CHESTER, Pa. — The San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Philadelphia Union 1-0 on Saturday night at Subaru Park in front of 17,410 fans to start the season with three consecutive wins for the first time in club history.
After a scoreless first half, San Jose struck first in the 59th minute. Niko Tsakiris pushed the ball ahead to Timo Werner on the left wing, who turned and fed a streaking Ousseni Bouda with a low diagonal pass that beat the last man on the Philadelphia back line. The Quakes forward buried the pinpoint pass for his second goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
Quakes fans can watch the replayon KTVU Plus on Wednesday, March 11, at 8 p.m. PT.
From there, Daniel and the back line held firm for their third consecutive shutout to seal the Quakes’ first 3-0-0 start since starting MLS play in 1996.
The Black and Blue now return home next Sunday, March 15, to face Seattle Sounders FC in the featured game of the week on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire. The first 9,000 fans through the PayPal Park gates will receive a Quakes x Hello Kitty Tote Bag for Hello Kitty Night. Kickoff will take place at 4 p.m. PT and will be broadcast globally via Apple TV (English/Spanish), as well as local radio on KSFO 810 AM (English) and La Kaliente 1370 AM (Spanish).
GAME NOTES
With the result, San Jose moves to 3-0-0 with nine points (6 GF, 0 GA) and remains in a tie with San Diego FC for first in the Western Conference as of tonight’s final whistle. The Philadelphia Union goes to 0-3-0 with 0 points and 10th in the Eastern Conference (1 GF, 3 GA).
The win also marked the first time since San Jose began MLS play in 1996 that they started a season with three victories.
With three straight shutouts, the Quakes are one game away from tying the club record of four consecutive set in August 2015.
The Quakes are the third team to start the season with three shutout wins, joining the 2009 Seattle Sounders and 2010 LA Galaxy.
San Jose is now 6-5-4 (17 GF, 18 GA) against the Union in regular-season play with a 3-3-2 (9 GF, 11 GA) record on the road.
Bruce Arena won his 276th regular-season MLS game to extend his league record among head coaches. The late great Sigi Schmid is second with 240.
Ousseni Bouda’s 59th-minute goal was his second of the season and the seventh of his MLS career.
Timo Werner’s 59th-minute primary assist was his second of the season and second of his MLS career.
Niko Tsakiris’ 59th-minute secondary assist was his second of the season and fifth of his MLS career.
Goalkeeper Daniel now leads the league with three clean sheets and recorded the 12th of his MLS career.
Collectively, the Quakes lead MLS or are tied for first in expected goals (6.72), goals against (0), shots on goal faced (5), clean sheets (3), accurate long balls (15) and corner kicks taken (23). They are also second in total assists (9) and third in total goals (6).
Niko Tsakiris had one key pass to up his league-leading total to 11.
Preston Judd is now third in the league with shots on goal with six.
Jamar Ricketts had more than 20 family and friends in attendance from his hometown of Montclair, New Jersey, which is a half-hour drive away from the area. The winger starred at St. Benedict’s Prep.
Forward Jack Skahan, who played in the Union’s youth academy, returned to face his former club. He came on in the 82nd minute for Preston Judd to close out the win.
Philadelphia Union 0 – 1 San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, March 7, 2026 — Subaru Park; Chester, Pa.
Weather: 51°F Partly Cloudy
Attendance: 17,410
NorCal Honda Dealers Man of the Match: Daniel
*all stats unofficial
Match Officials:
Referee: Armando Villarreal
AR1: Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho
AR2: Diego Blas
4th Official: Rodrigo Albuquer que
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
AVAR: TJ Zablocki
Scoring Summary:
SJ (0-1) – Ousseni Bouda (Timo Werner, Niko Tsakiris) 59’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Benji Kikanović (caution) 15'
PHI – Jovan Lukić (caution) 20’
PHI – Nathan Harriel (caution) 65’
SJ – Preston Judd (caution) 75'
PHI – Ezekiel Alladoh (caution) 88’
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel (GK); Benji Kikanović, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, DeJuan Jones; Beau Leroux (Ian Harkes 82’), Ronaldo Vieira, Niko Tsakiris; Ousseni Bouda, Jamar Ricketts (Timo Werner 46’), Preston Judd (Jack Skahan 82’).
Substitutes not used: Earl Edwards Jr. (GK), Vítor Costa, Nick Fernandez, Jonathan González, Paul Marie, Dave Romney.
