SAN JOSE, Calif. — Preston Judd netted a first-half brace and Eduard Löwen was involved in all three goals as the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Portland Timbers 3-1 on Saturday night at PayPal Park to extend their unbeaten streak to six league matches and rise to third in the Western Conference table.
San Jose opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Eduard Löwen’s cross from the right wing was headed by Preston Judd past Timbers goalkeeper James Pantemis for his team-leading 14th goal and a 1-0 Earthquakes lead.
The Black and Blue doubled the advantage in minute 24 when Timo Werner laid a ball off for Beau Leroux and the midfielder dribbled forward into the box before pushing a short through ball for Löwen in the left-edge of the six-yard box. Löwen subsequently blasted it for the near post over Pantemis’ right shoulder to make it 2-0.
San Jose tripled the score in the 29th minute when Paul Marie received the ball in the box in the right half-space. He cut back and flicked a cross for Judd, who volleyed it in from the center edge of the six-yard box to make it 3-0 before halftime.
David Da Costa pulled one back for Portland in the 86th minute when he took in a through ball from Eric Izoita and fired from close range into the back of the net for the final 3-1 margin.
The full “Quakes Replay” of tonight’s match is scheduled to air Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 8 p.m. PT on KTVU Plus. For highlights, analysis and features, fans can also watch the new half-hour magazine show “Quakes Exclusive,” which will next air on Friday, Oct. 2, on KTVU Plus at 8 p.m. PT and KTVU FOX 2 at 8:30 p.m. PT.
The Black and Blue now head into the international break next week before returning to MLS play on the road against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, Oct. 10. Kickoff from DICK’s Sporting Goods Park is slated for 6:30 p.m. PT with the match to be broadcast on Apple TV (English/Spanish), as well as via local radio on KSFO 810 AM (English) and La Kaliente 1370 AM (Spanish).
MEDIA ASSETS
GAME NOTES
SWEEP SECURED: The Quakes earned their first-ever regular-season series sweep against Portland in MLS play. Tonight's result follows a historic 3-1 road victory at Providence Park on May 23—San Jose’s first win there in 20 league attempts—powered by a Preston Judd brace, two assists from Nick Fernandez and an insurance goal by Daniel Munie. In the all-time series, San Jose is now 9-19-11 overall against Portland (48 GF, 64 GA) and 8-5-6 at home (30 GF, 25 GA).
ON THE TABLE: The Earthquakes now sit third in the Western Conference (13-8-6, 45 points; 49 GF, 39 GA). The Timbers continue to fight for a playoff spot in 10th place (9-13-5, 32 points; 48 GF, 51 GA).
BUY DOMESTIC: The Quakes started seven 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 (7.4/game). Arena also started eight former college players tonight; no team in MLS has more of them on the roster (19).
BACK IN FORM: Following the World Cup break, Head Coach Bruce Arena shifted to a three-man back line on August 29 against Houston. Since this tactical change, the team snapped a six-game winless streak, sparking the Quakes’ current six-game unbeaten run (3-0-3).
JUDDGE RULES: Preston Judd’s fourth-minute and 29th-minute goals were his team-leading 14th and 15th league goals on the season (15g/3a), as well as his 25th and 26th career league goals (26g/7a). Judd has scored three goals in the last two games and four goals in two games this season against Portland (five career goals in total against the Timbers).
I'M LÖWEN IT: The Quakes are undefeated (3-0-3) since new German international midfielder Eduard Löwen debuted in Houston on August 29 after his trade from St. Louis CITY SC. His fourth-minute primary assist and 29th-minute secondary assist tonight were his first and second with San Jose and fourth/fifth on the league season, as well as his 25th and 26th career league assists. Löwen’s 24th-minute goal was also his first with San Jose and fourth on the league season, as well as his 21st career league goal.
BEAU KNOWS: Beau Leroux’s 29th-minute primary assist was his ninth of the league season (4g/9a) and 13th career league assist (9g/13a). He now has 15 goal contributions across all competitions this season (6g/9a).
