San Jose Earthquakes' Cristian Espinoza (10) celebrates after scoring a goal against Los Angeles FC in the first half at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday, May 6, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
SANTA CLARA – The San Jose Earthquakes celebrated a successful return to Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, as Cristian Gonzalez bolstered his MVP case with a brace in the team’s 2-1 win over reigning MLS champion Los Angeles Football Club.
A crowd of 45,112 came for a celebration of Mexican heritage that the Quakes called the largest Cinco de Mayo party on the West Coast, followed by the team’s game against LAFC, the league’s last unbeaten team.
The pre-match festivities featured luchadores, mariachi bands, dancing groups, and an appearance by Jared Borgetti, who has the second-most goals in the history of the Mexican national team.
Plenty of Mexican flags were flying in the parking lots before the game, and then in the seats as the Quakes played their third-ever game at Levi’s, and first since 2015, and singer-songwriter El Fantasma provided the halftime entertainment.
In moving the game from their regular home at PayPal Park, San Jose gave up the home-field advantage of playing in front of mostly rabid supporters in an attempt to broaden its audience. Kicking off at a more kid-friendly time of 4:30 p.m., three hours earlier than every other home game this season, also allowed it to draw a younger crowd.
As a result, the Quakes had their largest home crowd since more than 50,000 came to Stanford Stadium in 2019 to watch the California Clasico against LA Galaxy, their other Southern California rival.
“It’s an opportunity to connect with another part of our community,” Quakes coach Luchi Gonzalez said. “The Bay Area’s huge. It’s not easy for people from San Francisco or Gilroy or Monterey Bay to get to our games. The game is growing in those areas, and to have more accessibility to the team based on playing bigger venues, I like it.”
Saturday’s game also allowed Levi’s management to showcase its ability to host soccer matches in advance of the 2026 World Cup.
Levi’s is one of 16 stadiums that will host World Cup games, but it hasn’t yet been decided which venues will get the most prestigious matches. Quakes players raved about the quality of the field at a training session earlier in the week – a contrast to complaints about the field conditions in previous years.
Soccer will be back at Levi’s on July 2 with a Gold Cup doubleheader featuring Mexico against Qatar and Jamaica against a team to be determined.
The Quakes, and especially Espinoza, took advantage of the opportunity to make a strong impression on a larger audience.
The Argentinian winger continued his MVP form, scoring the winner on a penalty kick in the 83rd minute after opening the scoring in the eighth minute.
The MLS Player of the Month in April, Espinoza has eight goals, tied for the most in MLS with LAFC’s Denis Bouanga and Seattle’s Jordan Morris. Bouanga scored in the 30th minute for LAFC (5-1-3).
After failing to post a winning record since 2013, the Quakes (5-3-3) are now firmly in the playoff picture under Gonzalez, their first-year coach, and passed their first major test with a win against LAFC, who was unbeaten in its last 10 matches and had just advanced to the CONCACAF Champions League final earlier in the week.
LAFC had a 60-40 edge in possession and outshot the Quakes 17-9, but San Jose had the more dangerous opportunities and carried a 2.3-1.2 edge in expected goals.
After Jeremy Ebobisse was fouled in the penalty area chasing down a cross from Paul Marie, Espinoza sent LAFC keeper John McCarthy the wrong way on the PK to give the Quakes the win.
“To do it against a team like LAFC in this type of environment shows our team enjoys and embraces pressure,” Gonzalez said.
The Quakes will expect another big crowd on July 1 when they host their annual match at Stanford Stadium against the LA Galaxy.
“It was really special in the stadium just to get that much support,” Gonzalez said. “To put on these games is not easy. It’s a lot of belief and care, and we felt that.”
