The San Jose Earthquakes took a step toward fortifying their back line Wednesday by agreeing to a
deal with Honduran centerback Victor Bernardez.
Bernardez, 29, has 52 caps for Honduras. He started in all of Honduras' games during this past
summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup and was also a member of the country's World Cup team in 2010.
Racine native Jesse Marsch will have five players with Wisconsin ties to choose from
Wednesday when Major League Soccer holds an expansion draft to help stock the roster for the
Montreal Impact.
New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Alex Horwath (UW), FC Dallas keeper Josh Lambo
(Middleton), Sporting Kansas City defender Scott Lorenz (UW) and the San Jose Earthquakes
duo of defender Tim Ward (Waukesha) and forward Ellis McLoughlin (Madison) are among
the players made available.
The MLS Reserve League is petering to a close. Tonight's match against the San Jose Earthquakes
doesn't mean anything in any standings (Seattle has already won the MLS Western Reserve Division),
but it does give Sigi Schmid an opportunity to see a few of his players on the deep bench. The
Seattle Sounders have 6 available outfield players who have played in 4 or fewer MLS matches.
Defender Tim Ward (Waukesha) saw his first game action of 2011 for the San Jose
Earthquakes, playing the full 90 minutes in the team's 3-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy in a
Major League Soccer Reserve League match Monday afternoon in San Jose, Calif. (Video
below)
The 24-year-old Ward, who's been sidelined all season because of a hamstring injury suffered
during the preseason, set up the first goal with a free kick that was headed in by Turkish trialist
Sercan Güvenisik in the 15th minute.
The last time the Quakes were in New York, they snatched a playoff victory from the Red Bulls,
along with advancement to the Eastern Conference Finals, with a 3-1 victory. This season both teams
are currently sitting on 5 points after 4 games. Technically the Quakes are having a better run of
form as they are undefeated in their last 3 games while New York is coming off a 1-0 loss to local
rivals Philadelphia.
