Tsakiris propels Earthquakes with first career MLS goal 2-1, team fails to qualify for playoffs

San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Niko Tsakiris (#30) celebrates his first career MLS goal with teammate Cristian Espinoza (#10) by carrying him on his back during the team’s 2-1 victory over Austin FC at PayPal Park on Saturday OCT 18, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — It was a bittersweet ending for the San Jose Earthquakes on MLS Decision Day.

Niko Tsakiris’ scored his first career MLS goal late in the second half that proved to be the game winner as the Quakes defeated Austin FC 2-1 in the team’s regular season finale on Saturday evening at PayPal Park.

San Jose came into the match needing to win and have two of three scenarios to go their way in clinching a playoff berth. Any combination of an FC Dallas loss, a Real Salt Lake loss or a Colorado loss or draw along with the victory would’ve earned the Earthquakes the 9th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

FC Dallas defeated a short-handed Vancouver squad 2-1, Colorado drew 2-2 with LAFC but Real Salt Lake tied 2-2 with St. Louis City. Real Salt Lake and San Jose tied with 41 points, but RSL owned the tie-breaker over San Jose in total wins (12-11). Thus, the Earthquakes missed the postseason under first year head coach Bruce Arena.

Under Arena, San Jose doubled their points and win total from last season with 11 wins and 41 points.

“We blew too many games this year, wasted too many points and we put ourselves in a position that made it difficult,” said Arena. “However, from 2024 we basically doubled our wins—six last year, 11 this year, 21 points last year, 41 this year. We scored 60 goals, 41 last year; we could see progress was made. That’s all I can say. That part’s good, but I can easily count the half a dozen games where we should have walked off with a win, so we put ourselves in this position.”

Austin FC (13-13-8-47 points) drew first blood in the 22nd minute. Jáder Obrian crossed the ball with a back pass that skipped passed two Earthquakes defenders. Owen Wolff collected the ball and made a move into the middle before depositing the ball into the back of the net past Quakes goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. for his team leading seventh goal of the season.

San Jose (11-15-8-41 points) was on the tough end of a controversial call in the 31st minute when Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver’s free kick from inside his own box deflected off of the head of Chicho Arango outside the box. Josef Martinez collected the ball and chipped into an open net. However, referee Filip Dujic ruled that Arango was too close to Stuver on the free kick and wiped away the goal.

Stuver sent Austin FC into the intermission with the lead as he made three saves in the first half, including a rocket of a shot from Ousseni Bouda in the 33rd minute that Stuver jumped up high to knock it over the net.

The Earthquakes had a golden chance to score the equalizer in the 55th minute when Beau Leroux crossed the ball into the box to a trailing Benji Kikanovic’s whose one-timer hit off the right post and back to the left side where it was cleared out by Austin FC.

San Jose finally got their equalizer in the 74th minute. Jack Skahan centered the ball into the box from the left wing over to Josef Martinez who finished off the play with a header into the near corner of the net for 14th goal of the season. Martinez finished the season as the team leader in goals, edging Arango by one goal.

Tsakiris’ heroics came three minutes later in the 77th minute. After Arango won a free kick just outside the box, it was the young midfielder, who came on as a sub just four minutes earlier, and not captain Cristian Espinoza that blasted the free kick from 20 yards out off of the hand of Stuver and into the back of the right corner of the net for his first career MLS goal.

It was an up and down year for Tsakiris as he just came back from playing with the USMNT’s Under 23 squad at this year’s World Cup in Chile.

“It was definitely a learning year for me,” said Tsakiris. “With injuries, my time on the field obviously wasn’t as much as I would have liked. I think it just taught me to stay patient and be ready for my time—making sure that I’m sharp whenever that opportunity comes. I think the [U.S.] National Team allowed me to kind of stay fit and informed.”

Edwards Jr. finished the match with one save on two shots to earn his first win of the season. Stuver made eight saves on 10 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished the match with 15 corner kicks. Austin FC had just one.

San Jose is now 3-2-6 overall (23 GF, 20 GA) against Austin FC in the all-time MLS series and 2-0-3 (10 GF, 5 GA) at home.

Bruce Arena won his 273rd regular-season MLS game to extend his league record among head coaches. The late great Sigi Schmid is second with 240.

The first 5,000 fans through the doors received a Cristian Espinoza “La Máquina (The Machine)” action figure that commemorated his club-record consecutive games streak of 122.

Espinoza had eight key passes to finish as the league leader with 114. He also finished as the league leader in corner kicks (167), chances created (118) and chances created per 90 minutes (3.9) as well as second in MLS in crosses (81) and tied for eighth in assists (12). Espinoza led the Quakes in all of these categories this season.

Tsakiris also accrued his second assist of the season and third of his MLS career in minute 74.

Skahan amassed his second assist of the season and fourth of his MLS career in the 74th minute.

McSorley’s braces paces St. Louis CITY in 3-1 win over Earthquakes

St. Louis CITY striker Brendan McSorley celebrates his second goal against the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park during St. Louis’ 3-1 victory on Saturday SEP 20, 2025. (St. Louis CITY)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Brendan McSorley picked a good time to score his first career MLS goals.

McSorley scored twice in his first ever start for St. Louis CITY SC as they defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 on Saturday evening at PayPal Park.

