Earthquakes 2, United 1

WASHINGTON (AP) - Ryan Johnson’s header in the 73rd minute lifted the San Jose Earthquakes to a 2-1 win against D.C. United, the Earthquakes’ first road win in more than a year.

San Jose (6-12-7), owners of the second-worst record in MLS, snapped a 20-game road winless streak that was the second longest in league history. San Jose had been 0-12-8 away from home since a 2-0 victory over Columbus on June 7, 2008.

New York owns the longest streak in MLS, as the Red Bulls have not won in their past 25 road matches.

“I haven’t smiled for a year,” coach Frank Yallop said. “Tying on the road is good, but winning on the road is great.”

Johnson headed in a rebound off the crossbar to break a 1-all tie. It was the second goal the Earthquakes scored in 15 minutes against United replacement goalkeeper Milos Kocic, brought on when Josh Wicks dislocated his left shoulder.

“The second it hit the post, I knew I was going to hit it first time,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t going to take it down or do anything like that. So I tried to position my body and get everything behind it I could.”

United (8-7-12) was looking to improve its playoff chances, but faltered when Wicks left in the 52nd minute after getting injured while defending a corner kick.

“It’s thoroughly disappointing,” D.C. coach Tom Soehn said. “It comes at a time when we’re desperate to get points to get into the playoffs, and we sure didn’t show that.”

United generally controlled the game in the first half, getting five shots on goal before halftime and taking a 1-0 lead on a Jaime Moreno goal. In the second half, though, San Jose dictated the flow and scored on both of its shots on goal after the break.

“We weren’t tough enough in the first half,” Johnson said. “We were late to every second ball. That was the difference between the first and the second half.”

Kocic had been in the game for about six minutes when San Jose scored the tying goal. Ramon Sanchez connected on a free kick from just outside the penalty box, curling a shot over the wall of defenders and into the top right corner.

Moreno gave D.C. an early lead in the 26th minute. He controlled a pass from Chris Pontius in the middle of the penalty area, took a step to his left and fired a shot past diving goalkeeper Andrew Weber.

“We weren’t good enough,” Moreno said. “We created our own mistakes and it cost us the game. It’s no secret.”

United nearly tied it in the 82nd minute, but Pontius’ shot was kicked away on the goal line by San Jose’s Ramiro Corrales.

San Jose will host the Red Bulls on Saturday as the Earthquakes attempt to win back-to-back games for the first time this year.

“It’s been a tough season, so any type of positive result is great,” Yallop said.