SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- Dwayne DeRosario scored in the
first half and goalkeeper Joe Cannon made it stand up as the San
Jose Earthquakes defeated the Kansas City Wizards, 2-0.
San Jose (8-2-4, 28 points) remained in first place in the
Western Division ahead of Los Angeles, which beat the MetroStars
earlier Saturday.
Kansas City (5-8-1, 16 points) played the final 35 minutes with
10 men as defender Nick Garcia picked up a red card in the 57th
minute.
DeRosario's fourth goal of the season came in the 32nd minute
and was the result of determined wing play by Manny Lagos.
Ronald Cerritos started the rush from midfield, heading the ball
wide to Lagos on the left flank. Lagos ran the ball forward,
eventually launching a cross into the box behind goalkeeper Bo
Oshoniyi. Garcia attempted to clear but DeRosario was in
position to tap it into an open net.
Cannon made a great save in the 54th minute, rushing out to deny
Roy Lassiter a clear shot on net. Matt McKeon sprung Lassiter
at the edge of the penalty area and the speedy forward drilled
one on net but Cannon slid out into the path of the shot.
Three minutes later, Garcia was ejected for hauling down
DeRosario just outside the penalty area. That hurt the Wizards,
who became susceptible to a series of attacks by the
Earthquakes.
Oshoniyi made a great save on a wide-open Ronnie Ekelund in the
84th minute. But Junior Agogo -- who came on for DeRosario in
the second half -- set up the final goal in stoppage time.
Agogo carried the ball into the box, drawing the attention of
the defense as Cerritos snuck in to the far post. Cerritos
easily finished Agogo's cross to seal the victory.