San Fernando Valley Quakes 2006 season (R)

Just got back from attending the first ever game played by the San Fernando Valley Quakes - and was very, very impressed.

Final score was:
SAN FERNANDO VALLEY QUAKES 1-1 LOS ANGELES STORM

Around 700 people came to watch the game in the neat and tidy stadium, the John Elway Stadium in Granada Hills (a suburb of LA in the Valley) - which, for Quakes games, is re-named the Re/Max Epicenter.

Quakes (in red and black) started stronger than the Storm (in all-white), but both teams seemed pretty nervous at times, it being the first ever PDL match for both teams! Quakes' defensive line looked pretty solid, and I was especially impressed with both their centre-backs, who had a good command of what they were doing, and kept their leftback and rightback in check. VERY good drilling, and good communication. I was also impressed with central midfielder Mat Davis, who was playing the dual role of playmaker AND holding man - he made some exquisite passes out to the wings, but had the sense to calm things down when the midfield got crowded. Not many chances, though, and the first half ended 0-0

Half time had some nice performances by the Shockwave cheerleader squad, and an amusing kickabout featuring the Quakes mascot, the LA Galaxy mascot, AND the Chivas mascot, who had turned up to cheer on the new franchises.

Second half started great for the Quakes - 2 minutes after the restart a cross from the right was deflected into his own net by a Storm defender - 1-0 Quakes. Things got tight again pretty quickly, though, and the midfield battle resumed. For long periods, the Storm actually looked like the better team. Storm's pressure resulted in the Quakes getting a little ragged in their ball control, giving possession away too easily, passing to no-one, generally not looking as solid as they had in the first half. The Storm hit the bar, blazed one over the top, forced Quakes keeper Kevin Guppy to make a couple of great saves, and only just missed a great 30-yard free kick, but nothing was going in despite their pressure.

The Quakes should have sealed it 15 mins from time when a quick counter-attack left midfielder Mike Zaher running at the Storm keeper from the half way line, but he ran out of steam before he could get close enough to have a shot on goal, and the recovering defense forced him to send his effort wide.

It looked like the Quakes were just going to hold on for the win until, two minutes from time, the defence bungled a simple clearence and let Storm striker Daniel Ardon equalize from close range.

I suppose 1-1 was a pretty fair result, but if coach Khosrashahin can get his players working together I think it all looks pretty promising. Next game is next Saturday, at home to the Orange County Blue Star.

Come and take a look at the brand new SFV Quakes fans message board at http://sfvquakes.proboards67.com/index.cgi.

Go Quakes!

thanks for you the update on the game. do you know what the line up was for the quakes? did oscar sims play?

The line-up was (and I'm doing this from memory, so I could be mistaken):

GK - Kevin Guppy
D - Matt Tracy, Derek Hanks, Brian Phillips, Sean Franklin
M - Mike Zaher, Mat Davis, Greg Folk, Jason Leopoldo
F - Kamani Hill, Oscar Sims

Maxwell Griffin came on as a sub in the second half.

I play on the team and this was the line up

Right Back-Matt Tracy
Center Back- Brian Phillips
Center Back- Derek Hanks
Left Back- Sean Franklin
GK- Kevin Guppy
Left Mid- Mike Zaher
Right Mid- Oscar Sims
Center Mid- Greg Folk
Center Mid- Matt Davis
Center Mid- Jason Leopoldo
Forward- Kamani Hill

Max and Tommy came in as subs in the 2nd half

That was a great report on the match. I'm looking forward to the Seals vs. SFV Quakes match!!!

So - is anyone going to the Quakes vs Orange County Blue Star game tomorrow? 7:05pm, Granada Hills High School Stadium in the San Fernando Valley. I'll be there!

Just me, then, I guess. Match report coming later...

Result and match analysis from the SFV Quakes second game of the season.

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY QUAKES 3-4 ORANGE COUNTY BLUE STAR

And it all started so well...

This was always going to be a tough test for us, especially with OCBS being the reigning conference champions, and the team with the best record NATIONALLY in 2005. A real test for the guys in red, but it was oh-so-close to being a dream debut against an established team.

Coach Khosroshahin made a couple of changes to last week's starting eleven, bringing in midfielder Eric Avila, striker Ryan Shaw, and promoting Max Griffin from the sub's bench, in place of Kamani Hill, Oscar Sims and Mike Zaher. Right from the word go, we were the better team. OCBS (in blue and black) seemed quite overwhelmed at times: the Quakes attacked in waves, breaking down both wings, bolstered by solid and hard-tackling midfield play. We got our first goal after 11 minutes, Ryan Shaw capitalising on some poor OCBS passing and catching the defence flat-footed - he ran flat-out from the half way line and slotted the ball to the keeper's left - 1-0 Quakes.