It was only McSorley’s third appearance for CITY as the former Providence Friar started the season with St. Louis’ developmental team CITY2 and signed his first professional contract just two weeks ago on September 5th.

For San Jose this loss marks its third in a row and impeded its chances of earning the 9th place and final wild card spot in the Western Conference with three matches left in the regular season. St Louis CITY has won two games in a row for just the second time this season and has points in three consecutive matches.

St. Louis CITY (7-17-7-28-points) drew first blood in the 10th minute. Chris Durkin crossed the ball into the box over to Joao Klauss along the right slot. Klauss headed the ball back into the middle where an unmarked Brendan McSorley one-timed the ball out of the air past Quakes goalkeeper Daniel for his first goal of the season.

San Jose (9-14-8-35 points) had two set piece opportunities two minutes apart in the 16th and 18th minute to score the equalizer, both corner kicks. First in the 16th minute, Cristian Espinoza found Dave Romney inside the box, but Romey’s header was easily saved by CITY goalkeeper Roman Burki. Then in the 18th minute, Chicho Arango’s header from Espinoza’s corner kick sailed just wide right of the net.

Marcel Hartel doubled CITY’s lead in the 19th minute. A long ball in from Durkin made its way over to McSorley just outside the box. McSorley found Hartel who spun and fired a shot past Daniel for his seventh goal of the season. Hartel is second in goals for St. Louis CITY two behind Klauss who leads the team with nine.

The Earthquakes cut their deficit in half when Arango earned a penalty kick in the 29th minute after he was tripped inside the box by right wing Célio Pompeu. Two minutes later, Arango cashed in the penalty with a blistering shot to the left corner of the net for his team leading 13th goal of the season.

McSorley recorded his brace just before halftime. Hartel crossed the ball into the box from just outside the D and McSorley’s diving header sneaked into the bottom left corner of the net for his second goal of the season in the 45th minute.

San Jose turned the momentum to start the second half by creating quality scoring chances only to have those chances blocked or saved by Burki, including four saves in the first 17 minutes. Burki’s best save came in the 80th minute off a right footed blast from Arango.

Burki finished with seven shots on nine shots on target to earn his sixth victory of the season. Daniel made three saves on six shots on target in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with 11 corner kicks. St. Louis CITY had three.

Tonight’s attendance was 15,337.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels down to Southern California to take on San Diego FC on Saturday September 27 at 7:30pm at Snapdragon Stadium.

Bouanga’s hat trick powers LAFC past Earthquakes 4-2 in front of record crowd at Levi’s Stadium

San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Beau Leroux plays the ball away from LAFC midfielder Mathieu Choiniere during LAFC’s 4-2 win at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday SEP 13, 2025. (John Todd, Getty Images)

by Marko Ukalovic

SANTA CLARA, Calif, — The invasion of Heung Min Son made its way to the Bay Area in front of a record crowd of 50,978 at the home of the San Francisco 49ers.

The former Tottenham Spurs captain and Korean national was all the buzz before the match but it was his teammate Denis Bouanga that stole his thunder recording a hat trick in LAFC’s 4-2 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday evening at Levi’s Stadium.

San Jose has lost three out of their last four matches and occupies the 9th and final wild card spot in the Western Conference. LAFC has earned points in four out of its five past matches.

Turnovers told the story for San Jose as LAFC took advantage of the Quakes lack of sharpness to start the match.

LAFC (12-7-8-44 points) began the fireworks in the first minute of the match. A bad turnover by San Jose led to Marco Delgado finding Artem Smolyakov along the left wing. Smolyakov crossed the ball over to Son who easily tapped the ball into an empty net for his second goal in an LAFC kit.

Denis Bouanga scored the first of his two goals in the ninth minute. Bouanga stripped the ball off of Daniel Munie along the sideline at midfield. Bouanga raced down the pitch before depositing the ball off of Quakes goalkeeper Daniel for his 16th goal of the season.

Three minutes later Bouanga had the brace when he broke away from the Quakes defense onside when Sergei Palencia sent a long ball down the right wing. Bouanga dribbled in all alone before chipping the ball over Daniel into the far corner of the net for his 17th goal of the season.

“I have to accept the responsibility that we have two of our better players in [Chicho] Arango and [Cristian] Espinoza turning the ball over right in the opening minute of the game that helped create their goal. We have to be better to start a game. They’re veteran players and they have to be a little bit sharper. You got to give the opponent credit, to turn that into a goal. But poor playing on our part and having a team step on the field and play the way we did in the open minutes of the games, it’s on me. I’m quite surprised at the way we stepped on the field in the opening minutes of the game,” Quakes head coach Bruce Arena said.

San Jose (9-13-8-35 points) finally stopped the bleeding in the 18th minute when they got on the scoreboard. Chicho Arango threaded the needle with a pass between two LAFC defenders into the middle of the box. Preston Judd raced in and fired a shot past LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris for his seventh goal of the season.

LAFC put the game away in the 87th minute when Bouanga finished off his hat trick. Palencia came in from the right wing after taking a long ball from midfield. Palencia got Daniel to come out before sending the ball over to Bouanga who tapped in his team leading 18th goal of the season into an empty net. Bouanga finished with four points as he was involved in all four of his team’s goal.

