VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The San Jose Earthquakes defeated Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1-0 on Saturday night in front of 21,261 fans at BC Place to move to 4-1-0.
The Earthquakes opened the scoring on the last play of first-half stoppage time, when Beau Leroux stole the ball from Vancouver’s Cheikh Sabaly after a shallow clearance and unleashed a blast from well behind the edge of the box that beat goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka to give San Jose a 1-0 lead.
After intermission, both teams’ German stars—San Jose’s Timo Werner and Vancouver’s Thomas Müller—entered the match. But goalkeeper Daniel and the Quakes’ back line stole the show, ultimately turning away multiple barrages from the hosts to preserve the clean sheet and become the first team to take points from Vancouver this season.
The Black and Blue return home Saturday, April 4, to face San Diego FC in a match presented by Ford. Kickoff from PayPal Park is set for 7:30 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 4-1-0 with 12 points (7 GF, 1 GA) and even on points with Vancouver for second in the Western Conference as of tonight’s final whistle. Vancouver Whitecaps FC drops to an identical 4-1-0 with 12 points (14 GF, 2 GA).
The San Jose Earthquakes are 12-13-12 (48 GF, 52 GA) in the all-time regular-season series against Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and 5-11-4 (26 GF, 39 GA) on the road. San Jose last won at BC Place on Aug. 20, 2023 (VAN 0-1 SJ).
Tonight marks only the third 4-1-0 start in club history, matching the 2012 team for regulation wins to being a season. The 1999 team (then known as the Clash started 4-1-0, but all four wins came via shootout. No Quakes team has started 5-1-0.
In each of San Jose’s last five victories over Vancouver now dating back to 2022, the Quakes have allowed only one goal or less.
After beating the Philadelphia Union 1-0 in their road opener on March 7, San Jose has won its first two road games (in regulation) for only the third time in club history, after the 2003 Audi MLS Cup-winning team, and the 2012 Supporters’ Shield-winning team. No Quakes team has ever won its first three on the road.
With only one goal conceded in the first five games, the Quakes’ defense set a new club record for least goals conceded over a five-game period in MLS play. The previous record was two, set in 2015.
Tonight not only marked the first time Vancouver had been defeated all season, but also the first time the ‘Caps had been shut out in MLS play.
The Quakes’ fourth clean sheet is already one shy of matching last season’s team total in MLS play.
Collectively, the Quakes lead MLS in accurate longballs (26) and are tied for first in corner kicks won (45). They are second in expected goals (11.85), goals against (1) and clean sheets (4).
Bruce Arena won his 277th regular-season game, an MLS record. The late great Sigi Schmid is second is 140.
Beau Leroux's goal in the second minute of first-half stoppage time was his first goal of the season and sixth of his MLS career. It was also the second consecutive season where he scored off a long-range blast behind the edge of the box at BC Place against Vancouver.
Daniel earned his fourth clean sheet of the season and 13th of his MLS career. He is only second in the league in that department this season to LAFC’s Hugo Lloris (5).
Niko Tsakiris had one key pass to up his league-leading total to 16.
San Jose’s Timo Werner and Vancouver’s Thomas Müller played together on the German National Team, notably in the 2018 FIFA World Cup (eliminated Group Stage) and UEFA Euro 2020 (eliminated Rd. of 16).
