PRESS RELEASE:
April 22, 2026
MATCH RECAP: Earthquakes 5, Austin FC 1
Quakes erase early deficit, erupt for five second-half goals to improve to 8-1-0 for first time in club history and take sole possession of first place in the Western Conference; Rookie Jack Jasinski fuels comeback with goal in first MLS start, Paul Marie records three assists in MLS-record span and Preston Judd scores a brace; Black and Blue now go on the road Saturday to face St. Louis CITY SC
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Earthquakes erased an early deficit to defeat 5-1 Austin FC at PayPal Park on Wednesday night to move to 8-1-0 in Major League Soccer regular-season play for the first time in club history and take sole possession of first place in the Western Conference table for the first time in 14 years.
The visitors opened the scoring in the ninth minute when Joseph Rosales intercepted a wayward pass in his attacking third. San Jose goalkeeper Daniel got a hand on the ensuing left-footed attempt but it bounced into the net to give Austin FC a 1-0 lead.
After intermission, the Earthquakes’ attack erupted for five unanswered goals. In minute 58, Niko Tsakiris’ left-footed corner kick was headed home by rookie Jack Jasinski, who was making his first career MLS start, to make it 1-1. Then in minute 77, Nicolas Dubersarsky took down Jamar Ricketts in the box and a penalty was awarded to San Jose. Timo Werner converted from the spot one minute later to give San Jose a 2-1 lead. The Quakes added an insurance goal in the 83rd minute when Werner pinged a deep diagonal ball to the right wing for Paul Marie, who crossed it back in front of net; Preston Judd swept the ball home for his fourth goal of the season to make it 3-1. Just two minutes later, Ousseni Bouda outraced and shielded off Austin defender Jon Bell to haul in a Marie long ball and slotted it home to extend the advantage to 4-1. In the 88th minute, Bouda and Marie—the latter recording his third assist of the night and in the shortest span in MLS history (5 minutes, 28 seconds)—combined to feed Judd for his second goal of the match via header for the final 5-1 margin. With the victory, the Quakes also became the first MLS team in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to win eight of their first nine games to begin a season.
Quakes fans can watch the replay of tonight’s win on KTVU Plus on Sunday, April 26, at 8 p.m. PT.
The Black and Blue now go on the road to face St. Louis CITY SC on Saturday, April 25. Kickoff from Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri, is set for 5:30 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
San Jose moved to 8-1-0 (22 GF, 4 GA) for the first time dating back to the club’s inception in 1974 in the North American Soccer League (NASL) and moved into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference table for the first time since 2012. Austin FC moved to 1-4-4 (12 GF, 19 GA) and 13th place in the West with seven points.
The 8-1-0 beginning to 2026 eclipses the previous best start in club history after nine games in 2012 (7-1-1), which ended in the Quakes capturing the Supporters’ Shield. The Quakes also became the first MLS team in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to win eight of their first nine games to begin a season.
The Earthquakes’ regular-season record vs. Austin FC moves to 4-2-6 (28 GF, 21 GA). Their home record against Verde moves to 3-0-3 (15 GF, 6 GA) in MLS play as San Jose remained unbeaten against Austin at home.
The Quakes started seven American players tonight. No team in MLS has averaged more of them in the starting 11 more in 2026 than Bruce Arena’s Earthquakes (7.8/game), with approximately 70% of the minutes going to American players.
With only four goals conceded in the first nine games, the Quakes’ defense has set a new club record for least goals conceded over a nine-game start in MLS play. In terms of an overall nine-game stretch at any point during the season, they tied the 2005 Supporters’ Shield-winning Quakes, who conceded four goals in three separate nine-game stretches (May 7-June 25, May 14-June 29 and Aug. 13 to Oct. 1).
Tonight marked only the third time the Quakes have trailed at any point during the game this season. They were unable to find the equalizer against Seattle on March 15 (1-0, L), but came back from a 1-0 road deficit to Sporting Kansas City on April 11 (3-1, W) and erased an early 1-0 Austin FC lead in this game (5-1, W).
The five-goal eruption in one half has only occurred one other time in club history on Aug. 11, 1996, in the second half of a 6-1 home win over the New England Revolution at Spartan Stadium. The team was known as the Clash back then.
Five of goalkeeper Daniel’s nine MLS starts in 2026 have resulted in clean sheets and the other four have ended in just one goal conceded in each, bringing his current goals against average to a gaudy 0.44 on the season.
Bruce Arena won his 281st regular-season game, a record among MLS head coaches. The late great Sigi Schmid is second is 140.
Jack Jasinski’s 58th-minute goal was the first of his MLS career and second across all competitions this season. Jasinski, a defender out of Princeton University, was the team’s MLS SuperDraft second-round pick in 2026.
Niko Tsakiris’s 58th-minute assist was his team-leading sixth of the league season and ninth of his MLS career.
Timo Werner’s 78th-minute goal was his second of the league season and his Quakes career. He also converted his first penalty kick of 2026.