“We haven’t played a back four for a long time, but we had a whole week to work on it. I think we felt pretty good, and we wanted to isolate Rodrigues, because he played really well against [Denis] Bouanga the first time when we went away against LAFC. The way they shaped up was a little different, and he didn’t receive the ball too much in the touchline. They were running behind a lot. I think we were a little naïve in the way we approached that and didn’t really change,” Earthquakes midfielder Ian Harkes said.

The Earthquakes cut the lead in half the 90th minute when Benji Kikanovic crossed the ball into the middle of the box. Josef Martinez’s bicycle kick attempt missed the ball and hit off the knees of Palencia into the back of the net for an own goal. However, it was too little, too late for San Jose as they were dominated their SoCal rival from start to finish.

Lloris, who made three spectacular saves in the second half, earned his 12th win of the season. Daniel made two saves on six shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with 10 corner kicks. LAFC had two.

The previous record for a home Earthquakes game was 50,850 at 2019 California Classico at Stanford Stadium.

The Quakes are now 7-12-1 against LAFC in MLS regular season play with a 6-3-0 record at home.

Judd’s 18th-minute goal was his 11th of his career.

Arango’s 18th-minute assist was his seventh of the season in MLS play and 28th of his career. He increased his tally to five goal contributions (2g/3a) in just four meetings with LAFC.

The Quakes snapped a six-game unbeaten streak in all competitions at Levi’s® Stadium tonight (4-0-2).

UP NEXT: San Jose returns home to host St. Louis City at 7:30pm at PayPal Park.

Dreyer’s late match heroics propel San Diego FC to 2-1 comeback win over Earthquakes

San Jose Earthquakes defender Daniel Munie battles for the ball against San Diego FC’s Jeppe Tverskov during San Diego’s 2-1 win over San Jose at PayPal Park on Sunday AUG 17, 2025. (Brandon Vallance-Getty Images)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — You can’t let a sleeping dog lie around too long.

Anders Dreyer scored the game winning goal in the 84th minute as San Diego FC delivered a 2-1 comeback win over the San Jose Earthquakes in the first ever matchup between the two squads on Sunday afternoon at PayPal Park.

San Jose has lost three out its last four matches and remained in 9th place and the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 32 points. San Diego has won three league matches in a row and five overall including Leagues Cup play as they remained atop of the Western Conference standings with 52 points.

San Jose (8-11-9-32 points) dominated the first half play with nine total shots compared to just two for San Diego. The Earthquakes had three quality chances in the final five minutes of the half. Cristian Espinoza had two chances in the 42nd and 45th minutes with two shots inside the box. Espinoza’s first attempt sailed just wide left of the net. Then his second attempt was stopped by San Diego goalkeeper CJ dos Santos.

San Diego (16-7-5-52 points) came into the match with injuries to their back line with three of their starting defenders out. Leading MVP candidate Dreyer was relatively quiet for the MLS all-star and Jeppe Tverskov who is second on the team with nine assists.

The Quakes broke through on the scoreboard in the 72nd minute thanks to an embarrassing blunder by dos Santos inside his own box. dos Santos nonchalantly tried to kick the ball out of the zone but Noel Buck, who came in as a substitute a minute before, pressured dos Santos and the ball deflected off his body. Josef Martinez collected the ball, made a move around dos Santos and delivered the ball into the back of the net off of the head of Manu Duah for his team leading 12th goal of the season and 128th of his MLS career.

The expansion club struck back to even the match in the 81st minute. Franco Negri crossed the ball into the middle of the box from just outside the 18 on the left side. An unmarked Marcus Ingvartsen buried the ball into the back of the net with a header for his second goal of the season.

Then three minutes later San Diego gained its first lead on a counterattack play. Christopher McVey sent the ball up Ingvarsten inside their defensive zone. Ingvarsten quickly sent a long pass out to Dreyer for a breakaway attempt. Dreyer got Quakes goalkeeper Daniel to go down before gliding the ball into the far corner of the net for his team leading 13th goal of the season.

dos Santos finished the match with four saves on five shots to earn the victory. Daniel made one save on three shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with three corner kicks. San Diego had six.

The Earthquakes celebrated Autism Awareness Night, where the first 200 fans who bought a special-event ticket benefiting autism organizations received a limited-edition poster illustrated by artist Shane Tarkington, who was diagnosed with autism at age 2. Quakes Sporting Director/Head Coach Bruce Arena joined his grandson Holden, who was diagnosed with autism at an early age, in the ceremonial First Kick with his mother Jenny and father Kenny, who is currently an FC Cincinnati assistant coach. Comedian Ron Funches, whose son was also diagnosed with autism, fired the ceremonial pregame siren.

DeJuan Jones is the only Quakes player who had previously faced San Diego FC. The defender tallied an assist against San Diego with former club Columbus Crew on March 15, 2025. 

Espinoza had three key passes to run his league-leading total to 89. His 12 assists are still good for fourth in MLS (tied).

After scoring once today, the Quakes are now tied for fourth in the league for team goals (50), behind Orlando City SC and Inter Miami CF (53) and San Diego FC (52). 

The Earthquakes continue to lead MLS in expected goals (55.73).

UP NEXT: San Jose begins a two-match road trip on Saturday August 23rd when they play the Houston Dynamo at 5:30pm at Shell Energy Stadium.

