San Jose Earthquakes - The Golden Bay Times

San Jose, CA - The Earthquakes thought they had everything set in place from the beginning whistle. Even though they poured on the pressure early, outshooting San Diego FC 9 to 2 in the first half, the scoreboard stubbornly refused to light up . When the breakthrough finally came in the 72nd minute, it felt poetic: Noel Buck, fresh off the bench, charged down the San Diego goalkeeper just as he was about to clear, and Josef Martínez, ever the opportunist, pounced on the loose ball, danced around a defender, and buried the finish. Cue the home crowd’s roar, it was 1 to 0 and Quakes looked ready to feast . But just when the narrative seemed set, San Diego unleashed their own second half thunder. Marcus Ingvartsen pulled them level in the 82nd, then three minutes later slipped a perfect assist to Anders Dreyer, who delivered the coup de grâce to seal a 2 to 1 heartbreak that left San Jose with nothing but regret on a day they seemed destined for more.

Sandy, UT - The San Jose Earthquakes staged a dramatic ballet at America First Field only to see the final curtain fall 2–1 in favor of Real Salt Lake. It began with a familiar script when Josef Martínez, newly acquired and eager, broke the silence in the 51st minute by threading a precise finish through RSL’s defense to give San Jose their moment of elation. But momentum shifted quickly as a Jamar Ricketts own goal in the 57th minute dragged Salt Lake level and deflated the visitors. The Earthquakes pressed for a response but instead were undone in the 81st minute when substitute Braian Ojeda unleashed a strike from outside the box that slipped past goalkeeper Daniel for his first goal of the season, sealing the match. To add to the chaos, Cristian Espinoza delayed a substitution at a crucial moment and later Reid Roberts was sent off after a second yellow, forcing San Jose to finish with ten men. What unfolded felt less like a soccer match and more like a short story written in harsh edits, each twist stripping away San Jose’s chance at redemption.

Seattle, WA - When the San Jose Earthquakes ripped the script open at Lumen Field today, it felt like the setup to a classic underdog tale. Wingback Jamar Ricketts raced down the flank and delivered a silky low cross; Preston Judd slid in, tapping it home in the 26th minute to shock Seattle and ignite hopes of another road upset. Those hopes, alas, proved fleeting. Just two minutes later, former Quake Danny Musovski knotted things up with a headed equalizer, the dawn of a turbulent second act. After the break, Seattle struck again, this time on a seam pass to Pedro de la Vega, who delivered a pinpoint cross and saw Musovski rise yet again, nodding home his brace in the 54th minute. San Jose refused to wilt, and Cristian Arango hammered home the rebound in the 64th to pull level once more. But the final twist came in the 69th minute: a clinical strike by de la Vega, set up by Cristian Roldán, eluded diving keeper Daniel, sealing a 3-2 defeat for the Quakes. The result snapped San Jose’s seven match unbeaten run against Seattle in league play, and left the Quakes perched 10th in the Western Conference, while Seattle cruised into fifth. It was a night of flash, fight, but ultimately Seattle’s flair.

San Jose, CA - The midnight blue of PayPal Park held its breath as San Jose and FC Dallas traded blows in a 2-2 draw that felt more like a novella than a match. The Earthquakes opened in cinematic fashion when Josef Martínez, sandwiched between defenders yet impossibly composed, slid a pass to Ian Harkes, who unleashed a long-range laser into the net in the 21st minute, igniting the home crowd. But just before halftime, Dallas winger Petar Musa seized on a rebound in transition to yank the narrative back alive with a goal in stoppage time. The second half lurked ominously, and momentum tilted Dallas’s way when Musa struck again in the 85th, following a perfectly placed back-heel loft that left the home defense stranded. Yet San Jose, wounded but not broken, answered in the very next minute as Jack Skahan lofted a cross and Martínez rose above the chaos to nod home the equalizer, promptly earning Man of the Match honors. The result: two points heroically earned, not one undeserved, as the Quakes and their fans were left savoring the draw rather than fearing a loss.

Saint Paul, MN - San Jose got steamrolled in Saint Paul on Saturday night, falling 4-1 to Minnesota United at Allianz Field before 19,743 fans. The Loons sprang to life almost immediately as Tani Oluwaseyi turned a Robin Lod flick-on from a corner into a begging-to-be-wired opener in the third minute, despite some offside grumbling. That early sucker punch set the tone. Just before halftime, Oluwaseyi whipped in a cross that Kelvin Yeboah nodded home in the 42nd, then Anthony Markanich crashed the party again during stoppage time to make it 3-0. San Jose finally answered back in the 70th when Bruno Wilson, back from injury and sharper than a paper cut, connected on a Judd flick-on to give the Quakes something to dig into. But the momentum turned out to be fleeting. Minnesota’s control held, and Joseph Rosales wrapped the rout by tucking one in during second-half stoppage time. It wasn’t just a loss, it was a clinic in crisp execution, leaving the Earthquakes staring down a nightmarish road trip and a steep climb back home.

San Jose, CA - The Quakes found themselves in the middle of a bruising tug of war with the visiting New York Red Bulls at PayPal Park. In the 19th minute, Emil Forsberg wriggled free of three Quakes, bending a clinical finish into the net from a Peter Stroud feed, an early sucker punch that snapped San Jose’s rhythm. The Quakes responded not with orchestrated brilliance, but with something more accidental: a Mohammed Sofo miscue in the 58th minute that deflected Cristian Espinoza’s cross into his own goal, leveling the score in the strangest of ways. Yet before they could fully savor that lifeline, DeJuan Jones drew a second yellow just six minutes later, and San Jose was down a man. From there, the earth seemed to tilt toward New York, who nearly capitalized again when Sean Nealis nodded one in, only for VAR to chalk it off with a razor thin offside on Choupo Moting. In the end, the Quakes survived, earning a gritty 1-1 draw before 17,580 tense souls, a finish as bizarre as it was oddly satisfying.

Palo Alto, CA - At Stanford Stadium, nearly forty‑three thousand fans leaned in as San Jose and the LA Galaxy handed each other a draw in their 104th California Clásico. The Quakes drew first blood in the sixteenth minute when Mark‑Anthony Kaye orchestrated a slick nine‑pass sequence and slipped a perfect feed to homegrown midfielder Beau Leroux, whose strike crackled into the net. The first half ended with the Earthquakes holding the edge, but the Galaxy answered back just past the hour mark. Marco Reus, capitalizing on his own rebound, swept the ball low and clean past the keeper to level the score. The closing minutes saw San Jose scrambling for the winner; Leroux rose for a last‑ditch header four minutes into stoppage time, only to see it veer just wide. In the end, fans left buzzing as the teams shared the spoils, neither conceding momentum to the other, yet every dramatic touch echoed the weight of a rivalry that refuses easy endings.