POSS.: 51%; SHOTS: 7; SOG: 3; CORNERS: 1; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 2; FOULS: 16; xG: 0.8
PHILADELPHIA UNION: Andre Blake (GK); Japhet Sery Larsen, Nathan Harriel, Giovanny Sequera (Ben Bender 82’), Francis Westfield; Jovan Lukić (Jesus Bueno 60’), Danley Jean Jacques, Milan Iloski (Alejandro Bedoya 74’), Indiana Vassilev; Bruno Damiani (Stas Korzeniowski 74’), Agustin Anello (Ezekiel Alladoh 46’).
Substitutes not used: Andrew Rick (GK), Geiner Martinez, Jeremy Rafanello, Cavan Sullivan.
POSS.: 49%; SHOTS: 13; SOG: 3; CORNERS: 11; OFFSIDES: 2; SAVES: 3; FOULS: 20; xG: 1.3
EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On facing the Philadelphia Union tonight:
“I think the effort tonight was great. The performance certainly was not perfect, but good teams win these kinds of games because they know how to grind it out on a night when you know we're not moving the ball particularly well. We played together as a team for 90-plus minutes, and to leave Philadelphia with three points is huge. That team doesn't lose at home, although I know this is the second consecutive loss for them. I believe they only lost once [at home] in 2025 and they’re defending Supporters’ Shield winners. So, I'd be pretty foolish to sit here and complain about the result and or the effort and all that. We did a good job tonight—real good goal combination with Timo [Werner] and [Ousseni] Bouda. And overall, I'm proud of the way the guys hung in there. They battled and they walked off the field with three points and three clean sheets.”
On room for improvement after tonight’s win:
“If we're at fault with anything, I think we lack some composure over the last 20 minutes of the game. We could be better with our passing. We could be a little bit more confident on the ball. Give Philadelphia credit. They got after us and caused us to create some mistakes on the ball. They had some momentum, and they were dangerous.”
On the instant impact of Timo Werner with two assists in as many games:
“Timo is a quality player. We know, as we continue to move forward, that he's going to not only contribute with assists, but he's going to score goals as well. As he gets more fit, he's going to be a more complete player for us. His quality is obvious. He's been a good leader for our team in a short period of time. So, I think there's going to be a lot of positive things ahead.”
“It's going to take a little time for him to get his full fitness. We want to bring him along the right way. The last thing I want to do is overload him and cause an injury. So hopefully we've been smart in the first two games with his minutes, and hopefully we can keep building him so by another month or so he's really match fit.”
On the defensive performance tonight, especially from Daniel and the center back pairing of Reid Roberts and Daniel Munie:
“Our center backs and our goalkeeper played very well tonight. Munie and Reid cut off a bunch of players. Daniel made, I'd say two, maybe three key saves. That's what you need on the road and in games like this. So, a lot of credit to Daniel for having three consecutive clean sheets.”
EARTHQUAKES FORWARD OUSSENI BOUDA
On his second goal of the season, set up by Timo Werner, and the growing connection between the two:
“I think it’s a natural connection that we’re starting to build, and I’m really happy about it. We’re very happy to have Timo on the team. He brings a lot of experience, but he’s also just a great guy. He’s always looking to find his teammates and makes things easier for the rest of us. Hopefully it’s a connection we can keep building throughout the season and turn into more goals. And now I’ve got to return the favor. I need to find him for one, so it’s on me to get him an assist.”
On three consecutive wins and clean sheets:
“I think it’s a collective effort. It starts from the top, and everyone is working for each other as a team. There’s great chemistry on and off the field, and that obviously translates onto the field when everyone knows we’re all in this together and understands our roles. Each week we prepare for our opponents and how we’re going to defend them, and I think we’ve improved a lot as a team defensively. It’s only the third game of the season, though, so hopefully we can keep getting better.”
On what’s changed this year and the team’s commitment to playing for one another:
“I think we’re playing for each other. We’re playing as a team, and that’s obviously helping us, especially in games like these. It’s helped us keep three clean sheets, so we need to keep doing that. Then, when we get into the final third, we can express ourselves and show our talent. But off the ball, we have to stay compact as a team, keep running for each other, communicate, and do that for the full 90 minutes.”
On whether the strong start to the season is surprising:
“This is the standard we expect from ourselves. We saw in preseason that we looked really good, not just because we were winning, but in the way we were winning. It’s also the second year with our staff, so they know us better and we know them better. We go into every game with full confidence, knowing we’ve prepared well during the week. The information they give us, we just have to apply it. After that, we can let our talent show. We’re a very talented, young team, and we’ve looked good since day one. This is the standard we’ve set for ourselves—we run for each other, and then let our talent speak for itself.”