Earthquakes stun Whitecaps with Judd’s late heroics in 2-1 win

San Jose Earthquakes forward Preston Judd celebrates his game winning goal in a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps with his teammates and fans at PayPal Park on Saturday AUG 9, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Preston Judd has made the most of his opportunities when his number is called.

Judd scored the game winning goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time in the second half as the San Jose Earthquakes pulled out a 2-1 upset victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday evening at PayPal Park.

Jamal Ricketts, who came into the match as a sub in the third minute of stoppage time, set up Judd’s late match magic when he went around a defender and crossed the ball over the middle from left to right. DeJuan Jones, one touched it back into the middle of the box before Judd blasted it in from point-blank range for his fifth goal of the season.

“I’ve been saying it all year. Whenever I get in, I want to make a difference. We were winning 1-0, but even then, I wanted to get the second goal to hopefully help the team win. I got in a position where I helped the team win in the 94th minute,” Judd said.

San Jose snapped a six-match league winless streak and seventh overall as well as moved up to the eighth spot in the Western Conference. Vancouver had its three-match point streak snapped and remained in second place, four points behind San Diego.

Vancouver (13-6-6-45 points) put themselves behind the eight ball early in the match as they went down a player in the 27th minute when Édier Ocampo picked up his second yellow card of the match after knocking down Vitor Costa just outside the box resulting in a red card and an automatic ejection. Ocampo recorded his first yellow card in the 20th minute with a hard foul.

San Jose (8-10-8-32 points) were left wondering in the 30th minute on an apparent foul inside the box by Vancouver’s Andres Cubas after making contact with Chico Arango causing Arango to fall to the turf. Referee Timothy Ford let the play go as no penalty was called on the play.

The Whitecaps got caught with their hand in the cookie jar one too many times in the 50th minute. Triston Blackmon tripped up Costa inside the box resulting in a penalty. After a short video review that confirmed the penalty on Blackmon, Josef Martinez scored his co team-leading 11th goal of the season after converting the penalty kick with a right footed shot off of the left post and into the back of the net past Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.

Martinez has scored five goals in four career games against Vancouver.

A minute later Quakes goalkeeper Daniel made a point-blank save with his right leg when he challenged an unmarked Daniel Rios who was left wide open inside the middle of the box after Vancouver quickly attacked on the ensuing kickoff.

Daniel kept his bid for a clean sheet with a timely diving save off of a Jayden Nelson right-footed shot from the left side of the box in the 71st minute.

Vancouver scored the equalizer in the 88th minute thanks to a lucky break. Blackmon lofted a ball out to Brian White who was able to volley the ball to himself. On the same play Quakes defender Bruno Wilson slipped and fell that led to a breakaway for White. The Whitecaps leading scorer chipped the ball past Daniel for his team leading 12th goal of the season.

“Giving up a goal, up a man, that late, it’s frustrating. We never got out of the game. Right away we started attacking. We were pushing for that goal. We know we needed the goal. Our attitude on the field showed that we were going to score a goal. I felt it. I believed in it. I think a lot of the players believed that we were going to score a goal to win that game. It showed and it worked out,” Judd reiterated.

Daniell finished with two saves on three shots to earn his eighth win of the season. Takaoka made three saves on five shots on target in the losing effort.

“A tough game, but we’ve been in a lot of those games this year and been on the other side of it as well,” said San Jose Earthquakes head coach Bruce Arena. “I’m pleased with the win. If we’re a team that has any interest in being in the playoffs, we have to win these home games, so this is critically important.”

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished the match with five corner kicks. Vancouver had three.

The Earthquakes improved their record against the Vancouver Whitecaps to 11-12-12 all-time in MLS regular season play with an 8-2-8 (26 GF, 16 GA) record at home.

The Quakes moved up to eighth in the MLS Western Conference standings with 32 points (8-10-8). Vancouver Whitecaps FC remained second in the West with 45 points (13-6-6).

Bruce Arena won his 270th regular-season game, extending his MLS record among head coaches. The late great Sigi Schmid is second with 240.

The Quakes earned their first home victory in league play since May 3, a 4-1 win over Portland.

The team celebrated Portuguese Heritage Night at PayPal Park, with Lisbon native Bruno Wilson starting at center back for the Quakes. Wilson played his youth football at Oeiras and Sporting Clube de Portugal before playing as a professional with SC Braga, CD Tondela and FC Vizela.

Cristian Espinoza made four key passes tonight to extend his MLS lead (86). He remains tied for second in the league in assists (12).

Daniel’s two saves ran his total to 82, good for sixth in MLS.

With 48 goals in 26 matches, San Jose is currently third in MLS in total goals. Only San Diego FC (50) and Inter Miami CF (49) have outscored the Quakes in 2025.

The Earthquakes’ attack is back up to first in the league in expected goals (53.92). The Philadelphia Union is second (52.23).

Whitecaps newly acquired midfielder Thomas Müller will be introduced at a press conference on Thursday by the Whitecaps as he hopes to make his Vancouver debut in their next match against the Houston Dynamo on August 17th.

UP NEXT: San Jose plays its inaugural match against San Diego FC on Sunday August 17th at 4:00pm at PayPal Park.

Earthquakes late comeback earns point in 2-2 draw with FC Dallas

San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Beau Leroux battles for possession of the ball with FC Dallas wingback John Todd at PayPal Park on Wednesday JUL 16, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — If you blinked for a second, you might have thought you traveled back to 1996.

