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Still in it Earthquakes thrash Fusion to force third game
Updated: Monday October 15, 2001 7:33 PM
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- On the brink of elimination, The San Jose Earthquakes rebounded from a sluggish effort with a convincing victory. San Jose goalkeeper Joe Cannon got his second shutout of the playoffs and the Earthquakes scored three goals in the second half in a 4-0 victory over the Miami Fusion on Sunday night to even their MLS semifinal series. "We had an unbelievable performance tonight," San Jose head coach Frank Yallop said. "We were just on tonight. But it's going to be tough in Miami." The third and deciding game will be Wednesday night at Miami. "We can't wait for Wednesday," Fusion head coach Ray Hudson said. "We'll be ready, willing and able. We're angry, and I guarantee you we'll be ready." Landon Donovan gave San Jose the lead 15:47 into the game when he took a pass from Manny Lagos at the top of the penalty area and left-footed the ball into the right side of the net past diving Miami goalkeeper Nick Rimando. Donovan has four goals and 10 points in four playoff games.
"That was a great goal," Hudson said. "You give Donovan an inch, and he'll take everything. We had had some great chances and not been able to take advantage of them up to that point. From there, the tables seemed to drastically turn against us." The Earthquakes made it 2-0 at 56:56 when Ian Russell took a pass from Donovan and scored from just inside the penalty area. His shot from the left side curled into the right corner of the net. At 68:27, Lagos scored his third goal of the playoffs on an assist from Richard Mulrooney. Dewayne DeRosario capped the scoring with an unassisted goal at 88:17. Cannon has allowed two goals in four playoff games. The game was as physical as Miami's 1-0 victory to open the series. This time, however, the officials called the game more closely, issuing four yellow cards in the first half and one in the second. Midway through the first half, San Jose's Zak Ibsen and Miami's Diego Serna were ejected for clashing on the ground after a collision. Ibsen, who was already carrying a yellow card, was ejected for kicking out at Serna. Serna's red card was given after referee Ricardo Valenzuela consulted with the fourth official. "Serna fouled Ibsen from behind, and while on the ground, Ibsen kicked Serna and Serna kicked Ibsen," Valenzuela told the Palm Beach Post. However, no kick from Serna was evident on television replays. Fusion officials said they would appeal Serna's suspension. It was his first game back after a two-match suspension for punching Kansas City Wizards defender Nick Garcia in the quarterfinal series. In the 74th minute, Miami's Ivan McKinley was given a red card after taking down Donovan. The red cards mean none of the three will play Wednesday. "Take out the red cards and we -- the Earthquakes -- still win," Yallop said. "We were razor sharp. We were rusty in the first game after having a two-week layoff, but not tonight." SummaryScoring: SJ --Donovan (Lagos) 16
MIAMI FUSION--Nick Rimando, Ivan McKinley, Carlos Llamosa, Brian Dunseth, Jim
Rooney, Ian Bishop, Chris Henderson (Greg Simmonds 70), Ian Woan, Alex Pineda
Chacon (Tyrone Marshall 70), Diego Serna, Preki (Lazo Alavanja 58)
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES--Joe Cannon, Jeff Agoos, Zak Ibsen, Troy Dayak, Ian
Russell, Richard Mulrooney, Wade Barrett, Manny Lagos (Ramiro Corrales 70),
Ronnie Ekelund (Dario Brose 84), Landon Donovan (Dwayne DeRosario 75), Ronald
Cerritos
Referee: Ricardo Valenzuela; Assistant Referees: Scott Weyland, Chris Strickland Attendance: 16,119; Weather: Sunny, Hot, clear
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