Second-half goals help Quakes beat LAFC at raucous Levi's Stadium

Playing on their biggest stage of the season, the San Jose Earthquakes met the moment with their best performance. Three crosses by Cristian Espinoza led to goals as the Quakes beat LAFC 3-1 Saturday in front of 43,774 fans at Levi's Stadium, the largest MLS crowd this season that didn't involve a season opener or Lionel Messi. Brazilian defender Rodrigues opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he headed in a corner from Espinoza past LAFC goalie Hugo Lloris, who started for France in the last two World Cup finals. While it was a positive start, it didn't guarantee anything – the Quakes had lost four of five games this season when scoring first, a big reason why they sat last in the Western Conference.