The San Jose Earthquakes, who donned kits from 1996 when they were known as the Clash, came back after giving up the go-head go to settle for a 2-2 draw with FC Dallas on Wednesday evening at PayPal Park.

San Jose has earned a point in three of its last four matches and currently sit in ninth place in the Western Conference. FC Dallas is winless in its past five matches.

Earthquakes center fullback Bruno Wilson returned to the Starting XI after missing the majority of the first half of the season with a leg injury. Midfielder Niko Tsakiris was also added to the starting lineup by Quakes head coach Bruce Arena.

“It was a sloppy performance at the end of both halves,” said Arena. “The first goal they scored, we could have done better on that play. We give them credit. The second goal they scored, we have three guys that just fell asleep, did a really poor job. I give our guys a lot of credit getting a point out of this game. In a game where we’re a little bit better, maybe we win by a couple of goals. I’m disappointed in our inability to see out both halves. The first half, we should have gone in at 1-0. And I would have liked to have had the game at 1-1 in the final minutes and see if we could win. We put ourselves in a difficult position.”

San Jose (7-8-8-29 points) drew first blood in the 21st minute. A shot attempt by Rodrigues from 20 yards out deflected inside the box off of a FC Dallas defender. Chicho Arango touched the ball over to Joesef Martinez in the center of the box. Martinez sent a back pass out to an open Ian Harkes right at the D. The Quakes fullback buried a shot past FC Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes into the upper right corner for his second goal of the season.

Vitor Costa went down with an injury in the 30th minute when he committed a high foul against Shaq Moore just outside the box. Costa laid on the pitch for a few minutes until he was carted off of the field by the medical staff. To add insult to injury, Costa was issued a yellow card on the play by referee Ramy Touchan. Dave Romney came in as a sub to replace Costa in the 33rd minute.

“It’s two players going in for a ball, and I could be mistaken that the [FC Dallas] player probably got to the ball first and went through it and got to Vítor. It wasn’t a foul on Vítor. The injuries, unfortunate, but it’s certainly not a foul on Vítor. I think was almost like a 50/50 play. I haven’t seen it on film, so I can’t give more detail. He took about a dozen stitches,” Arena said.

On the ensuing free kick for Dallas (5-10-7-22-points), Patrickson Delgado crossed the ball into the center of the box where Sebastien Ibeahga’s left footed one-timer from point-blank range was saved Bernardo Kumango shot saved by Quakes goalkeeper Daniel.

FC Dallas scored the equalizer just before halftime in the third minute of stoppage time. Petar Musa started the counterattack when he threaded a pass between three Quakes defenders that sprung Delgado on a breakaway. Deglado’s chip shot hit off the crossbar, but the Croatian striker followed up the play by collecting the rebound and beat Daniel with a right-footed shot into the near corner for his team leading eighth goal of the season.

Musa recorded his brace in the 85th when he gave FC Dallas their first lead of the match. A give and go inside the box between Ramiro and Logan Farrington, with Farrington making a pretty back pass, led to Ramiro finding Musa all alone in front of the net for an easy tap in for his ninth goal of the season.

The lead didn’t last long for the visitors as the Earthquakes scored their equalizer a minute later. Romey sent a ball down the left wing to Jack Skahan, who remained onside, as he fought the ball away from Kaick Ferreira. Skahan crossed the ball into the middle from the endline to Josef Martinez who headed the ball into the net for his ninth goal of the season.

The officiating was suspect throughout the entire match as Touchan issued five yellow cards to San Jose but none to FC Dallas despite hard fouls taken on both sides of the ball.

Daniel finished three saves on five shots for his eighth draw of the season. Paes made one save on three shots.

“We wanted to win. I think was a very important game to win. We didn’t win. We are not happy about that, but we have to keep working. We have a big chance to go to the playoffs, and we want that a lot. So keep working. Tomorrow is another day. In three days, we have another game so we can improve and we have an opportunity to win,” Bruno said.

GAME NOTES: San Jose and FC Dallas both finished the match with four kicks.

San Jose Earthquakes is now 31-22-23 all-time against FC Dallas with a 18-8-13 home record.

On Tuesday, the Quakes announced team captain Cristian Espinoza was named to the 2025 Major League Soccer All-Star roster. The match will take place next Wednesday, July 23, at Austin FC’s Q2 Stadium.

Espinoza made two key passes, extending his league lead to 72. He also ranks second in MLS with 11 assists.

Martínez’s 21st-minute assist was his second in league play and the 22nd of his MLS career. His ninth in league play and the 125th of his MLS career, good for sixth in the all-time rankings.

With 43 goals in 22 matches, the Black and Blue are currently tied for third in Major League Soccer, three goals behind leaders San Diego FC and one behind Inter Miami CF. The Quakes are currently second in MLS in expected goals (46.7), trailing only Nashville SC (47).

Tonight’s attendance was 15,304.

UP NEXT: San Jose begin a two-game road trip when they travel up to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Sounders on Saturday July 19th at 5:30 pm at Lumen Field.

Dorsey’s late goal pulls Dynamo even in 3-3 draw with Earthquakes

The San Jose Earthquakes Starting XI posed for a group shot just before kickoff in their match against the Houston Dynamo at PayPal Park on Saturday MAY 24, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — In a match that saw fireworks in the second half in terms of goals scored, the San Jose Earthquakes drew 3-3 with the Houston Dynamo on Saturday evening at PayPal Park.

