San Jose's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run ends in Quarterfinals
MLS San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run ends in Quarterfinals

Published on May 21, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


San Jose Earthquakes battle the Colorado Rapids
San Jose Earthquakes battle the Colorado Rapids
(San Jose Earthquakes)

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. - The San Jose Earthquakes fell to the Colorado Rapids 2-0 on Wednesday night at DICK's Sporting Goods Park in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals.

The hosts appeared to open the scoring in the 22nd minute when Josh Atencio broke free on the left wing and served a cross for Rafael Navarro to head home, but a VAR review annulled the goal for offside. Moments later, San Jose appealed for a penalty when Paul Marie dribbled past his defender and collided with him in the box, but the VAR ruled for play to continue.

Eventually, the Rapids would strike first from a short corner in the 40th minute. In the second phase of the set piece, Paxten Aaronson and Dante Sealy combined for a one-two before Sealy's left-footed cross from the right wing was headed in by Darren Yapi to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. Following the play, San Jose goalkeeper Daniel was struck in the back of the head by a projectile from the crowd, but the game ultimately resumed.

In the waning moments of the first half, Colorado was awarded a penalty kick after another VAR review determined a handball in the box had occurred. Navarro converted from the spot in the 10th minute of stoppage time to give the Rapids a 2-0 advantage into the break. After intermission, the Earthquakes searched for the breakthrough but could not muster a second-half comeback after their fourth game in 12 days.

Earthquakes fans can watch analysis and features on the newest episode of "Quakes Exclusive," the club's new half-hour prime-time magazine show, on KTVU FOX 2 on Friday, May 22, at 8 p.m. PT. All episodes of "Quakes Exclusive" are available on demand on the FOX Local app.

The Black and Blue return to Major League Soccer regular-season play Saturday, May 23, when they face the Portland Timbers on the road in what will be the final official match before the league takes a break during the FIFA World Cup. Kickoff from Providence Park is set for 7:30 p.m. PT and the match will be streamed on Apple TV (English/Spanish) as well as on local radio via KSFO 810 AM (English) and La Kaliente 1370 AM (Spanish).

GAME NOTES

With the result, the Earthquakes' run ended in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals for the second straight season and the ninth time in club history. San Jose now holds a 25-21 all-time record in U.S. Open Cup play.

Tonight marked the first time the Quakes and Rapids met in the U.S. Open Cup. Counting tonight's match, the 2010 Eastern Conference Final and the all-time regular season matchups between the two teams, San Jose is now a combined 34-29-19 (105 GF, 101 GA) across all competitions against Colorado and 15-18-10 (47 GF, 58 GA) on the road.

The Quakes started eight American players tonight. No team in MLS has averaged more of them in the starting 11 more across all competitions in 2026 than Bruce Arena's Earthquakes (7.7/game). Arena also started nine former college players tonight; no team in MLS has more of them on the roster (19).

Jack Skahan, who entered the match in the second half, remains just one goal away from becoming the Quakes' new all-time leading goalscorer in U.S. Open Cup play. He will finish the 2026 campaign tied for the top spot with Ronald Cerritos and Chris Wondolowski with four goals apiece.

PLAYER GAMES GOALS

Jack Skahan* 6 4

Ronald Cerritos 7 4

Chris Wondolowski 11 4

*active player

With five goal contributions apiece, Jack Skahan, Preston Judd, Ousseni Bouda and Niko Tsakiris (injured, DNP) also will remain just one away from becoming the Quakes' new career leader in U.S Open Cup play in that department. They currently share the top spot with Ronald Cerritos.

PLAYER GAMES GOALS ASSISTS GOAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Jack Skahan* 6 4 1 5

Ronald Cerritos 7 4 1 5

Preston Judd* 6 2 3 5

Niko Tsakiris* 6 2 3 5

Ousseni Bouda* 7 2 3 5

*active player

Paul Marie made the start and played in his 10th U.S. Open Cup game tonight, tying him with Ramiro Corrales, Dwayne De Rosario, Ian Russell and Shea Salinas for fifth on the all-time club list. Only Tommy Thompson (15), Jon Conway (12), Chris Wondolowski (11) and Jackson Yueill (11) have more appearances.

Colorado Rapids 2 - 0 San Jose Earthquakes

Wednesday, May 20, 2026 - DICK's Sporting Goods Park; Commerce City, Colo.

Weather: 59°F Partly Cloudy

Attendance: 2,296

*all stats unofficial

Match Officials:

Referee: Fotis Bazakos

AR1: Kevin Lock

AR2: Diego Blas

4th Official: Rodrigo Albuquerque

VAR: Edwin Jurisevic

AVAR: Fabio Tovar

Scoring Summary:

COL (1-0) - Darren Yapi (Dante Sealy) 40'

COL (2-0) - Rafael Navarro (penalty kick) 45+10'

Misconduct Summary:

SJ - Ronaldo Vieira (caution) 21'

SJ - Reid Roberts (caution) 36'

SJ - Benji Kikanović (caution) 53'

COL - Nico Hansen (caution) 89'

COL - Jackson Travis (caution) 90'

COLORADO RAPIDS: Nico Hansen (GK); Miguel Navarro (Jackson Travis 65'), Lucas Herrington, Rob Holding, Reggie Cannon; Josh Atencio, Wayne Frederick (Hamzat Ojediran 85'), Paxten Aaronson; Dante Sealy (Georgi Minoungou 62'), Rafael Navarro (C), Darren Yapi.

Substitutes not used: Adam Beaudrym, Noah Cobb, Alexis Manyoma, Keegan Rosenberry.

POSS.: 48.9%; SHOTS: 6; SOG: 4; CORNERS: 5; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 6; FOULS: 12

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel (GK); Jamar Ricketts, Daniel Munie, Benji Kikanović; Ronaldo Vieira (C) (Jack Jasinski 86'), Ian Harkes, Beau Leroux; Ousseni Bouda, Paul Marie (Jack Skahan 62'), Preston Judd (Nick Fernandez 72').

Substitutes not used: Nate Crockford (GK), Max Floriani, Jonathan González.

POSS.: 51.1%; SHOTS: 12; SOG: 6; CORNERS: 9; OFFSIDES: 0; SAVES: 2; FOULS: 13

EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA

On how the team defended Colorado's two goals:

"[One of] the goals tonight was on a set piece, so you don't necessarily attribute it to the back line. The first one was the second phase of a corner kick and the second one was a handball. ... They were very limited with their chances tonight. I haven't seen any statistics and all, but neither team created a lot of good goal-scoring opportunities tonight, so those set pieces were critical and we didn't do well."

On if the VAR's decision to not award the team with a penalty kick after Paul Marie's collision in the box swung the momentum of the game:

"I didn't see the play, so I don't know if it was a penalty or not. But we didn't do well to concede those two goals, so I'm not attributing our loss to a non-call."

On the impact of a congested schedule and playing their fourth game in 12 days:

"It's impacted a lot of teams in the league. It's the same for everybody, so we can't just attribute it to that. Last weekend, if I'm not mistaken, all the top teams in the Western Conference lost. So the games have been piling on. For some reason they decided to schedule this way right before the [FIFA] World Cup break, and it's been challenging. But there's no excuse. We're no different than most of the teams in the league."

On the importance of finishing strong before the break and winning Saturday:

"Of course. Why not? That would be our goal, to get three points in Portland."

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San Jose Earthquakes battle the Colorado Rapids
San Jose Earthquakes battle the Colorado Rapids
   



Major League Soccer Stories from May 21, 2026


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