CAN’T STOP THE MUNIE: Daniel Munie’s fourth-minute secondary assist was his fifth of the league season and 10th goal contribution (5g/5a), as well as his eighth career league assist (7g/7a).
PITCHIN’ PAUL: Paul Marie’s 29th-minute primary assist was his fifth of the league season and 10th of his league career (7g/10a).
MY NAME IS EARL: Earl Edwards Jr., who was seeing his first action in league play since an April 22 road match against St. Louis CITY SC, saved seven shots in goal en route to the victory.
PICK YOUR POISON: Eight different players have registered two or more goals in MLS play (Preston Judd, Beau Leroux, Daniel Munie, Niko Tsakiris, Ousseni Bouda, Reid Roberts, Jack Skahan, Timo Werner), and 11 players have recorded two or more assists (Bouda, Leroux, Nick Fernandez, Judd, Eduard Löwen, Paul Marie, Munie, Jamar Ricketts, Skahan, Tsakiris, Werner).
INTERNATIONAL QUAKES: Four players were called up to their respective senior national teams and were unavailable for Saturday’s match: Ousseni Bouda (Burkina Faso), Angus Gunn (Scotland), Darius Johnson (Grenada), and Ronaldo Vieira (Guinea-Bissau). Another is Kaedren Spivey (USA U-17).
BACK TO THE ROSE CITY: Quakes Goalkeepers Coach Adin Brown finished his playing career with the Portland Timbers (2010-11), before joining the coaching staff from 2015-20. Nick Fernandez played five seasons as a member of the University of Portland Pilots (2020-24) and was three-time All-WCC First Team.
SHARED HERITAGE: San Jose and Portland share roots in the North American Soccer League (NASL). The Quakes joined in 1974 and the Timbers followed one year later.
San Jose Earthquakes 3 – 1 Portland Timbers
Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026 — PayPal Park; San Jose, Calif.
Weather: 76°F
NorCal Honda Dealers Man of the Match: Preston Judd
Attendance:
*all stats unofficial
Match Officials:
Referee: Lorenzo Hernandez
AR1: Jeffrey Swartzel
AR2: Mike Nickerson
4th Official: Corbyn May
VAR: Carol Anne Chenard
AVAR: TJ Zablocki
Scoring Summary:
SJ (1-0) – Preston Judd (Eduard Löwen, Daniel Munie) 4’
SJ (2-0) – Eduard Löwen (Beau Leroux) 24’
SJ (3-0) – Preston Judd (Paul Marie, Eduard Löwen) 29’
POR (3-1) – David Da Costa (Eric Izoita, Gage Guerra) 86’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Preston Judd (caution) 30’
SJ – Reid Roberts (caution) 40’
POR – Kamal Miller (caution) 76’
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Earl Edwards Jr. (GK); Vítor Costa (Jamar Ricketts 77’), Reid Roberts, Dave Romney, Daniel Munie, Paul Marie (Benji Kikanović HT); Beau Leroux (Jack Skahan 87’), Ian Harkes, Eduard Löwen; Timo Werner (Nick Fernandez 67’), Preston Judd (Luka Jovanović 77’).
Substitutes not used: Francesco Montali (GK), Max Floriani, Jonathan González, Jack Jasinski.
POSS.: 46.8%; SHOTS: 14; SOG: 8; CORNERS: 5; OFFSIDES: 0; SAVES: 7; FOULS: 9; xG: 1.2
PORTLAND TIMBERS: James Pantemis (GK); Ronald Hernandez, Kamal Miller, Eric Miller (Alexander Aravena 88’), Jimer Fory (Ian Smith 67’); David Da Costa, Cole Bassett (Erik Izoita 67’), Diego Chara (C); Ariel Lassiter (Antony 67’), Kristoffer Velde, Vincent Janssen (Gage Guerra 79’).
