playoff matches for the Metros as they were knocked out in the quarterfinals. He scored once in 28 total appearances on the year, bringing his total with the club to four goals in 63 games. San Jose/Houston Clark was traded to San Jose Earthquakes on January 14, 2005, in exchange for allocation money and a youth international roster slot. The trade occurred on the same day as the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, meaning that Clark became one of eight players that joined the Earthquakes on the day. He jumped immediately into the starting lineup in 2005, making his club debut with a start in the season opener against New England Revolution on April 2. Playing out of a defensive midfield role, Clark found the back of the net three times on the season: July 2 away to FC Dallas, August 13 against Colorado Rapids, and September 10 against Chivas USA. He was named as the MLS Player of the Month for July, also earning a nod as the club's player of the month that month. Clark scored his first career playoff goal on October 23, in the first leg of the conference semifinals against LA Galaxy; the Galaxy would win the match, 3–1, and took the series by a 4–2 aggregate scoreline. Clark finished the season with 32 appearances and four goals across all competitions. Due to San Jose's failure to reach a stadium agreement with AEG, Clark, along with the rest of his Earthquakes teammates, moved to Houston for the 2006 season. He started in the inaugural match for Houston Dynamo, a 5–2 victory over Colorado on April 2. Clark went on to start 31 times during the regular season, scoring twice: the first goal in Texas Derby history on May 6 and the tying goal on June 10 against New York Red Bulls. However, the second half of his season was marred by a couple of bookings. On August 26, Clark received the first red card of his career, coming in a 3–2 defeat against Chivas USA. He then picked up a pair of yellow cards in the playoffs, meaning that he would be suspended for MLS Cup 2006. With Adrian Serioux starting in his place, Houston defeated New England Revolution on penalties to win the first trophy in club history. Clark made 36 appearances on the season, scoring twice, and was named to the MLS Best XI. Clark