SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Earthquakes defeated D.C. United 6-1 on Sunday afternoon in Major League Soccer regular-season play at PayPal Park in front of 14,196 fans.
Today’s match commemorated Major League Soccer’s Inaugural Game on April 6, 1996. The Quakes, then known as the Clash, defeated D.C. United 1-0 on a late Eric Wynalda goal in front of 31,683 fans at Spartan Stadium in San Jose—an attendance record for a sporting event in the city at the time. Current Earthquakes Head Coach Bruce Arena was on the opposite sideline in the same role for D.C. United, while current Earthquakes midfielder Ian Harkes’ father John was a defender for the visitors.
Several former players from both teams were honored on the field at halftime: Wynalda, John Doyle, Eddie Lewis, Altimont “Freddie” Butler, Troy Dayak, Tom Liner, Dave Gold, Ramiro Corrales and Dave Salzwedel for the Clash, and Arena, Harkes, Jeff Agoos, Shawn Medved and Marco Etcheverry on hand for D.C. United. Quintessential Earthquakes and Clash cheerleader Krazy George also made his triumphant return to PayPal Park.
As for the game, the Quakes got off to a scorching start in the eighth minute when forward Cristian “Chicho” Arango headed a Cristian Espinoza corner kick off D.C. forward Christian Benteke past goalkeeper Joonhong Kim for a 1-0 lead. The hosts doubled their advantage in the 16th minute when forward Josef Martínez and midfielder Niko Tsakiris played an unconventional one-two with their heads in transition, with a streaking Martínez the final beneficiary for the clinical finish. The goal was Martínez’s 118th in MLS play, elevating him past Bradley Wright-Phillips for sixth on the league’s all-time list. San Jose wasn’t finished, and in the 20th minute, midfielder Beau Leroux was awarded a penalty kick after being fouled in the box by midfielder Matti Peltola. Quakes forward Cristian Espinoza converted from the spot in the 20th minute to make it 3-0. With his 33rd goal in Black and Blue, the Argentine captain jumped to fourth on the club’s all-time scoring list, passing Landon Donovan. Christian Benteke pulled one back for the visitors in the third minute of stoppage time in the first half after heading home a Derek Dodson cross from the right wing to make it 3-1.
The second half saw more attacks coming to fruition for the Black and Blue, as Martínez made it a brace in the 81st minute. The Venezuelan striker took in an incisive pass from forward Amahl Pellegrino and blasted it home to make it 4-1. Pellegrino added a goal of his own in the 90th minute for his first of the season, assisted by second-half substitutes Jamal Ricketts and Mark-Anthony Kaye for a 5-1 margin. Then in the second minute of stoppage time, Espinoza curled a ball from the right wing behind the D.C. back line for Martínez, who slotted the ball into the back of the net for the hat trick and final 6-1 scoreline.
The Black and Blue will now travel to Los Angeles next Saturday, April 12, to take on Los Angeles Football Club. Kickoff from BMO Stadium will take place at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (English/Spanish), as well as on local radio via KSFO 810 AM (English) and 1370 AM La Kaliente (Spanish).
GAME NOTES
The Quakes are currently 19-15-9 (72 GF, 69 GA) against D.C. United, with a 10-5-7 (41 GF, 31 GA) record at home. San Jose is now unbeaten in their last four against D.C. dating back to 2019 (2-0-2).
The Quakes scored six goals for the first time in MLS play since Sept. 19, 1999, when as the Clash, they defeated the Miami Fusion 6-1 powered by a brace from Ronald Cerritos.
Today’s match commemorated Major League Soccer’s Inaugural Game on April 6, 1996. The Quakes, formerly known as the Clash, defeated D.C. United 1-0 on an Eric Wynalda goal in front of 31,683 fans at Spartan Stadium in San Jose—an attendance record for a sporting event in the city at the time. Current Earthquakes Head Coach Bruce Arena was on the opposite sideline in the same role for D.C. United, while current Earthquakes midfielder Ian Harkes’ father John was a defender for the visitors.
Several former players from both teams were honored on the field at halftime: Wynalda, John Doyle, Eddie Lewis, Altimont “Freddie” Butler, Troy Dayak, Tom Liner, Dave Gold, Ramiro Corrales and Dave Salzwedel for the Clash, and Arena, Harkes, Jeff Agoos, Shawn Medved and Marco Etcheverry on hand for D.C. United. Quintessential Earthquakes and Clash cheerleader Krazy George also made his triumphant return to PayPal Park.
Head Coach Bruce Arena won his 265th MLS regular-season game, extending his league record. The late Sigi Schmid is second with 240 victories.
Quakes team captain Cristian Espinoza extended his consecutive games streak—the longest active run in MLS—to 116, third on the league’s all-time list.
With his 8th-minute goal, Quakes forward Cristian “Chicho” Arango scored his team-leading fourth goal this season and 57th of his career.
