PORTLAND, Ore. — The San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Portland Timbers 3-1 on Saturday night behind a Preston Judd brace for their first-ever victory at Providence Park in the MLS era. As it was the last Major League Soccer regular-season game before the league goes on hiatus during the FIFA World Cup, the Quakes enter the break even on points with first-place Vancouver Whitecaps FC with only the latter’s higher goal differential separating the two teams in the table.
In a wide-open first half, San Jose opened the scoring in just the second minute. The Earthquakes forced a turnover in their own end and midfielder Beau Leroux pushed the ball ahead to winger Jack Skahan, whose accurate through ball found a streaking Preston Judd in the attacking third. The striker then unleashed a low shot from the edge of the box past Portland goalkeeper James Pantemis for his 10th goal of the season to give the Quakes an early 1-0 lead. The Quakes doubled their advantage in the 12th minute when midfielder Nick Fernandez, who starred in college at the University of Portland, stole the ball from midfielder Cole Bassett, charged forward and fed Judd in the box, who turned and fired it into the net for his second of the night to make it 2-0 for San Jose. The hosts would pull one back in the 18th minute; Timbers forward Antony made an overlapping run from the left wing, collected the pass and slotted the ball past Quakes goalkeeper Daniel for the near post to cut the visitors’ lead to 2-1. San Jose would extend the lead once more in minute 24 after a corner kick. Skahan took it short and dished it to Fernandez, who gave it back on the right wing at the edge of the box. Skahan’s low cross was then swept past Pantemis by defender Daniel Munie to make it 3-1 for San Jose. After a dominant display defensively in the second half, the Quakes held the Timbers scoreless the rest of the way for a historic victory—their first in 20 tries at Providence Park in the MLS era dating back to 2011.
The “Quakes Replay” of tonight’s match will air on KTVU Plus on Wednesday, May 27, at 8 p.m. PT. Earthquakes fans can also watch game highlights, analysis and features on the newest episode of “Quakes Exclusive,” the club’s new half-hour prime-time magazine show, on KTVU FOX 2 on Friday, May 29, at 8 p.m. PT. All episodes of “Quakes Exclusive” are available on demand on the FOX Local app.
The Black and Blue now enter a break from league play for the World Cup but will publicly return to action on Friday, July 3, in an international friendly against LIGA MX side Club Tijuana. Kickoff from PayPal Park is 7:30 p.m. PT. Tickets are on sale now HERE.
GAME NOTES
GETTING BACK ON TRACK: Entering the MLS break for the FIFA World Cup, San Jose is now 10-3-2 (34 GF, 15 GA) in 2026 MLS regular-season play and tied on 32 points for first in the Western Conference with Vancouver, but are second in the table to the ‘Caps due to goal differential. Meanwhile, Portland is now 4-8-2 with 14 points (22 GF, 28 GA) and 13th in the West.
FIRST WIN IN PORTLAND: With the result, San Jose earned their first victory in 20 tries in Providence Park in MLS play dating back to 2011. The Earthquakes are now 7-19-11 (44 GF, 63 GF) against the Timbers in MLS regular-season play overall and 0-14-5 (15 GA, 38 GA) on the road against them.
HISTORIC START: The Quakes’ 10-3-2 league start is the best in club history after 15 games, eclipsing the start in 2012 (9-3-3), which ended in San Jose capturing the Supporters’ Shield. This season, the Quakes won nine of its first 10 MLS matches to open the season, the first time in the post-shootout era that an MLS team has done so. San Jose already sits on 32 points in May—something that didn’t occur until Aug. 9 of last season. With just one more league win, they will have already matched the 2025 campaign’s total of 11.
ROAD WARRIORS: San Jose is now 6-1-1 on the road in league play. In a season of firsts, the Quakes also beat St. Louis CITY SC on the road (and in general) for the first time ever and LAFC on the road for the first time since 2020. Tonight's win already matches last year’s total of six road victories.
DEAD OR ALIVE: The Earthquakes remained unbeaten when wearing The Dead Kit in MLS play (8-0-2).
MARATHON MEN: After eight games in 28 days from April 4-May 2, followed by just six days’ rest, the Quakes played their fifth of five games in 15 days from May 9-23 before the World Cup break.
YOU SHALL NOT PASS: San Jose has only conceded more than one goal in a game in three of 15 league games so far and are fourth in MLS in goals conceded (14). San Jose remains the only team to not concede a single goal from a set piece in MLS play (0), nor have they conceded a goal from outside the box.
