres 54), Nick Garcia, Eric Denton, Yuri Morales (Adam Smarte 79), Ramiro Corrales (Tim Bohnenkamp 84), Ned Grabavoy (Joe Vide 46), Shea Salinas, Fabrice Noel (Matt Taylor 61), Kei Kamara (Gavin Glinton 45).
Attendance: 4,113
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