San Jose is unbeaten in its past seven overall matches (4-0-3), including five in MLS play. Houston is winless in their past three matches but earned a point after two straight defeats.

San Jose (5-6-5) had two quality chances early in the first half by Josef Martinez. First in the seventh minute, Martinez’s attempt from 10 yards out was stopped by Dynamo goalkeeper Jonanthan Bond. Then in the 20th minute, Martinez’s point-blank chance from inside the box was knocked away with a two-handed save by Bond.

Houston (4-6-6) drew first blood in the 31st minute. Ondřej Lingr’s counterattack found Griffin Dorsey down the right wing. Dorsey crossed the ball in the box where Ezequiel Ponce headed the ball into the far corner of the net past Quakes goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. for his team’s leading fourth goal of the season.

The Dynamo doubled its lead seconds after a corner kick in the 50th minute. Lingr centered the ball from the right wing over to the back post. An unmarked Felipe Andrade tapped home the ball into an open net for his second goal of the season.

The game seemed to have been judged one-sided to the benefit of the Dynamo from referee Sergii Demianchuk who missed some obvious fouls committed by the Dynamo throughout the match.

“I give our players a lot of credit for coming back down from two goals and basically have the game won at the end,” said Quakes head coach Bruce Arena. “We didn’t manage the game very well at the end….I think we could have done better on all the goals. We could have scored more goals. We should have come in at halftime ahead. We had some very good chances. We just have to be a little bit cleaner.”

San Jose cut the deficit in half in the 66th minute. Beau Leroux got the ball down low to DeJuan Jones near the right goal line. Jones centered the ball to Preston Judd who one-timed the ball past Bond with a right-footed shot for his first goal of the season.

Judd recorded his brace in the 72nd minute. Fullback Ian Harkes centered the ball squarely into the box where Judd got behind two Dynamo defenders and headed the ball over Bond into the upper left corner of the net for the equalizer and second goal of the season.

“Josef (Martínez) helped me out there because they paid a lot of attention to him, so I was able to get on their back shoulders, and they didn’t know where I was at, so I took advantage of that and finished those chances when I got them,” Judd said.

The Earthquakes gained its first lead of the match four minutes later. Once again it was Harkes setting up the goal. After a Cristian Espinoza corner kick, Harkes gathered the ball along the left side line. The Quakes fullback deked out a Houston defender before centering the ball into the middle of the box. An unmarked Daniel Munie made a diving header into the far corner of the net for his first career MLS goal in the 76th minute.

Houston scored the equalizer in the first minute of stoppage time on a fluke goal. Jack McGlynn had the ball just outside the box. McGlynn found Franco Escobar along the right wing. Escobar made a quick back pass to Dorsey whose right-footed shot deflected off of Dave Romey and into the back of the net for his second goal of the season.

Bond finished the match with five saves on eight shots on target and was mainly responsible for Houston earning a point in the contest. Edwards Jr. did not record a save on the three shots on target.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished the match with 11 corner kicks. Houston had seven.

The Earthquakes are currently 10-19-5 all-time vs. Houston Dynamo FC with an 8-6-4 home record.

Heading into tonight, the Quakes’ attack led all MLS with 29 goals. To celebrate, the club gave away 2,900 hot dogs to fans before the match. With another three goals tonight, the Quakes stayed atop the league leaderboard with 32 goals and 34.13 expected goals. 

Judd scored his fifth and sixth goals of his career. Combined with his goal and assist in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play, he’s up to four goal contributions in all competitions (2g/2a).

DeJuan Jones, recently called up to the U.S. Men’s National Team for June training camp ahead of the Concacaf Gold Cup, amassed his fourth assist of the season and 26th of his MLS career.

The Quakes stayed unbeaten (3-0-3) in all games started by recent acquisition DeJuan Jones, who joined the team via trade with the Columbus Crew last month.

Ian Harkes had his first two assists of the MLS season tonight, running his career total to eight. He also had a goal vs. Inter Miami in his last league outing, giving him three goal contributions in his last two matches.

Edwards Jr.’s shutout streak in all competitions ended at 197 minutes after conceding Ezequiel Ponce’s 31st-minute goal.

Luca Ulrich, acquired via short-term loan earlier today from the Quakes’ MLS NEXT Pro team, The Town FC, was an unused substitute backing up Earl Edwards Jr. at goalkeeper.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels down south to take on their SoCal rival Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday May 28th at 7:00pm at Dignity Health Sports Park

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Ready for Professional Cricket?

San Francisco Unicorns Hassan Khan takes a swing in cricket action back on Jul 25, 2024 (photo by ESPN)

Ready for Professional Cricket?

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Are we Saturated with professional Sports teams in the Bay Area?

Yes, No? Prepare for Professional Cricket, which is coming to the Oakland Coliseum. World-class cricket is coming to the Oakland Coliseum. The San Francisco Unicorns were announced as one of the six teams participating in the league’s inaugural season in 2025. Games will be held on June 12, 14, and 15 at the Oakland Coliseum, and tickets will start at $30.