PICK YOUR POISON: Seven different Quakes have two or more goals in MLS play (Preston Judd, Beau Leroux, Niko Tsakiris, Ousseni Bouda, Daniel Munie, Jack Skahan, Timo Werner) while 10 different Quakes have two or more assists (Bouda, Nick Fernandez, Beau Leroux, Judd, Paul Marie, Munie, Jamar Ricketts, Skahan, Tsakiris, Werner).
BACK TO THE ROSE CITY: Quakes Goalkeeper Coach Adin Brown finished his playing career with the Portland Timbers (2010-11) before coaching for them (2015-20). Nick Fernandez also returned to the Rose City, where he played five seasons as a member of the University of Portland Pilots (2020-24) and was three-time All-WCC First Team.
THE AMERICANS / THE COLLEGIANS: The Quakes started eight American players tonight. No team in MLS has averaged more of them in the starting 11 more across all competitions in 2026 than Bruce Arena’s Earthquakes (7.7/game). Arena also started nine former college players tonight; no team in MLS has more of them on the roster (19).
BRUCE ALMIGHTY: Bruce Arena won his 283rd regular-season game, an MLS record. The late great Sigi Schmid is second with 240.
DANIEL THE PROTECTOR: Daniel made six saves including one at point-blank range in minute 66 (xG was 60% according to Fotmob) to keep Portland at bay the majority of the match.
THIS JUDD’S FOR YOU: Preston Judd’s second-minute and 12th-minute goals were his 10th and 11th in MLS play (a new career high) and 21st and 22nd career league goals. Judd now has eight goals in his last seven MLS games, and 11 goal contributions (9g/2a) in his last 10 league games.
BEAU KNOWS: Beau Leroux’s second-minute secondary assist was his third of the season and ninth of his MLS career. Leroux has nine goal contributions across all competitions (4g/5a).
NICK THE QUICK: Nick Fernandez’s 12th-minute primary assist and 24th-minute secondary assist were his second and third in MLS play and his fourth in all competitions. The University of Portland product now has six goal contributions in his last four starts in all competitions (2g/4a).
JACK ATTACK: Jack Skahan’s second-minute and 24th-minute assists were his second and third in MLS play this season and sixth and seventh career MLS assists. Skahan has seven goal contributions in all competitions in 2026 (3g/4a).
RIDING THE MUNIE TO VICTORY: Daniel Munie’s 24th-minute goal was his third of the season and fifth of his MLS career.
DEBUT FOR DJ: Newly signed winger Darius Johnson made his MLS and Quakes debut in the 63rd minute, coming on for Preston Judd.
STAT STUFFERS: Collectively, the Quakes are second or tied for second in MLS in goals (34), expected goals (34.63), free kicks (235) and accurate longballs (62). They are first in corner kicks won (110), least goals conceded outside the box (0) and least goals conceded from set pieces (0). They are tied for third in assists (40), fourth in total goals conceded (15) and tied for fifth in clean sheets (5).
Portland Timbers 1 – 3 San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, May 23, 2026 — Providence Park; Portland, Ore.
Weather: 72°F Mostly Sunny
Attendance: 24,686
NorCal Honda Dealers Man of the Match: Preston Judd
*all stats unofficial
Match Officials:
Referee: Timothy Ford
AR1: Jose Da Silva
AR2: Eduardo Jeff
4th Official: Abdou Ndiaye
VAR: Carol Anne Chenard
AVAR: Mike Kampmeinert
Scoring Summary:
SJ (0-1) – Preston Judd (Jack Skahan, Beau Leroux) 2’
SJ (0-2) – Preston Judd (Nick Fernandez) 12’
POR (1-2) – Antony (David Da Costa, Jimer Fory) 18’
SJ (1-3) – Daniel Munie (Jack Skahan, Nick Fernandez) 24’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Reid Roberts (caution) 41’
SJ – Benji Kikanović (caution) 45+2’
POR – Kamal Miller (caution) 51’
SJ – Ronaldo Vieira (caution) 74'
SJ – Daniel (caution) 85'
PORTLAND TIMBERS: James Pantemis (GK); Jimer Fory, Finn Surman (C), Kamal Miller (Ian Smith 56’), Brandon Bye (Juan Mosquera 70’); David Da Costa, Cole Bassett, Joao Ortiz (Alexander Aravena 70’); Antony (Ariel Lassiter 83’), Kristoffer Velde, Kevin Kelsy (Felipe Mora 83’).
