A toddler interrupted a Major League Soccer match between Minnesota United and San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday by invading the pitch – a bizarre scene punctuated by an on-air analyst saying, “There’s a baby on the field.” With a minute and a half to play in the game that Minnesota won 5-1 at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, the small child took to the field – and the referee blew his whistle to stop play. The toddler appeared to be enjoying the freedom before being scooped up by a stadium official and handed over to a woman, presumably the toddler’s mother. Game commentators recalled previous pitch invasions – including when a raccoon stopped play in May 2024.
Later dubbed “Raquinho”, the creature mounted a pitch invasion before being caught in a trash can. The effort to catch the raccoon took four men during a game between New York City FC and the Philadelphia Union. In June 2025, during a match between DC United and the Chicago Fire, a baby made it on the pitch before being scooped up by security.
A mom in Ohio in 2021 raced on to the pitch to collect her 2-year-old son from the pitch of a game between FC Cincinnati and Orlando City FC. After Saturday’s pitch invasion, Minnesota United’s X account posted that its decisive win over San Jose was “Like taking money from a baby.”
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