Timo Werner’s 83rd-minute assist was his fourth of the league season and fifth across all competitions.
Preston Judd’s 83rd and 89th-minute goals were his fourth and fifth goals of the league season, and the 15th and 16th of his MLS career. He is now tied with Ousseni Bouda for the team lead in goals (5).
Paul Marie’s 83rd-minute, 85th-minute and 89th-minute assists were his first, second and third of the league season and his sixth, seventh and eighth of his MLS career. Marie’s three assists in 5:28 set a new MLS record for the fastest trio of helpers over that span.
Ousseni Bouda’s 85th-minute goal was his fifth of the league season and 10th of his MLS career. He is now tied with Preston Judd for the team lead in goals (5).
Ousseni Bouda’s 89th-minute assist was his second of the league season and third of his MLS career.
Niko Tsakiris stayed hot with his sixth goal contribution in his last four league games. Niko Tsakiris had three key passes to up his league-leading total to 35. Tsakiris also leads MLS in chances created (31), corner kicks taken (44) and crosses (20), and is tied for third in assists (6).
With Jack Jasinski scoring his first MLS goal and Paul Marie’s two assists, the Quakes now have nine different goalscorers in 2026 and 10 different players having distributed at least one assist.
Collectively, the Quakes are tied for first in MLS in goals (22), while also leading the league in assists (27), expected goals (27.14), accurate longballs (39) and corner kicks won (59), and are tied for second in goals against (4), as well as second in clean sheets (5).
San Jose Earthquakes 5 – 1 Austin FC
Wednesday, April 22, 2026 — PayPal Park; San Jose, Calif.
Weather: 57°F Mostly Sunny
NorCal Honda Dealers Man of the Match: Jack Jasinski
*all stats unofficial
Match Officials:
Referee: Timothy Ford
AR1: Stefan Tanaka-Freundt
AR2: Ryan Graves
4th Official: Elijio Arreguin
VAR: Greg Dopka
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson
Scoring Summary:
ATX (0-1) – Joseph Rosales (unassisted) 9’
SJ (1-1) – Jack Jasinski (Niko Tsakiris) 58’
SJ (2-1) – Timo Werner (penalty kick) 78’
SJ (3-1) – Preston Judd (Paul Marie, Timo Werner) 83’
SJ (4-1) – Ousseni Bouda (Paul Marie) 85’
SJ (5-1) – Preston Judd (Paul Marie, Ousseni Bouda) 89’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Earl Edwards Jr. (caution) 45+1’
SJ – Reid Roberts (caution) 54’
SJ – Jack Jasinski (caution) 68’
ATX – Joseph Rosales (caution) 71’
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel (GK); Jamar Ricketts (Dave Romney 90’), Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Jack Jasinski (Paul Marie 75’); Beau Leroux (Ian Harkes 82’), Ronaldo Vieira (C) (Jonathan González 90’), Niko Tsakiris; Timo Werner (Nick Fernandez 90’), Ousseni Bouda, Preston Judd.
Substitutes not used: Earl Edwards Jr. (GK), Noel Buck, Max Floriani, Jack Skahan.
POSS.: 68.9%; SHOTS: 37; SOG: 16; CORNERS: 14; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 1; FOULS: 16; xG: 6.7
AUSTIN FC: Brad Stuver (GK) (C); Brendan Hines-Ike, Jonathan Bell, Jon Gallagher, Guilherme Biro (Žan Kolmanič 38’); Besard Sabovic, Nicolas Dubersarsky (Ervin Torres 87’), Jorge Alastuey (Mikkel Desler 66’), Joseph Rosales (Micah Burton 87’); Facundo Torres, CJ Fodrey (Christian Ramirez 66’),
Substitutes not used: Damian Las (GK), Mateja Djordjevic, Christian Ramirez, Ilie Sanchez, Oleksandr Svatok.
POSS.: 31.1%; SHOTS: 5; SOG: 2; CORNERS: 1; OFFSIDES: 0; SAVES: 11; FOULS: 21; xG: 0.6
EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On coming back to seal a victory after being down a goal at halftime:
“They’re just a good group, and I think our three old players on the field, in terms of Daniel and the goals. I think he’s 31, Timo [Werner]’s 30 and [Ronaldo] Vieira I think is only 27-28, but to have the that experience on the field was important. I thought Timo from the opening minute was terrific on the night, and gave the players a lot of confidence. Then all the guys, they played well. Our center back pairing is doing extremely well. Jack Jasinski for his first MLS start, I thought did well, and obviously scored an important goal for us, so a lot of good things tonight for sure.”
“It doesn’t seem like they’re overly aggressively chasing the game to put themselves in it. We’re being aggressive. But they also understand that there’s plenty of time left in the game, and the most important thing is, when you’re down a goal, not to be down two goals. So we’ve been able to accomplish that so far.”
On Jack Jasinski’s first MLS start and scoring his first career goal:
“Jack’s been our backup right back since the start of preseason, and he played well last week in the [Lamar Hunt U.S.] Open Cup game and had a goal in that game as well. So that’s one of the strengths of our team. We have anyone that goes down, the next guy’s ready to play, and I think we’re going to see on Saturday that we’re probably going to have to make a number of changes in that game.”