Substitutes not used: Hunter Sulte (GK), Alex Bonetig, Sawyer Jura, Joao Ortiz.
POSS.: 53.2%; SHOTS: 19; SOG: 8; CORNERS: 9; OFFSIDES: 2; SAVES: 5; FOULS: 11; xG: 1.3
EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the team’s dominant 3-1 victory tonight:
“The third goal was really important, so that we’re not relaxing after the second goal, and getting the third one was probably the difference in the game tonight. We saw some results today that were kind of crazy with teams coming back after trailing by two. So having a three-goal cushion at halftime allowed us to be very conservative in the second half and walk off the field with three points.”
On the team’s recent unbeaten streak and that coinciding with the return of Timo Werner and trade for Eduard Löwen:
“Having Timo back has helped us. I think the acquisition of Löwen is a positive. The continued improvement of our goalkeeping is important. And we continue to get pretty good play out of our back line. We've been a little bit more consistent.”
“Our goal all along is to be better and get better every year. We improved from 2024 to 2025. We're making progress this year, and we're continuing to grow.”
On the performance of Earl Edwards Jr. tonight:
“Earl has been out for … months. He worked really hard to get back, and it's important to have two good goalkeepers. I think we're starting to develop that. That will be important for us as we close out the regular season, and hopefully, in the playoffs. So the depth of the team has been pretty good.”
“Earl did his job tonight. He played quite well.”
On the team’s playoff push during the home stretch of the season:
“There's a lot of difficult games ahead. So hopefully we can win a few more and position ourselves to be in the playoffs. Our goal this year is to qualify for playoffs. We're not there yet. ... It's not going to be easy. It's going to be a hectic month.”
EARTHQUAKES FORWARD PRESTON JUDD
On winning tonight despite having several players out due to international duty:
“I think the good thing about our team is that we’re very interchangeable. We have a lot of depth, so no matter who you put out there ... two forwards, three forwards or four forwards, it doesn’t really matter. We’re going to play to the best of our ability. What Bruce [Arena] always tells us is that, at the end of the day, it’s 11 versus 11. It doesn’t really matter what formation we’re playing in. It’s about playing as a team, being more intense than the other team and outworking them. That worked tonight, and we’ll keep moving forward.”
On notching a brace and his second goal celebration where he jumped into the stands and fired the siren:
“Yeah, of course, scoring goals always feels nice, especially when I’m expected to score. The celebration wasn’t planned at all. I just knew my first celebration wasn’t up to my standard, so I had to match it with the second one. It worked out. I mean, I got a yellow card for it, so that kind of sucked, but it was a pretty cool celebration.”
On the team being happy for Eduard Löwen getting his first three goal contributions as a Quake:
“I mean, he’s a great player and an even better person in the locker room. He’s always joking around, and you can’t hate the guy. He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. It was a great goal, and we all wanted to celebrate with him. Hopefully, he gets a couple more throughout the rest of the season.”
On feeding off the fans’ energy tonight:
“Yeah, I think I felt the energy early in this game. Like I said, at this point in the season, every point matters, every goal matters and every game matters. The energy the crowd is bringing right now is incredible, and hopefully we can build on that throughout the rest of the season. Hopefully, we can get an even bigger crowd for the playoffs and make even more noise. I appreciate all the support, and I love feeding off it. Hopefully, I can give them more moments to cheer about.”
On playoffs being the team’s overall goal:
“The goal is to get to playoffs right now. We got to do whatever we can do to get to playoffs, and once we get there, we need to make a statement. So hopefully we do that when we get there.”
“If you look at our season, we’ve had a lot of good moments, and recently, we’ve had some bad ones. We’re starting to turn things around, but I think the important message is that none of that matters. What matters is the next game. Everything we’ve done this season is great, but it’s always about the next game and each game going forward. Like I keep saying, the goal is to get to the playoffs. Of course, it’s great to win tonight, but we have to keep winning and continue building momentum heading into the playoffs.”