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Stars visit Valley Christian as
Quakes tie Wizards 4/24
In the first of five matches to be played
at Valley Christian, the San Jose Earthquakes Reserves played the Kansas
City Wizards to a 0-0 tie.
The well played defensive affair featured
established stars, aging stars, and future stars. The Wizard's starting
lineup included World Cup veteran Preki along with upcoming prospect
Jack Jewsbury. The Wizards arrived in a luxury coach bus and were
ushered to the visitors lockeroom under the VC football stadium. Head
coach, Bob Gansler led the team off the bus around 8:45 am.
The 'Quakes arrived around 9am and began
warming up. Coaches Dominic Kinnear and John Doyle's lineup included Jon
Conway, Ryan Cochrane, Ricardo Clark, Ian Russell, Alejandro Moreno, and
several other well known players.
"I'm surprised to see so many big name guys
out here, this is really fun to see them this close," fan David Favela
commented during the game.
The 100 or so fans included Earthquake and
World Cup star, Brian Ching who watched the game with his wife. MLS #1
Draft Pick Danny O'Rourke was also in attendance along with Wade
Barrett, Craig Waibel, and Eddie Robinson...all 'Quakes starting
players.
Press also attended the game from Major
League Soccer and the San Jose Mercury News. A write-up on the
game can be found
here.
Valley Christian assistant coach
John Basanese had this to say
following the game.
"Today was very special in many ways. For
one, we just had a real professional soccer matched played on our field,
with our goals, our corner flags, our benches, etc. Watching Preki warm
up on the same field as my kids was pretty special for me."
Even though these games are 'Reserve
League' matches, they do count. The league is tracking the results (here)
and is very serious about supporting it.
"For a high school soccer stadium to be
able to support a top division professional sports game, it has to be
top class. I'm very proud to be a part of such a great school, with such
great facilities to be able to pull something like this off. I think as
a program, we take it for granted sometimes," Basanese added.
It was a special day for Valley Christian,
and the game went off without a hitch. The fans got a chance to see
their heroes up close, and get autographs afterwards...and see some
great soccer.
Four more games remain, so be sure to make
it out! Here is the remaining schedule:
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5/15 vs. FC Dallas - 10 AM
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6/5 vs. DC United - 10 AM
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6/19 vs. Real Salt Lake - 10 AM
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6/26 vs. L.A. Galaxy - 10 AM
For questions, contact John Basanese at:
john@vcsoccer.com
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