SAN JOSE, CA - (Wednesday, July 26, 2000) - Last night the Richmond Kickers ended their 10-game win streak (overall) with a 2-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Forward Scott Bower tallied a goal and an assist to help quiet the visiting Kickers, who out-shot San Jose by a 17-14 margin. Earthquakes' goalkeeper Jon Conway had seven saves on the day to preserve the shutout.
Forward Dwayne DeRosario made his return to the Kickers after being called up to the Canadian World Cup qualifying team two weeks ago. DeRosario was eager to play as he created several chances in the first 25 minutes of the game. In the ninth minute Dwayne was sent through on a breakaway but keeper Jon Conway cut down the angle well and made a great save. In the 23rd minute he took a hard shot from the right side of the box that Conway had to make a diving save on and in the 24th minute his header just missed wide from 8 yards out.
The Earthquakes took the lead in the 15th minute on a goal by Scott Bower. Harut Karapetyan sent in a cross from the left corner and a sprinting Bower leaped to head the ball past goalkeeper Mike McGinty. The two teams battled back and forth for the next 50 minutes. In the 63rd minute the Kickers attempted to add some offense by substituting forward Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi for defender Chris Brown, leaving only three defenders in the back. The Kickers still required the use of more firepower and in the 77th minute replaced defender Josh McKay with veteran forward Rob Ukrop. Two minutes later the Earthquakes were able to capitalize on the Kickers offensive push with a counter-attack goal from Ian Russell. In one last slew of chances DeRosario hit the left post in injury time, but it was too late as San Jose held off the Kickers onslaught for the 2-0 win.
Lineups
Kickers: GK - Mike McGinty - Defenders - Chris Brown (Kwaku 63), Chris Fox, Scott Cannon, Josh McKay (Ukrop 77) - Midfielders - Tony Williams, Kevin Knight, Marco Ferruzzi, Paul Lekics, Keith Donohue (Luzak 74) - Forwards - Dwayne DeRosario
Earthquakes: GK - Jon Conway - Defenders - Jimmy Conrad, Dan Calichman, Mike Burns, Ryan Tinsley - Midfielders - Mauricio Solis, Harut Karapetyan, Dario Brose (Mulraine 77), Wojtek Krakowiak (Russell 69) - Forwards - Khodadad Azizi, Scott Bower
Scoring Summary
Earthquakes: 15th Minute - Scott Bower (Karapetyan, Burns)
Earthquakes: 79th Minute - Ian Russell (Bower, Burns)
Kickers Earthquakes
Shots 17 14
Shots on Goal 7 6
Saves 3 7
Fouls 9 18
Offsides 4 2
Corner Kicks 3 6
Possession Percentage 48% 52%
Cautions: San Jose - Azizi (29th), Solis (41st), and Krakowiak (50th)
Ejections: none
Referees: Kevin Stott, Richard Heron, Kari Seitz, David Bragg, and Thomas Branch
Weather: Clear, warm.
Next regular season home game is this Friday, July 28th at 7:00PM against the Indiana Blast.
For more information regarding the 2000 Richmond Kickers check out our web site at www.richmondkickers.com. The Richmond Kickers are an A-League franchise and a developmental team for D.C. United, Tampa Bay Mutiny, and Dallas Burn of Major League Soccer.