San Jose’s Jamar Ricketts and Vancouver’s AZ (formerly Aziel Jackson) grew up in neighboring New Jersey cities Montclair and West Orange, which are separated by less than five miles. Similarly, Preston Judd and Vancouver’s Tristan Blackmon share a hometown of Las Vegas.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0 – 1 San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, March 21, 2026 — BC Place; Vancouver, British Columbia
Weather: 47°F Mostly Sunny
Attendance: 21,261
NorCal Honda Dealers Man of the Match: Beau Leroux
\all stats unofficial*
Match Officials:
Referee: Chris Penso
AR1: Cory Richardson
AR2: Brooke Mayo
4th Official: Malik Badawi
VAR: David Barrie
AVAR: Robert Schaap
Scoring Summary:
SJ (0-1) – Beau Leroux (unassisted) 45+2’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Timo Werner (caution) 31'
SJ – DeJuan Jones (caution) 50'
VAN – Jean-Claude Ngando (caution) 60'
SJ – Preston Judd (caution) 90+6'
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel (GK); Benji Kikanović, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, DeJuan Jones (Vitor Costa 54’); Beau Leroux (Jonathan González 82’), Ronaldo Vieira (C) (Ian Harkes 46’), Niko Tsakiris; Ousseni Bouda (Dave Romney 82’), Jamar Ricketts (Timo Werner 54’), Preston Judd.
Substitutes not used: Earl Edwards Jr. (GK), Nick Fernandez, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan.
POSS.: 39%; SHOTS: 7; SOG: 2; CORNERS: 5; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 6; FOULS: 12; xG: 1.5
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC: Yohei Takaoka (GK), Ralph Priso, Tristan Blackmon, Oliver Larraz ( Sebastian Berhalter 75’), AZ (Kenji Cabrera 75’), Jean-Claude Ngando (Jeevan Badwal 65’), Cheikh Sabaly (Thomas Müller 46’) , Emmanuel Sabbi, Edier Ocampo, Mihal Gherasimencov (Rayan Elloumi 86’), Brian White (C).
Substitutes not used: Isaac Boehmer (GK) , Tate Johnson, Mathias Laborda, Sebastian Schoniau.
POSS.: 61%; SHOTS: 11; SOG: 6; CORNERS: 3; OFFSIDES: 2; SAVES: 1; FOULS: 11; xG: 1.3
EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On three points against the Whitecaps and thoughts on the match:
“We scored a good goal in the first half, and our goalkeeper made an important save that helped us go into halftime ahead. Vancouver is a very good team, and they’re coming off a tough, congested schedule. We may have had a slight physical edge tonight because of that, but I don’t want to take any credit away from our players. We played here last year and were embarrassed, so this shows how much progress we’ve made as a team. There are still a lot of games left in 2026, so we’re not celebrating anything yet. Our focus is on continuing to improve and pushing to qualify for the playoffs—that’s our goal this season. Vancouver has bigger aspirations, and they’re a very good team, so this is obviously a very good win for us.”
On Beau Leroux’s development and progression:
“Oddly enough, that’s a typical Beau goal. A lot of his goals look like that.Hhe’s a very good finisher from outside the penalty area, and that one was probably from about 20 yards out. I didn’t see a replay, but he scored three or four similar goals last year. He’s a good young player in his second year in the league, and he’s making progress. The same goes for Niko [Tsakiris], who put in another strong 90-minute performance tonight. Our young players are coming through, and hopefully they can continue to develop.”
On the Quakes’ defensive play:
“Yeah, we conceded 63 goals last year and only had maybe four or five shutouts. We even gave up goals at home, so that was tough. But this year, we already have four shutouts, which is a real positive. That improvement isn’t just down to the back line and the goalkeeper. It's a credit to the entire team. We’ve developed a strong mentality when defending and when the opponent has possession.”
EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER BEAU LEROUX
On his perspective scoring the lone goal of the match from long range:
“At first, I wasn’t supposed to be there. Our captain, Ronaldo [Vieira], told me to switch with him, so I listened. I ended up in the right spot, got the ball at the top of the box, and struck it well.”
On managing in-game adjustments:
“Yeah, no matter who is on the field, our role and our job are pretty clear. Especially when we have the lead, it’s about closing the game out and staying together as a team.”
On dealing with outside criticism:
“Yeah, we’re aware of the outside noise, but we’re focused on blocking that out. Our goal is to make the playoffs and help change the culture of the club, and so far it’s going well. We’ve got four wins in five games, and considering we had nine wins all of last year, it’s a step in the right direction.”