It got even better 10 minutes later: a Quakes corner from the right the ball fell nicely to Matt Davis, who sent a cushioned header to the feet of Max Griffin, who rammed the ball home from 5 yards. 2-0 Quakes, and we were cruising. The first half really seemed effortless. The passing was crisp and neat; the build-up play was patient; the central defensive pairing of Hanks and Phillips looked completely in control and at ease; and Jason Leopoldo was running the OCBS defence ragged with his pace and ball control. In fact, the only real threat to the Quakes was coming from Orange County's burly #23 Tyler Theslof, but even his chances were quickly being snuffed out by the attentions of SFV defender Matt Tracy. We finished the first half 2-0 up.

Second half, and we could have increased our lead almost immediately, with Shaw breaking away from the OCBS again, only to have his shot saved by Blue Star keeper Nate Pena. We got our third goal in the 53rd minute - ANOTHER own goal - which this time saw the OCBS defender putting through his own net trying to cut out a low Jason Leopoldo cross from the left. 3-0 Quakes - we were totally in control. Leopoldo should have scored a fourth when he broke away and tried to chip the keeper, but he got his fingertips to the ball and pushed it over the bar.

3-0 ahead and looking totally solid, coach Khosroshahin started to make some changes - over the course of the next 20 minutes Adam Sloutscher came on for Matt Tracy (who had been booked in the first half), Kamani Hill came on for Eric Avila, Oscar Sims replaced Greg Folk, Mike Zaher replaced goalscorer Shaw, and Cory Elliott came on for Brian Phillips. And, lo and behold, this is where the problems started.

The defensive core trio of goalkeeper Guppy and centre-backs Hanks and Phillips, who were completely on the same wavelength, and which had looked SO solid all game, suddenly went to sleep. It's almost as though, with the change of Elliott for Phillips, the defence stopped talking to each other, and they couldn't read where the passes were coming from. The defensive lines got torn to tatters, and just like last week against the LA Storm, it was almost as though the Quakes players suddenly forgot how to play simple football when defending a lead.

When OCBS's Tyler Theslof pulled one back in the 81st minute, it looked like it might be a consolation goal from them. Instead, it initiated a complete and utter 9-minute collapse of the Quakes defence, which resulted in the visitors scoring three more goals in quick succession: a deflected shot from Brian Irwin made it 3-2, Jason Boyce jumped on a defensive mix-up between the Guppy and Elliott to make it 3-3, and then - in STOPPAGE TIME - Michael Farfan popped up to slot a the winner past a stunned Quakes keeper to give the OC a completely stupefying 4-3 victory.

I've never seen a collapse like it. After playing 80 minutes of absolutely superb, patient passing football, with creativity and flair and blistering counter-attacks, the Quakes completely and utterly caved in in the last 10. It was quite painful to watch, actually, and really the only reason I can think of as to why it happened was the change in the defensive system and the Phillips/Elliott swap was to blame. A real shame, because we were on course for a comfortable win until then, and we were making one of the best PDL teams in the country look very, very ordinary. Let's just hope that these "10 minute naps" don't become a regular feature of Quakes games in weeks to come...

The next matches are away at California Gold in Modesto on Friday night, followed by our first trip to San Francisco on Sunday.

Don't forget to check out the Official SFV Quakes online discussion forum at http://sfvquakes.proboards67.com/index.cgi.

Quakes Starting Line-Up: Kevin Guppy, Derek Hanks, Brian Phillips (sub. Cory Elliott), Shaun Franklin, Matt Tracy (sub. Adam Sloutscher), Matt Davis, Eric Avila (sub. Kamani Hill), Jason Leopoldo, Greg Folk (sub. Oscar Sims), Ryan Shaw (sub. Mike Zaher), Maxwell Griffin.

Attendance: approx. 450

Go Quakes!

One thing I also have to add is that the referee was AWFUL. He continually gave fouls to the wrong team - BOTH teams suffered from this - and missed some pretty obvious calls in the second half which affected the Quakes quite badly. He also bungled several offside calls (which were clearly on-side)... not good.

worst soccer experience of my life...

Thanks for the report, Sheff. Sorry to hear about the final result. I planned on going, but ended up not being able to make my first SFV game. What is the atmosphere like there?

It's OK. A lot of the crowd is soccer moms and their kids, and there are also quite a few of the players families and relatives there. I don't think there are many there who simply go for the love of the game and who want to watch the sport (like me), who don't have a vested interest in the team and/or one of the players. Not that that's a BAD thing really... just not what I'm used to, coming from a UK soccer-watching environment.

