San Jose Earthquakes 1, DC United 3 | 2018 MLS Match Recap

D.C. United won their first road game of the 2018 regular season, as they defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 at Avaya Stadium on Saturday.

D.C. opened the scoring at the quarter-hour mark, with Luciano Acosta hitting a long diagonal pass way over the top. Zoltan Stieber latched onto the pass, and slotted his shot past Quakes goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell on the breakaway. Five minutes later, Acosta set up a second goal for United, this one converted by forward Darren Mattocks.

The visitors really opened up the match shortly before the halftime break, as Yamil Asad hit a well-placed shot against the grain to leave Tarbell grasping at air and make it 3-0. But Danny Hoesen kept hope alive for San Jose, as he scored after sticking with his own rebound before the intermission.

In the second half, both teams had chances, and San Jose had the better looks on the whole. But D.C. had too big of a cushion from their dazzling first half, and could play through the pressure to pick up a vital three points.

Goals

• 15' – DC – Zoltan Stieber | WATCH
• 20' – DC – Darren Mattocks | WATCH
• 37' – DC – Yamil Asad | WATCH
• 43' – SJ – Danny Hoesen | WATCH

Three Things 

THE BIG PICTURE: D.C. win their second game of the season, and keep pace with the rest of the Eastern Conference, sitting just a point behind Montreal ahead of the rest of the Week 12 slate. Given they have nearly two months to go before their next home game, they'll take what they can get. The Quakes, meanwhile, are on short rest, but have to be unhappy to lose at home to a struggling side.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH
: The pass over the top by Acosta to set up the first goal was a beauty.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Luciano Acosta set the tone for D.C. with two assists, his first multi-assist game in MLS play since Aug. 27, 2016, and it made the difference on the night.

Next Up

• San Jose: Friday, May 25 at LA Galaxy (11 pm ET | UniMás, Twitter - Full TV & Streaming Info)
• D.C.: Saturday, May 26 at LAFC (10 pm ET | Full TV & Streaming Info)