Minnesota United's 5-1 rout of San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park in San Jose, California was hilariously and briefly halted during stoppage time after a young child managed to wander onto the field of play.
The game was meandering towards a quiet conclusion after Mauricio Gonzalez put the visitors four goals up when, for at least the third time this decade in the competition, a small child ran from the sidelines onto the pitch.
Sources familiar with the incident believe the child was a family member of one of the players, goalkeeper Angus Gunn, which explains how they were able to get sideline access.
The child was safely scooped up and transferred off the field, with Minnesota manager Cameron Knowles joking after the match that "it’s a little bit too early (for the child) to get a lifetime ban from a stadium".
"That's way better than the raccoon," a television commentator quipped at the time, in reference to a 2024 game between Philadelphia Union and New York City that was stopped by a raccoon.
The raccoon evaded attempts by several people on the pitch to be captured before eventually being detained by a trash can - the natural habitat of the species in New York City, as some would have you believe.
Whilst it might seem like a unique interruption to many, it was not the first instance of a child managing to find their way onto the pitch during a MLS match.
A two-year-old boy wandered onto the field of play during a 2021 match between Cincinnati and Orlando City, four years before another toddler almost got involved in a second-half throw-in at a DC United home game.
It has prompted some to call for the MLS to instigate greater security measures to prevent further instances of minors being able to access the field of play during a match.
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