–The Golden State Valkyries: A new WNBA team owned by Golden State Warriors Joe Lacob and Peter Guber. They are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco’s Chase Center. The Valkyries compete in the Women’s National Basketball Association as a member of the Western Conference. They recently began play in the 2025 season. Fact: The Valkyries already had more attendance in their inaugural game, 18,064, a sellout, than the Oakland A’s, playing in exile in Sacramento, who have yet to sell out one (1) game this season at Sutter Health Park.

–The Town FC is an American professional soccer team in Moraga, California. It is the San Jose Earthquakes reserve team and participates in MLS Next Pro, a minor league.

The Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional soccer club based in Oakland, California. It is a member of the Western Conference and competes in the USL Championship.

–The Bay Football Club, an American professional soccer team based in the San Francisco Bay Area that competes in the National Women’s Soccer League. The team began play in the NWSL as an expansion team in the 2024 season.

Not satisfied with enough Soccer yet? …There is more!

Golden City Football Club (GCFC) co-founders have announced plans to bring professional soccer to the Bay Area—the Golden City Football Club. San Francisco’s iconic Kezar Stadium is getting a major facelift thanks to a new $10 million public-private investment partnership. Mayor Daniel Lurie and (Soccer in Spanish=Fútbol in Portuguese=Futebol) Bay Area franchises in other Sports. –The San Francisco Giants, the San José Giants, and the Oakland Ballers are professional baseball teams in the Major and Minor Leagues.

–The Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association were recently eliminated (minus Curry) during the playoffs.

–The NFL San Francisco 49ers, who play in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, just signed quarterback Brock Purdy to a five-year, $265 million extension. Purdy is looking for his first Super Bowl ring. Legendary Hall of Fame QB Joe Montana led the 49ers to four (4) Super Bowl titles. Joe Montana, as the 49ers Quarterback, earned an estimated $25 million during his professional football career.

–San José Earthquakes of the MLS (Major League Soccer)USA.

–The NHL San José Sharks just signed a lease to stay at SAP Center until 2050, and the mayor of San José promised many arena improvements.

Q: Are there enough fans and money to support all these sports teams in the Bay Area?

A: Think of this: Most of the wealthiest Californians reside in the Bay Area and amassed their fortunes thanks to the tech industry. With 342,400 millionaires and 756 people worth more than $100 million, the region ranked as the second wealthiest region in the world, just behind New York City. Apr 16, 2025 Adiós Atléticos. It’s too bad for the Oakland Athletics, who left this wonderful, rich area loaded with sports action for Sacramento and are still seeking additional funds for their Las Vegas stadium project. They aim to raise to $550 million from investors. The new stadium, valued at $1.75 billion, is financed through private investment, public funding, and bank loans.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.

@Central Park Fremont – Fremont CA

 OPENS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

goaquaadventure.com

Skahan’s extra time heroics propel Earthquakes to 1-0 win over Timbers, advance to quarterfinals

The San Jose Earthquakes Starting XI posed for a pic before their showdown with the Portland Timbers in the Round of 16 match of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at PayPal Park on Tuesday MAY 20, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Jack Skahan scored in the 116th minute as the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Portland Timbers 1-0 in the Round of 16 of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday evening at PayPal Park.

San Jose advanced to the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup where they will find out their opponent on Thursday morning when officials from the U.S Open Cup will perform a draw for the remaining eight teams. Portland bowed out of the tournament after one win.

Preston Judd connected with Mark-Anthony Kaye along the left wing. Kaye made one touched before firing the ball on net that pinballed off of a Timbers defender and then off of Skahan into the back of the net past Timbers goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau for his first goal of the tournament.

San Jose started the match with two free kicks from just outside the box in the first six minutes of the contest. They weren’t able to capitalize on either chance as Portland’s defense cleared out both attempts.

The Earthquakes nearly got on the scoreboard in the 20th minute. Cristian Espinoza corralled a long ball and made a back pass into the middle of the box. Ousseni Bouda deked out one defender before depositing the ball high into the stands with his shot attempt.

Portland’s best scoring chance of the opening 45 minutes came in the 30th minute off of an Earthquakes turnover. Arie Lassiter’s left footed shot from 15-yards out was gobbled up with a diving save by Quakes goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.

San Jose head coach Bruce Arena made one change to the lineup at halftime when he substituted in Judd for Hernan Lopez, who made his first start since coming off of his shoulder injury. Lopez also received a yellow card in the 40th minute for a bad foul.

The Timbers had a chance to breakthrough in the 50th minute when Andrew Guerra got behind the Quakes defense on a long ball. However, Edwards Jr. aggressively came out and made a sliding tackle to keep the ball out of harm’s way.

Crepeau was busy in the first 10 minutes of the second half when San Jose had shot attempts on target, including making a fingertip save on a shot by Beau Leroux in the 56th minute that went out for a corner kick.

In the 86th minute Kamal Miller dragged down Espinoza just outside the box. Miller was animated on the call that came late after the play and was issued a yellow card for arguing with the officials. Espinoza’s ensuing free kick was knocked away by Crepeau.

San Jose had a golden opportunity in the 111th minute to break the seal when Benji Kikanovic fed a long ball out to Jack Skahan along the left wing. Skahan dribbled in all alone on Crepeau, but his chip shot attempt was saved by Crepeau.

Edwards Jr stopped all five shots on target to earn his first clean slate of the tournament. Crepeau made eight saves on nine shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with 12 corner kicks. Portland had two.