Assisting on Chicho Arango’s 8th-minute goal and Martínez’s 92nd-minute goal, Cristian Espinoza notched his fourth and fifth helpers of the season, and 75th and 76th of his career to extend his club record.
Cristian Espinoza also extended his league lead in key passes to 29, five more than Colorado’s Djordje Mihailovic and Seattle’s Albert Rusnák who are tied for second with 24.
With his 20th-minute penalty kick goal, Cristian Espinoza scored his first one of the season and passed Landon Donovan for fourth on the club career scoring list with 33.
With his 16th-minute, 81st-minute and 92nd-minute goals, Quakes forward Josef Martínez scored his second, third and fourth goals of the season as well as passed Bradley Wright-Phillips for sixth on the MLS career scoring list, going from 117 to 120 goals. The Venezuelan now has 12 goal contributions (11g/1a) in 15 matches vs. D.C.
Josef Martínez also became the seventh player in club history to record a hat trick. Only Chris Wondolowski has multiple three-goal games for San Jose (5).
Assisting on Josef Martínez’s 16th-minute goal, Niko Tsakiris notched his first helper of the season and second of his early MLS career.
Assisting on Josef Martínez’s 81st-minute goal, Amahl Pellegrino notched his first helper of the season and third of his MLS career.
Assisting on Amahl Pellegrino’s 90th-minute goal, Jamar Ricketts notched his first career MLS assist. Mark-Anthony Kaye also assisted on the goal, amassing his second helper of the season and 28th in his MLS career.
In addition to the big day in attack, goalkeeper Daniel’s performance in net was not to be overlooked. The Brazilian faced 17 shots (10 on goal), saving nine to keep D.C. United to one goal. Daniel now leads all MLS goalkeepers with 37 saves, four ahead of Charlotte’s Kristijan Kahlina with 33.
San Jose Earthquakes 6 – 1 D.C. United
Sunday, April 6, 2025 – PayPal Park; San Jose, Calif.
Weather: 74°F Cloudy
Attendance: 14,196
Match Officials:
Referee: Victor Rivas
AR1: Jeremy Kieso
AR2: Stephen McGonagle
VAR: David Barrie
AVAR: Matthew Rodman
4th Official: Joe Dickerson
Scoring Summary:
SJ (1-0) – Chicho Arango (Cristian Espinoza) 8’
SJ (2-0) – Josef Martínez (Niko Tsakiris) 16’
SJ (3-0) – Cristian Espinoza (penalty kick) 20’
DC (3-1) – Christian Benteke (Derek Dodson) 45+3’
SJ (4-1) – Josef Martínez (Amahl Pellegrino) 81’
SJ (5-1) – Amahl Pellegrino (Jamar Ricketts, Mark-Anthony Kaye) 90’
SJ (6-1) – Josef Martínez (Cristian Espinoza) 90+2’
Misconduct Summary:
DC – Christian Benteke (caution) 18’
SJ – Dave Romney (caution) 59’
SJ – Vítor Costa (caution) 70’
DC – Lucas Bartlett (caution) 72’
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel (GK); Dave Romney, Bruno Wilson, Rodrigues; Vítor Costa (Jamar Ricketts 76’), Ian Harkes (Mark-Anthony Kaye 69’), Beau Leroux (Oscar Verhoeven 85’), Cristian Espinoza (C), Niko Tsakiris (Amahl Pellegrino 69’); Chicho Arango (Ousseni Bouda 85’), Josef Martínez.
Substitutes not used: Earl Edwards Jr. (GK), Preston Judd, Daniel Munie, Reid Roberts.
POSS.: 45.8%; SHOTS: 20; SOG: 9; CORNERS: 3; OFFSIDES: 2; SAVES: 9; FOULS: 9; xG: 3.5
D.C. UNITED: Joonhong Kim (GK); Lucas Bartlett, Kye Rowles, Derek Dodson (Aaron Herrera 57’), David Schnegg; Matti Peltola (Randall Leal 73’), Joao Martins Peglow, Gabriel Pirani, Dominique Badji, Hosei Kijima (Rida Zouhir 46’); Christian Benteke (C).
Substitutes not used: Luis Barraza, (GK) Boris Enow, Lukas MacNaughton, Jacob Murrell, Brandon Servania, Jared Stroud.
POSS.: 54.2%; SHOTS: 17; SOG: 10; CORNERS: 4; OFFSIDES: 3; SAVES: 3; FOULS: 13; xG: 1.6
EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On facing D.C. United:
“I think the first 10 minutes of the game they had an advantage on us. I thought they came out well. They pressed us up high. Second half, they started and got a really good chance. It could have been 3-2 and then you see people get a little nervous at that point. I think the scoreline is a little unfair. They're a team that'll be fine as they move forward. As a starting point, to have the best goalscorer in the league doesn't hurt. I think they're going to find ways to win games and be very competitive.”