Substitutes not used: Trey Muse (GK), Alex Bonetig, Gage Guerra, Sawyer Jura.
POSS.: 59.6%; SHOTS: 14; SOG: 7; CORNERS: 4; OFFSIDES: 7; SAVES: 4; FOULS: 11; xG: 2.1
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel (GK); Jamar Ricketts (Dave Romney 82’), Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benji Kikanović (Jack Jasinski 46’); Ronaldo Vieira (C), Beau Leroux, Nick Fernandez (Ian Harkes 46’); Ousseni Bouda, Jack Skahan (Paul Marie 69’), Preston Judd (Darius Johnson 63’).
Substitutes not used: Francesco Montali (GK), Nonso Adimabua, Max Floriani, Jonathan González.
POSS.: 40.4%; SHOTS: 9; SOG: 7; CORNERS: 6; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 6; FOULS: 14; xG: 1.1
EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On going into the break with a win and progress from last season:
“Yeah, it’s important. If any team needed and deserved a break, it’s our team. We’re pretty banged up, and we’ve had a loaded schedule throughout May, but we managed to survive and keep our heads above water. I couldn’t be prouder of the group. At this point in the season, we have 32 points. Last year, we had 41 points in 34 games, and this year we have 32 points through 15 games. That’s progress. We’ve also dealt with a number of injuries, so by the time we return to league play at the end of July, we should be a healthier team with several guys coming back, which is a positive.
“But as I told the team after the game, the second half of the season is going to be even tougher than the first. We still have a long way to go, but the effort from the group over these first 15 games has been fantastic.”
On navigating injuries and finishing strong before the break:
“Well, there’s no secret that everyone was looking forward to the break. We just had to battle through this week, and it was tough. Colorado the other night, before that Dallas, before that Seattle, it’s been a crazy month. ... I personally believe you can schedule more midweek games in March and April to help lighten the load later in the season. As you can see around the league, teams are getting banged up right now, and it’s been difficult.
“I give our guys a lot of credit because we saw this coming. We don’t carry a big roster right now, so when injuries hit like they have, we’re impacted by it. We’re going to try to add a couple of players to the roster over the next month or so.”
On Preston Judd’s impact and attacking production:
“I wouldn’t say it’s his constant work rate, I’d say it’s his scoring. We’re going to keep working with him to push even harder, but he has 11 goals now, and that’s very impressive. He’s been an important player for us, and [Daniel] Munie has also come up with a couple of goals on restarts, which is important. We’re going to get some players back in July as well, so things are going well. But give Preston a lot of credit; he’s done really well.”
On Darius Johnson’s debut off the bench:
“A good first appearance from him. I think he played around 30 minutes tonight and gave us a really solid effort. You could see his speed and his one-on-one ability in the final third are going to be beneficial for us. It was good to see. He had been out for about a month with his previous club, so his fitness isn’t fully there yet. For him to give us 30 solid minutes tonight is a real positive, and he’ll be a good addition to our roster.”
EARTHQUAKES FORWARD PRESTON JUDD
On scoring a brace to run his career high in goals to 11:
“I mean, that’s always the goal, to score goals. If you had told me I was going to score in two consecutive games, I definitely would’ve taken it. I’m just happy to help the team get the win tonight. It was an important result to put us in a positive mindset heading into the break.”
On his mechanics on the second goal:
“Yeah, Nick [Fernandez] was dribbling toward goal and the defense dropped back a bit, so I couldn’t really make the run through. I knew I needed to get the ball to my feet. My first touch let me down a little, it popped up, but it worked out. I got my foot through it and was able to hit it past the keeper. It felt good when I struck it. I knew right away it was going in. The touch wasn’t ideal, but it worked out.”
On finishing the month strong after a trying couple weeks:
“Yeah, I think in this league you’re never going to win every game, no matter how good your team is. You’re going to have ups and downs and you’re going to go through slumps. So we knew this was part of a down stretch for us this season, and we had this last chance before the break to respond. As a team, we had to do what we needed to do to get the win and get back in the right column heading into the break. It was an important game for us, and we knew that going in. We’ve been dealing with it all year, and May has been a tough month, but we were able to put it all together in this one.”
