On April 6th, 31,683 fans filled into Spartan Stadium to watch the birth of Major League Soccer as the Clash played host to DC United. The game was kept scoreless until the Clash's Eric Wynalda scored late to send the crowd wild and give his team the first-ever victory in MLS.

San Jose's stars included Wynalda, Dave Salzwedel, Missael Espinoza, and coach Laurie Calloway. The Clash would perform well in their first season, finishing at 15-17 and earning the last playoff spot in the West.

The playoffs, though, would be short as they were beaten in three games by their California counterparts, the Los Angeles Galaxy.