Union, Earthquakes play to scoreless draw

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Despite playing without two of their defensive stalwarts, the Union registered only their second shutout since the beginning of May in a scoreless draw with the San Jose Earthquakes at Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday.

Although there weren't any goals scored in the game, there was plenty of drama off the field, as Peter Nowak made a number of changes to what had been a fairly consistent starting lineup in recent weeks.

One move was expected: Gabriel Farfan started at left back after Jordan Harvey was traded to Vancouver for allocation money on Thursday.

The other changes were more surprising. Three regular starters - center back Carlos Valdes, central midfielder Veljko Paunovic, and forward Carlos Ruiz - did not travel west.

Paunovic was nursing a strained left hip. A spokeswoman for the Union (7-4-7) said that Valdes was sick and Ruiz was given the weekend off to rest.

Valdes - who had played every minute of the season prior to Saturday - was replaced by defensive midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi. Sebastien Le Toux took Ruiz's place on the forward line, and Kyle Nakazawa and Keon Daniel took the midfield places vacated by Paunovic and Le Toux.

San Jose (5-6-7) was also without two of its most important players. Defender and Philadelphia native Bobby Convey sat out due to a left knee bruise, and forward Steven Lenhart was suspended due to accumulated yellow cards.

The Union struggled to keep possession of the ball early in game, but did a better job of it as the first half progressed.

In the 31st minute, Keon Daniel sprung Danny Mwanga with a through ball, leaving Mwanga one-on-one with Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch. Mwanga managed to keep the ball away from Busch, but Earthquakes defender Bobby Burling raced back and was in position to block the shot.

San Jose came close to scoring in the 48th minute. Chris Wondolowski drew Faryd Mondragon away from goal and played a pass to Ryan Johnson, but Johnson's chipped shot bounced off the crossbar.

The Union's best chance to score in the second half came in the 85th minute. A free kick by Kyle Nakazawa from just outside the 18-yard box took a deflection and spun around Busch, but the ball hit the far post and stayed out of the net.