San Jose Continue Undefeated Record at Cal Poly

(credit Gopoly.com)

Although originally forecasted to be a sunny seventy degree day, the Central Coast Showcase ended up having a more, "European" feel, due to a light mist and fog that were present for the entirety of the game. The match was played on Friday, February 10th, at Alex G. Spanos Stadium. The San Jose Earthquakes took on the Colorado Rapids for the second consecutive year at Cal Poly, with 2,422 fans in attendance.

Colorado opened the scoreline in the 13th minute after Omar Cummings was played a high long ball to a streaking Castrillón. Castrillón controlled the ball out of the air, positioned himself with two touches, and easily slotted home a goal in a 1-on-1 situation with the keeper. San Jose maintained a majority of control during the first half, and capitalized off of a corner kick from Marvin Chavez. Khari Stephenson got his head onto the end of it and redirected the cross into the goal. The first half ended with both teams level at 1.


The second half  saw a lot of reserves substituted in, but not before San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski scored a powerful goal. It seemed a long time coming, and the crowd was especially happy to see Wondo score. The game ended with San Jose winning 2-1 over Colorado.

After the game I had the chance to meet up with Big West Soccer and UCSB alumni Sam Garza. Garza is especially familiar with Cal Poly's stadium, and I was interested in asking him how he felt during the game. The hostility Garza had previously felt here, has now turned into support. I asked him how it felt to be back at Spanos in front of this crowd to which he replied, "Man, it was crazy." Garza was surrounded by friends and UCSB fans after the game, who were all happy to have been able to watch him play. Garza's previous two trips to Alex G. Spanos both ended in defeat. Cal Poly won in extra time in 2010, during a game televised on FOX Soccer Channel. In 2011, Cal Poly won during the final few minutes, off of a penalty scored by Patrick Sigler. The 2011 game was filled past capacity (11,075).

The 2012 Central Coast Showcase was a great success this year. I was surprised by the number San Jose Supporters present and wearing San Jose gear. I expected the event to attract people who wanted to see two MLS teams play, but the crowd was full of fans who cared about San Jose. The event is great for the area, San Jose, and for the promotion of Major League Soccer in general. The phrase "Grow the Game" comes to mind after witnessing this event. Fans young and old got the opportunity to watch professionals firsthand and hopefully the experience translates into a greater interest in professional soccer.

Colorado and San Jose will play again today with players who didn't play or received minimal playing time. Teams will also scrimmage against Paul Holocher's Mustangs.