The "official" attendance for the first game against LA Storm was 400, but I think that was on the low side - it seemed to me to be closer to 700. Saturday's game against Orange County drew around 450.

To be honest there's not a whole lot of crowd participation in the game - very little shouting/singing/cheering/chanting/swearing at the referee (except when goals are scored or the ref makes a bad decision) which is something I'm actively trying to change - seemingly single-handedly - by shouting non-stop through the game, giving encouragement to the team! However, I do feel at times that I have to be a little more verbally "reserved" than I would at other games because a great deal of the crowd around me is made up of 11 year-old girls!

They have a cheerleader squad, and a mascot, who performs his antics throughout the game, but for some reason they do cheerleader games and dance routines DURING the match, which I totally disagree with, not only because it takes the focus off the match (surely the whole point of going in the first place?) but also because I bet it is very distracting for the players. I'm going to officially request they stop doing that.

I think it will get better as time goes on. It's only their second ever game, so there's really not been enough time to develop proper fan support. I'm setting up an official Supporters Club with the backing of the Quakes management, and hopefully that will develop over time too.

I agree SheffWedFan, but unfortunately many of the people there will not remember what the score was. Even though it was a high scoring game and we basically blew it! They are there for the whole experience and if it's a good one, then hopefuly they will be back!
Our next home game should be a good one. I expect our attendance to be pretty good(+/- 1000).

I hope you make the road trip. I would love to have a match analysis. I hope to be at the Gauchos match on Friday, May 26th.

Its a totally different experience at a Seals match. We don't have as big of a crowd, but with the Barmy Army the crowd is VERY vocal.

Sadly, I don't think either of this weekend's games are on for me - and it's purely a money thing. Ah, well, c'est la vie.

I'll likely be at the Gauchos away game, and I'll DEFINITELY make the away games at LA Storm, the Seahorses, and Orange County. Bakersfield and Fresno... not sure. I'd certainly like to.

I'm not missing a home game, though.

I wish we had that at the Quakes. I think it's a little different for you guys because, on many ways, you're the reincarnation of the old A-league team from a few years ago, with the existing fan base already there excited at the chance of picking up the reigns.

The SFV Quakes are absolutely unrelated to the old San Fernando Valley PDL teams from the late 1990s, so for us it's a case of trying to tap into a completely new market, starting from scratch, trying to raise awareness of the existence of the team. We'll get there - hopefully!

SheffWedFan any news on tonights game vs. the Cal Gold? We should be able to win this game! I expect a 3-1 game.

WE WON!!!!

First ever victory for the Quakes, 2-1 away at California Gold in Modesto, with goals from Derek Hanks and Maxwell Griffin. I wasn't able to get to the game, unfortunately, but my "official hotline" to the team just called to give me the result. FANTASTIC! That takes us up above San Diego into 7th in the divisional table, 2 points off the leaders.

This also really helps our US Open Cup chances too - with this win we move up to either 5th or 6th in the Conference table (depending on the result of the BYU/Cascade Surge game), 2 points off the top 2 with one qualifying game left!

If we beat San Francisco on Sunday, and with neither Orange County or Southern California playing this weekend, we could be top of the table on Monday morning!

Go Quakes!

Interesting set of results last night. LA Storm beat Bakersfield 1-0, and San Diego beat CalGold 3-1. That means if we beat San Francisco tonight we go second in the table.

Also interesting for our US Open Cup chances - Abbotsford beat Ogden and Yakima and Tacoma drew 1-1, meaning that (again) if we beat San Francisco, we go second, into a qualifying spot! Then we have to hope that other results go our way - Fresno beat the Seahorses on May 27, that Ogden beat Cascade Surge today, and that the Storm beat the Blue Star on May 26.

Go Quakes!

I hope we were able to beat the seals today! Espcially the way the Galaxy is playing! Any news? We need that open cup spot.

In other news today.....The Galaxy beat the Seahorses today 3-2. Seahorses were winning at half 2-0. The Galaxy barely pulled it out in front of 855 people. I believe we could do better that when we play them!

GO QUAKES!!!!

We lost 2-1! 1-1 on the road trip, that's not bad but we needed the win!

Here's the info:

Seals Improve to 3-1 with Win Over SFV Quakes in Livermore
May 21, 2006 - --
It was wet, the Mexican Bus had problems, but the City of Livermore, the Livermore Youth Soccer League, the San Francisco Seals, and over two hundred fans had a winning time on Troy Dayak Day at Livermore High School, as the Seals defeated the San Fernando Valley Quakes 2-1.