“He’s been good. He’s been a great kid since day one here. I’m an Ivy Leaguer, but I could never go to Princeton and graduate. He hasn’t graduated yet. He has a semester left, but I’ve been amazed at his work ethic and his passion to play and all of that. He’s been solid at both ends. Obviously the last two games, he scored goals. But he’s a good player. He loves to play. He’s obviously a smart kid. He’s a good athlete. Physically, he’s got great size for a right back. So it’s a positive. I actually probably coached his [college] coach. We used to call it ODP (Olympic Development Program), and [Princeton Head Coach] Jim Barlow is a really bright guy. I knew that anybody who plays for Jimmy at the collegiate level is going to be a smart soccer player, and Jack is, and I can attribute a lot of that to his coaching at Princeton.”
On the positives through the first nine games of the 2026 season:
“This is one of the few times we’ve been behind in the game, with the exception of the Seattle game, and I think was good to see the character of the team—come back and win the game. I give Austin a lot of credit. They played extremely hard in that first half, and they were tough to play against. The first half, we had some chances we probably should have converted. In the second half, we played well. It wasn’t easy. They pushed us real hard, and now it’s going to be challenging for us to get ready for our game on Saturday.”
“I think winning games is a starting point. We won nine games last year. We have eight now, hopefully we can get we can pass nine, and that remains to be seen. Just the consistency of our team. Obviously we’re a better team defensively this year. Last year, we just made so many foolish errors and conceded goals. But obviously we have a better team this year. They work for each other. As I stated, our veteran players are leaders, and they’re doing a good job, and they set the tone. Rony [Vieira]’s been great as a captain. Daniel, he’s had a couple of difficult years here as a goalkeeper, and now he’s being rewarded for his hard work, and that’s a positive as well. Timo [Werner] is a wonderful addition to the team. Then the young guys I can start in bunch of places. … They’re young. They haven’t formed any bad habits yet, and hopefully they won’t, and that’s been a positive. So I attribute it simply that they grind it out, they work hard every day, and they like each other.”
On still having a goal to chase after taking over first place in the league:
“We have to improve. If we don’t improve, we’re probably going to be a team that’s scrambling to make the playoffs. So the goal here is to continue to work to get better, and we need to be patient. This is not going to be [a consistent upward trend], there are going to be a few peaks and valleys along the way. We’ve got to be prepared for that. But if we continue to work hard and learn from our mistakes, I think we can be a good team for the second half of the season. First half of the season, at some point you get thrown out the window. It’s all going to come down to the second half of the season. So it’s great to have a good start, but again, it’s a grind. We have another 25 games left. There’s a lot of soccer be played. We’re really pleased with the group to date. But this is a long haul. We got to be prepared for not only the good days, but some of the days that aren’t so good.”
EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER JACK JASINSKI
On scoring in his first MLS career start and initating the second-half comeback:
“Great ball by Niko [Tsakiris]. I think I was in between a couple guys, and it was perfect. Perfect cross and I put it in the corner. Best feeling in the world, obviously. Happy to get the goal and help the team tonight.”
On the team’s confidence even after trailing at halftime:
“The team goes into every game and we expect to win. We went down early today, and I don’t think there was a point at all in that game where we thought we were going to lose. Even at halftime, down by one [goal] we always thought we were going to come back. The fans were great. They didn’t stop all game.”
“This team never gives up. The way that we play, I think other teams get tired. We can keep going at it for 90 minutes. We have depth. The guys off the bench, especially today, brought a lot of energy and helped us at the end.”
On the depth of the roster given the multi-game weeks:
“It’s super important in any good team to have depth. Especially the MLS season with games on Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday. Every day in training is a fight. The scout team is often doing well against the starters, so it’s a battle every day. I don’t think they feel that comfortable with their spot. It’s a really competitive group.”
On the coaching staff giving him opportunities to play as an MLS SuperDraft second-round pick:
“ I’m really grateful they gave me a shot in preseason. I think I took advantage of it and all the guys were very welcoming. This team has a lot of college players. They understood where I was coming from, and they helped me every day in training to get better. I’m grateful I got a shot. This year I was the only draft pick that the Quakes had. I’m happy to be playing in the team and helping the team at this level.”
POOL REPORTER QUESTION FOR PROFESSIONAL REFEREE ORGANIZATION (PRO)
Wondering if you could break down the 14 minutes of stoppage time for us.
The response to the submitted question: The officials on the field and in the VOR all track lost time for substitutions, injuries, goals, and other delays during the half. All lost time for those reasons added up to 14 minutes.
####
Quakes Communications Contacts:
Ryan Maquiñana – Director, PR & Communications
RMaquinana@sjearthquakes.com
C: 650.243.8523
Delmy Barillas – Manager, PR & Communications
DBarillas@sjearthquakes.com
C: 424.240.8006