against the Chicago Fire on October 14, 2001, entering the game in the 91st minute for Sasha Victorine. The Galaxy advanced to the 2001 MLS Cup final and tied 1–1 with the San Jose Earthquakes in regulation before Dwayne De Rosario's golden goal in the 96th minute ended the match. After signing Carlos Ruiz, the Galaxy waived Ching on February 13, 2002, to comply with the MLS roster limits. One month later, he signed with the Seattle Sounders of the A-League where scored four goals and provided one assist in seven games the previous year when he was on loan from Los Angeles. Ching finished the 2002 season 2nd in the A-League in scoring with 16 goals and 8 assists, and was selected as a member of the A-League All-League first team. San Jose Earthquakes (2003–2005) The first time the Earthquakes coaching staff first got a good look at Brian Ching was facing him in the July 17, 2002 third round match of the U.S. Open Cup when San Jose defeated the Seattle Sounders 4-3 after sudden death extra time. Kinnear, assistant coach at the time, and head coach Frank Yallop were impressed with how Ching matched up with Earthquakes defender Eddie Robinson, considered one of the best defenders in MLS at the time. Ching began training with the Earthquakes the following January. On February 11, 2003, San Jose traded Devin Barclay to D.C. United in exchange for the first overall pick in the 2003 MLS Supplemental Draft and on February 28, 2013, they used that pick to draft Ching. Ching made his official Earthquakes debut in Guatemala City on March 16, 2003, playing a full match in a 4-2 Champions' Cup loss to C.S.D. Municipal. He played his first Earthquakes home game in the second leg against Municipal where he scored the first goal in the 35th minute. Ching made his first Earthquakes start in the MLS regular season on April 12, 2003, at Colorado Rapids and scored 53 seconds into the game. He would miss five games due to a right hamstring strain before returning to the starting lineup to score two goals for his first multi-goal game in MLS on July 2, 2003, at the MetroStars. He played 90 minutes in his first encounter against his old club Seattle Sounders on August 5 but the 1–0 loss eliminated San Jose from the 2003 Open Cup. Ching left