But it was hardly thrilled about it.
Having finally broken through for a goal in the second half, RSL moments later was denied the score on a referee's controversial decision, and went on to a second straight scoreless tie at home against one of the worst teams in Major League Soccer - despite once again spraying shots everywhere but in the net and enjoying a man advantage the entire second half.
"Right now, we feel a little bit robbed," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said.
Beckerman was the man who scored - or didn't - by getting a foot on a header from striker Robbie Findley off a corner kick in the 72nd minute.
Only after RSL celebrated did the referee confer with his assistant on the sideline and rule that Beckerman was offside. The assistant had not raised his flag to signal offside, and RSL officials wondered whether the referee illegally viewed a replay on the stadium scoreboard before consulting his assistant and disallowing the goal.
"Something appears a little off," coach Jason Kreis said.
The crowd of 10,333 fans thought so, too, booing after the final whistle and, in one case, throwing a part-full drink cup onto the field. Yet there's nothing RSL can do about it - even a successful formal protest would not change the result - and Kreis acknowledged that RSL should not have had to rely on the whims of the referees.
"We're a good enough team and playing against a team that's a man down, we should score two goals," he said.
Just as it did 11 days ago against Kansas City - like San Jose, the last-place team in its conference - RSL dominated the run of play, and created scoring chance after scoring chance. Part of the reason was that the Quakes were playing that man down after defender Jason Hernandez was red-carded in the 44th minute, and basically bunkered in to protect goalkeeper Joe Cannon.
"In all fairness, we were the better team tonight," RSL's Nat Borchers said. "We were the only team that was out on the field."
Certainly looked like it.
Four days after winning its first road game, RSL ripped off 24 shots (it launched 19 against Kansas City), but too often did so from far outside, managing to put only four on frame. The best chances they had came when Findley lost his balance trying to corrall a loose ball just in front of the near post in the 59th minute, and when midfielder Javier Morales hit the post in the 73rd.
Kreis blamed his players for not being more aggressive against a shorthanded team, too often settling for the "easy pass" or long shot rather than running at defenders and forcing them into bad situations.
Nevertheless, RSL has not lost in four games, and not allowed a goal in 276 minutes.
But managing but a single point in the spandex-tight MLS Western Conference standings - especially with powerhouse New England visiting on Saturday - felt a lot closer to defeat, though RSL is just barely in playoff position at 4-5-4 and 16 points, thanks to a superior goal differential. San Jose moved to 3-7-2, with a league-worst 10 points.
"We have to feel very disappointed that the final touch wasn't there to get us all three points," Kreis said. "We believe that if we continue to play good soccer, those points will bounce back our way."
