San Jose's Chris Wondolowski has a knack for scoring goals against Chivas USA.
It just hasn't always helped his team win.
The reigning MLS Golden Boot winner looks to score in his fourth straight game against Chivas USA and lead the Earthquakes to a rare road victory in this series Wednesday night.
Wondolowski, San Jose's leading scorer with six goals, returned to MLS action Saturday against New York after missing the previous four league games while playing for the U.S. national team.
Wondolowski played the entire game, but he failed to score on either of his two shots as the Earthquakes (5-5-6) played to a 2-all tie.
"I was happy with his play," coach Frank Yallop told the team's official website.
Steven Lenhart, who had stepped up in Wondolowski's absence, put San Jose ahead 2-1 in the 68th minute with his fifth goal in as many games. The Earthquakes, though, gave up the equalizer in the 85th minute and are now 0-1-2 since winning four of five.
Wondolowski has tallied five goals in scoring in each of his last three games against Chivas, including his second career hat trick in a 3-0 victory Oct. 20. That has been San Jose's lone win, however, in the teams' last eight meetings (1-5-2).
San Jose, 1-3-2 in its last six matches away from home, is 0-2-2 against Chivas at The Home Depot Center since recording its lone road win in the series - 2-1 on Sept. 17, 2005.
The score was the same between these teams in San Jose on April 23, when Wondolowski opened the scoring in the 16th minute before Alejandro Moreno tied the game late in the first half and Chivas' Mariano Trujillo netted the winner in the 85th minute.
While Chivas (4-7-6) has regularly defeated the Earthquakes over the last few seasons, it hasn't been enjoying much success lately.
Chivas, which tied Chicago 1-all on Saturday, is 0-3-1 since defeating Portland 1-0 on June 4 for its lone victory in eight games (1-4-3).
"As a group, we're still putting it all together," goalkeeper Dan Kennedy said. "We're working to get where we need to be for 90 minutes and we're so close, I really feel like we are. It'll happen for us. It's about building and it's about moving forward and it's about getting better each game."
Kennedy showed some improvement against the Fire, stopping four of five shots after yielding seven goals during a three-game losing streak.
Midfielder Nick LaBrocca scored his third goal in seven games. His four goals on the season are tied for the team lead with Justin Braun, who has four scores in seven career games against San Jose.