San Jose is now 3-2 against Portland in U.S Open Cup play.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns to MLS action when they host the Houston Dynamo on Saturday May 24th at 7:30pm at PayPal Park.

Earthquakes battle to 3-3 draw with Messi and Inter Miami

Inter Miami’s midfielder Lionel Messi (left) battles for the ball with San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Beau Leroux during the teams 3-3 draw at Pay Pal Park on Wednesday MAY 14, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Messi Mania lived up to the hype in Silicon Valley.

Inter Miami came back from a one-goal deficit at halftime in an exciting 3-3 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday evening in front of a pro-Messi sold-out crowd at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose is unbeaten in their last three MLS matches. Inter Miami has earned points in two of its last three matches.

World renowned soccer superstar, many have called him the G.O.A.T., Lionel Messi made his triumphant debut in the South Bay with his Inter Miami squad to 18,000 frenzied fans who consistently chanted his name all night long throughout the match. Messi helped create two of the three goals against San Jose.

Messi only needed 35 seconds to make his impact on the match. After a corner kick, Messi made a pass back up to Jordi Alba and the Inter Miami defender crossed the ball into the middle of the box where an unmarked Maximiliano Falcón headed the ball past Quakes goalkeeper Daniel for his first goal of the season.

San Jose (5-6-2) answered two minutes later thanks to a blunder by Miami’s goalkeeper Oscar Ustari. Cristian Espinoza intercepted a clearing attempt by Ustari inside the box. Espinoza found Chico Arango all alone in the middle and the Colombian striker buried the ball into an open net for his team leading ninth goal of the season.

The first half explosion of offense continued for the Earthquakes in the 37th minute when they earned its first lead of the match. Vitor Costa found Ian Harkes just outside the box. Harkes attempted move into the box deflected over to Beau Leroux who drilled a shot off of the hand of Ustari into the bottom right corner of the net for his second goal of the season.

Inter Miami (6-2-4) evened the game in the 44th minute when Messi sent in a long ball out Alba. The Spanish fullback crossed the ball into the middle of the box where Allende finished off the tic-tac-toe play with a one-timer into an open net for his first goal in over two months.

“I think the biggest mistake we could have made tonight was to be too respectful of Messi. Some teams maybe get players around him a little tighter and try to dive the ball. We just want to play our game and try to be the better team tonight. At the same time, obviously have the greatest respect for a player of his skill and talent and all of that. So hopefully the people in the stands enjoyed the game,” Arena said.

The Earthquakes received a scare in the 31st minute when Arango had to leave the pitch after suffering a left leg injury. Arango was able to walk off under his own power but was replaced by Amahl Pellegrino.

San Jose responded and regained the lead four minutes into stoppage time to conclude a wild first half scoring bonanza. Pellegrino found Leroux along the right wing with a cross-pitch pass. Leroux quickly one-touched the ball over to Ian Harkes who beat Ustari with a left footed shot from 18 yards out for his first goal of the season.

Harkes’ goal was the 17th Inter Miami’s suspect defense has conceded in its last six matches.

A controversial foul by Pellegrino, who also received a yellow card on the play from referee Joe Dickerson, just outside the box with seconds left in the opening 45 minutes gave Messi a chance to even the score on the last play of half. However, his free kick sailed just wide to the right of the net.

Inter Miami scored the equalizer in the 52nd minute on Allende’s brace. Messi set up Baltasar Rodríguez along the right wing. Rodríguez crossed the ball into the middle where an unmarked Allende one-timed the ball into an open net for his fourth goal of the season.

The Quakes thought they had regained the lead in the 62nd minute when Ousseni Bouda found Espinoza along the right wing and Espinoza fired a shot into the back of the net past Ustari. However, Bouda was ruled offsides by the linesman on a late call.

Both teams had chances to score the winning goal during the five minutes of stoppage time in the second half. In the second minute, Alba found Messi all alone along the left side of the box. Messi’s shot attempt from point-blank range was kicked away by Daniel at the last moment to keep the score deadlocked. Then in the waning moments of the match, Hernan Lopez, who played his first MLS game since May 1 and came in as a substitute for Pellegrino in the 79th minute, fired a shot from 20 yards out that deflected off of Falcon and just wide right of the net.

Daniel finished the match with two saves on five shots on target while Ustari made three saves on six shots.

“We came out to the field with that in mind, the mindset to deliver three points. There were a lot of moments where we had control of the game, but obviously they have a really good player. So that’s why the game was really open for both teams. But it’s really important to get points. Either it’s three points or at least one point tonight. As I said before, we tried everything. So, we went for the three points, but at least we got one point. We need to keep growing as a team,” Espinoza said.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with seven corner kicks. Inter Miami had two.

San Jose is 0-1-1 all time versus Inter Miami.

Arango moved into second in the MLS Golden Boot race to Philadelphia’s Tai Baribo, who has 10. It was the Colombian forward’s 62nd career MLS goal. He also played in his 200th MLS game tonight.

Espinoza recorded his eighth assist of the season on Arango’s goal to keep the MLS assist lead. It was his 79th career assist, a club record. He also continues to lead the league in key passes (49).

The Quakes continue to lead all MLS with 29 team goals after adding three more tonight. They are also tops in expected goals (29.78).

UP NEXT: San Jose travels to New England to take on the Revolution on Saturday May 17th at 4:30pm at Gillete Stadium.