On the team’s dominant attack today:
“Niko [Tsakiris] did well. As he gets more experience, I think he'll get a little better at this level and play a little quicker. He's a kid with some talent. There were some good plays and good passes on his part. That's encouraging. [Amahl] Pellegrino is a goalscorer. He's got a good nose to the goal. He knows how to get good forward positions and nice to see him finishing today. He had a couple chances during the year that he hadn't put in the back of the net. It's good to see that he got a goal today. [Josef] Martínez has three goals, Chicho [Arango] goal and [Cristian] Espinoza. A good afternoon. Let's be fair. I don't think that's a fair score line today. That's not a 6-1 game. I'm going to take it. Schedule this game every 30 years and we'd be in good shape.”
On Josef Martínez’s impact on the team:
“He’s a pure 9 (striker). He has a great nose for the goal. I think some of our issues in our first six games away, Josef missed one of the games with international duty. We haven’t found him. We haven’t noticed some of the runs he’s made today. He’s getting some chances. He scored three goals. He could have had a fourth one right at the end. That’s a real positive. I’ve been around players like Josef in my career, so I have a good sense of how they’re thinking. ... I had Marco Etcheverry here this weekend, who I absolutely love and is one of the greatest players in history of this league. I talked to him about some of his counterparts in South America. I love these players. They come here and they really buy into the league. It’s really rewarding to have those kind of players on the team.”
On the growth of MLS since 1996:
“The talent and league have improved. The American players are considerably better. The facilities at some of our clubs are world-class. They’re beautiful stadiums, great training facilities and good coaches. The league is moving forward. I think the World Cup is going to be exciting for the sport in this country. It’s going to be a big boost to MLS because I think we’re going to see some real players coming to MLS for the 2027 season.”
On American players in MLS:
“I'm very much in favor of getting Americans developed. Even today, we see two young players in the midfield for us in Beau Leroux and [Niko Tsakiris]. [Jamar] Ricketts played. In the back line, we have [Dave] Romney as an American player and [Ian] Harkes as well. I think that's important that we can continue to grow the sport in our country and develop our players as well.”
EARTHQUAKES CAPTAIN CRISTIAN ESPINOZA
On the decision to take the penalty kick over forwards Josef Martinez and Chicho Arango:
“In the moment, I felt really confident to take it and I asked them if they would let me take the P.K. They were really open to let me take it.”
On the dominant scoreline at the end of the first half:
“In football, you never know what's going to happen. The game is 90 minutes. You have to be focused the entire time. We were winning 3-0. By the end of the first half, a goal put them in a good position to fight for the game again. We knew it. In the second half, we came out on the field knowing that [D.C. United] was going to push the game. We had to be ready to respond. That's what we did.”
“It's amazing. I always enjoy when I see my teammates score. Obviously, even more when I help them.”
On the team’s areas for improvement moving forward:
“We’re improving a lot in so many things. I think the compactness of the team is really important to keep all the lines together. When you move as a team, you keep the shape really tight between lines. Don't let the other team play in between you. Sometimes you need to sacrifice yourself. Run a little bit more. That's what we demand inside the field for each other.”
On Beau Leroux’s performance this season:
“He was not part of the first team last year and the previous years, but we were training together. I saw right away the quality of player that he is. He has a chance to show that every single weekend. He's doing an amazing job. He’s becoming a really important piece for this team.”
EARTHQUAKES FORWARD JOSEF MARTÍNEZ
On scoring the hat trick:
“It’s taken maybe seven games to get sharp. Today’s special, not because of the three goals, but because my son was here. That’s what was most important for me. We worked a lot this week and we pushed a lot. We deserved this game. The last two games at home, we didn’t get the result the way we wanted, but today was a special day for everyone, and we gave them what they deserved.”
On D.C. United’s approach to defend:
“We saw in the video that D.C. United was a tough team. Maybe we didn’t expect to score that early, but the second one and third one came easier because they pushed a lot and were leaving a lot of space for us. The moment we were more patient with the ball, we created more chances. Maybe today was a good example and we have to continue with that.”
On the decision for Cristian Espinoza to take the penalty kick:
“When the penalty was there to take, Chicho and myself discussed who wanted to take it. We didn’t want to fight and we saw Cristian had a chance to score, so we left it with him. We have a lot of confidence in each other. We’re not jealous of who scores. And in the end, it’s a team, so if you score, we’re happy, we’re winning, and that’s what’s important for us.”
On the league’s growth since his arrival in 2017:
“Amazing. I came here in 2017, and today, it’s another league, especially the level. The teams come here to fight and compete, bringing in important players. Every game is a battle. I’m so happy to be in this league for all this time, and I’m happy to be in San Jose.”
