The two time MLS Cup Winner and two time Supporter’s Shield Winner, the San Jose Earthquakes, has not been at its best in the last few years. The team’s highest position on the MLS league table was 6th in the last 10 years, with Chris Leitch managing to reach 46 points.
The San Jose Earthquakes have lost their star player, Cristian Espinoza, to Nashville FC as a free agent. In the same transfer window, they’ve lost Josef Martinez to Tijuana on a free transfer, as well as loaning Cristian “Chicho” Arango to Atletico Nacional after signing a 4 year contract with the Earthquakes.
On the bright side, the Earthquakes have brought in highly decorated Timo Werner from RB Leipzig on a free transfer. The Earthquakes are now down to only 4 attacking players. To put this in perspective; an average starting lineup for a game has 3 attacking players in the lineup this season: New signing Werner, Preston Judd, Paul Marie, and Ousseni Bouda.
In the 2025 season, the Earthquakes had a very shaky defense, conceding 63 goals in 34 while keeping only 5 clean sheets. The attack, on the other hand, was very strong, scoring 60 goals and ending the season on a -3 goal difference. The front 3 of the Earthquakes in the 2025 season include: Arango with 13 goals and 3 assists, Martinez with 14 goals and 2 assists, and Cristian Espinoza with 4 goals and 8 assists.
Many locals of the Bay Area and San Jose are very worried about the upcoming season. For example, Casa Grande High School senior Erik Hernandez states, “It’s going to be terrible.” Kevin Medina, a junior at Casa Grande said, “They would probably place mid-table, if I’m being generous.”
At the end of the day, it is very hard to predict how any team will perform in the MLS. For example, The Earthquakes’ main rival, The LA Galaxy, were the winners of the MLSin the 2024 season. In the 2025 season, LA Galaxy were in the top five worst teams in the MLS, yet The Galaxy went on a 16 game winless streak. To end, the MLS is very chaotic and unpredictable with many twists and turns as the season is underway.
*Matchweeks: 1, 2, and 3*
Fast-forward a month and a half, and the San Jose Earthquakes (for the first time in their history) have won their first three games of the season. Out of every team in the MLS, many believed the Earthquakes would be the worst team in the league for many reasons, but mainly for losing an abundance of “key” players.
Matchweek 1 (Feb. 21, 2026) :
The San Jose Earthquakes had a big advantage for the opening day of the MLS with them playing at home at PayPal Park in San Jose, California against Sporting Kansas City. The game kicked off late around 7:30, with the fans excited and nervous at the same time, seeing a young group of players work together while losing many players in the transfer window.
The Quakes struck first late in the first half with center-back Daniel Munie from a corner whipped-in from Niko Tsakiris in the 42nd minute. The Quakes scored a second goal only four minutes later, in the first extra minute of added time with Preston Judd tapping-in a cross from Jamar Ricketts from the left hand side. The first half ended as a 2-0 advantage to The San Jose Earthquakes.
The second half started with an early goal from the Quakes with a header from defender Munie, again scoring from the play of a corner being assisted by a cross from, San Jose grown Beau Leroux. The game ended as a 3-0 win to the San Jose Earthquakes, surprising the entire league not just with a big win but also a clean sheet.
Matchweek 2 (Feb. 28, 2026):
The Quakes again played at home at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, against Atlanta United with an early kick-off of 4:30. The fans around the stadium were very excited for the long awaited debut of Timo Werner happening that day. It was going to be the exact same line-up of players from the previous game with only one change with Ian Harkes coming in for the Quakes’ new captain, Ronaldo Vieira, due to a lower body injury during the game against Sporting Kansas City.
The game kicked-off with a few early chances for the Quakes from Kikanovic and Judd. In the 24th minute, Atlanta United’s goalkeeper; 36 year old Lucas Hoyos, misplaced a pass, giving it to Jamar Ricketts. Ricketts cut around the defenders around him and put in a pin-point cross into Preston Judd to head it home, with Judd and Ricketts jumping into the stands and celebrating with the fans. The first half ended 1-0 to the Quakes.
The second half started with an advantage to The San Jose Earthquakes. Again, there were a few chances for both teams with The Earthquakes’ keeper Daniel making big saves. Finally, in the 61st minute, German international Timo Werner made his long awaited debut replacing the goal scorer, Judd. Not even 20 minutes into Werner’s debut, he assisted Bouda in the 79th minute to seal the game for The Earthquakes. The game ended as a 2-0 win to the San Jose Earthquakes, starting the season with two wins in two games and keeping two consecutive clean sheets.
Matchweek 3 (March 7, 2026):
The Earthquakes travelled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to face last season’s support shield winners: Philadelphia Union. The game kicked off at 7:30 eastern time with the heavy atmosphere of Subaru Park. The only change in the lineup was Ronaldo Vieira returning into the starting lineup for Ian Harkes.
The first half kicked off with a few chances from both teams with big saves coming from both goalkeepers, San Jose’s Daniel and Philadelphia’s Blake. The first half ended 0-0 with no goals coming from either side.
The second half started with Ricketts being taken off for Werner with a job to do for both sides in the next 45 minutes. Again, both sides had a few chances, but the Quakes made one count, Werner cut around the left hand side from a few defenders, then put in a perfect pass between the Union’s center-back partnership, for Bouda to tap it in past Blake in the 59th minute. Philadelphia fought hard to get back against the Quakes but failed too. The game ended as another win for the Quakes with the score being 1-0, with the Quakes keeping three clean sheets in a row with three wins in a row as well.
The San Jose Earthquakes ended the first three matchweeks being one of four teams winning three games in three. Nobody expected for the Quakes to have this start to the new season after losing so many players (mainly attacking players). The San Jose Earthquakes only kept five clean sheets from the entirety of the 2025 MLS season and conceded the fifth most amount of goals being 63 goals.
https://www.fotmob.com/teams/6603/overview/san-jose-earthquakes