The Seals had what they thought was their first goal called back when a foul just outside of the box was called. They kept up the pressure and were rewarded with two penalty kicks, one in each half. John Colan knocked in the first PK, and Jovan Milojevich put the second one in the back of the net.

Jason Leopolodo scored the lone goal for the San Fernando Valley Quakes.

The win was an important one for the Seals, as this was their third Open Cup qualifying match. Their record now is 2-1 for the O. C., and they go to 3-1 in league.

The Seals next match is an away game in Bakersfield against the Brigade on Saturday, May 27th at 5:00. That game is the final Open Cup qualifying match, and will be important for both teams, as the Brigade lost their match against the LA Storm yesterday putting them in the same qualifying position as the Seals.

On Memorial Day, Monday May 29th, the Seals will open their play in San Francisco at Negoesco Stadium at USF. Game time is at 2:00pm. The final five home matches will be held at USF.

Just want to say that I was at the game (as a Seals fan) but you're team showed fight and spirit after being down 0-2. I thought that they were closer to tying the game than the Seals were to scoring a third goal. It rained most of the match, so I don't know how that influenced (players from both teams were slipping on the turf.)

As a sidenote, I hear that you guys play in a nice facility. Congrats as not all teams have that luxury. We won't play our first "true" home game until next week when we play at USF.

Sounds like it was a decent game - shame I couldn't be there. I was reading up on Troy Dayak - his story is quite astonishing, so I'm really pleased that the Quakes were able to take part in the event celebrating his career. Excellent stuff.

What were the Seals penalties given for? Handballs? Fouls? It's quite unusual for us to be the only team to score from open play, and yet STILL lose the game. That pretty much ends our US Open Cup challenge for 2006, and keeps us 8th of nine in the league... come on, boys, we need to pick up!

How did the new guys do? Frimpong and Byrne?

First ever post so please bear with me. I saw the game on Sunday - wish it would have been at USF because Negoesco looks like a cool place to watch a game (not to offend Livermore because they did a great job with the Troy Dayak day and all).

As for the game, where do I begin. Quakes scored what looked to be the first goal just a few minutes in, but was called off due to a phantom offside call. The forward #19 MG had to work his way around the defender to even get to the ball so I don't know how he was called offside. Later, the Seals scored what looked to be their first goal on a nice cross and two headers but instead the referee called a foul that must have occurred before the cross, giving the ball to the Seals but no goal. Quake defense may have eased up on hearing the whistle, but a nice play nonetheless. Seal fans not too happy about that one. Do you see the trend? Overall, another badly officiated game. This was the same crew that worked the Friday game vs. Calif. Gold where I hear a bad call was made resulting in a Gold pk score.

In this match, the first seal pk was given when the Quake left back decided to try to chest the ball down to his feet in the area rather than clear it out with his head. Not a bad decision since there were no Seal players on him, but he was called for the ball hitting his shoulder before settling it down. It took the referee a good 3 seconds or more to blow the whistle after the nearby Seal players raised their arms and voices to complain. Besides the delayed call, this "shouldering" move had happened at least 2-3 times by SF players earlier in the half (although in the middle of the field) but no call was made. 1-0 Seals. The second pk happened after the Quakes got caught upfield and suddenly the Seals had a 2 on none break. I think a pass was made by one player to another but a little behind him. A couple Quake players had caught up while the SF player was gathering the ball, and one of them knocked the Seal player over at about the penalty spot. I can't complain about that call but now 2-0 Seals.

After losing the momentum they had early in the game, the Quakes weren't generating much offense into the second half. A substitution was made to get something going and it worked. Jason Leopoldo was brought in and the energy level picked up. Eric Frimpong broke loose for a shot and blasted one in to make it 2-1 with plenty of time for a comeback (as we found out the hard way against OC BlueStar). Frimpong again found space at the top of the area with about 8 min. left but this time his shot went just over the crossbar. The Seals hung on for the 2-1 win.

At this point, the Quakes can't seem to catch any breaks. With the hopes of a US Open Cup gone and the roster settling in, I still think they can turn things around and string some wins together and get to the top of the standings (table in the UK). With the speed and skill of the players they have, I hope to see the fast attacking style that was talked about before the season started (and staying away from penalties in the box).

Hope to see Quake fans make the trip down to San Diego this Friday. Let's turn this thing around.

I'm pretty sure the San Diego game is postponed. I spoke to Matt Davis after the Modesto game and he told me that something had happened, San Diego couldn't fulfill the fixture, and they were going to reschedule it for later in the summer.

Have you heard that it's still on?