Match Preview - San Jose Earthquakes
Game Info
Kickoff: 9:30pm CT
Watch: Paramount +
Location: PayPal Park - San Jose, CA
All-Time H2H Record
Austin FC has a 1W-6D-2L record against San Jose Earthquakes.
Maybe the most chaotic opponent for Austin FC in their short club history, two-thirds of the all-time matches between these two teams have ended level. What makes that stat truly astonishing is that games between these two have averaged four goals per game across the nine historical matches.
The last time these two teams met was in May 2024, a 1-1 draw in San Jose that was Austin FC’s third straight draw against the Quakes at PayPal Park. For what it’s worth, Austin FC started Diego Rubio at striker, Owen Wolff at left wing and Hector Jimenez at right back in that match.
The more entertaining of the two games these clubs played last season was the home leg at Q2 Stadium, a 4-3 victory for Austin FC (their first ever against the Quakes) on the back of Sebastián Driussi’s 101st minute winner. That match also featured three Austin FC goals in a six minute span during the second half.
San Jose Earthquakes Recent Form
It’s the first time we’ve seen San Jose in 2025, so we’ll start with our customary brief history lesson on the upcoming opponent. San Jose was one of the charter members of MLS back in 1996 and participated in the first ever league game, a 1-0 victory over DC United. The club was known as the San Jose Clash until 1999, changing their name to the Earthquakes prior to the 2000 season, adopting the title from the former NASL franchise with the same name that operated in San Jose from 1974-1988.
After the name change, the Earthquakes rattled off a string of trophy winning seasons. They won MLS Cup in 2001 and 2003 before winning the Supporters Shield in 2005. Sparing you the lengthy details of why the move happened, San Jose ownership took the club to Houston prior to the 2006 season and renamed the club “Houston Dynamo,” leaving the Earthquakes brand behind for a presumed expansion team to bring MLS back to San Jose in the future.
The wait wasn’t long at all, as MLS awarded San Jose an expansion franchise in 2007 and the Earthquakes returned to MLS play in 2008. The Quakes won the Supporters Shield again in 2012 before being ousted in the quarterfinals of the playoffs shortly thereafter, and things began to unravel for the club in the years that followed.
Since that Shield win in 2012, San Jose has finished at the bottom of the Western Conference three times (2014, 2018 and 2024), taking home the wooden spoon in the latter two. Last season was an embarrassment, with the club recording just 21 points from their 34 league matches and conceding a record 78 goals. The Quakes have not finished higher than sixth in the Western Conference since that 2012 season.
It was a busy offseason in San Jose. They hired MLS coaching legend Bruce Arena as both head coach and sporting director. Arena, who has coached for four other MLS clubs and has had two stints as the head coach of the USMNT, has won a total of five MLS Cup championships along with four Supporters Shield trophies and a US Open Cup for good measure. He has been named the MLS coach of the year four times, with a jaw dropping 24 years between his first and fourth honor in that category.
Arena’s preseason moves as sporting director were as clear as they were entertaining, bring in as many former players he trusted as possible. The Quakes have no less than seven players on their current roster who played under Arena in past seasons, and that familiarity helped establish a much higher floor in San Jose than we’ve seen in recent years.
But Arena also took some larger swings to raise the team’s ceiling. They acquired forward Chicho Arango in a trade with Real Salt Lake and signed former league MVP and golden boot winner Josef Martinez. Those two, paired with outstanding right winger and Quakes mainstay Cristian Espinoza, have skyrocketed San Jose’s offensive output in 2025 and the team currently has the second most goals scored in MLS with 41 from their 21 games. That matches their goals scored through the entirety of the 2024 season!
They did recently lose a DP, as Hernan Lopez was loaned to Argentinos Juniors with a purchase option last week. While he did show flashes of brillance during his brief San Jose tenure (arriving last summer), he was also injured for the majority of this season, playing just 255 minutes. The Quakes 2025 improvement largely came without the services of Lopez.
While San Jose has also been better defensively, there was really nowhere to go but up after last season’s debacle that saw the Quakes concede 2.29 goals per match. They’ve managed to inch their way into the middle third of goals conceded in 2025 leaguewide, but they’re still extremely vulnerable at the back, giving up 1.57 goals per match this season. That’s more than half a goal more allowed per game than Austin FC. Brazilian goalkeeper Daniel has been a stud for San Jose in net and is currently fifth in MLS in post-shot xG (one of the best shot stopping metrics available) per 90 minutes.
Lately, San Jose has been lining up in a 3-4-3 look, pushing their wingbacks high to help progress the ball quickly to their formidable front three. Without Lopez, they’re in a similar conundrum as Austin has been, without a true #10 in the middle of the park. Where the two teams deviate is which side of the ball they’re focusing on. San Jose prioritizes goal scoring, while Austin FC has been one of the most staunch defenses in MLS. Neither team should be viewed as a finished product and are both expected to make significant moves in the summer transfer window.
One other personnel note about this team that has brought out the Verde-eyed monster of jealously in me over the last two days is midfieler Beau Leroux. The 42nd overall pick in the 2024 MLS Superdraft (11 picks behind Austin’s Jimmy Farkarlun), Leroux spent 2024 with The Town FC, San Jose’s MLS Next Pro affiliate. He was signed to the first team’s roster the day before the 2025 season began and was a surprise starter in the season opener.
The kid hasn’t looked back, starting 18 of San Jose’s 21 league matches so far this season and appearing off the bench in the other three. He’s got four goals and four assists for the first team after recording just four goals in 22 MLSNP appearances in 2024. Leroux won goal of the matchday in matchday 21 for his goal against the LA Galaxy (San Jose’s biggest rivals) and was also named to team of the matchday in matchday 13 back in May. On top of that, Leroux played college ball for San Jose State and even grew up in San Jose! It’s a great story and I’ve got my fingers crossed that Leroux doesn’t add to his budding lore among the Quakes fanbase on Tuesday night.
That fanbase may be equally as excited to be three wins from a US Open Cup title as those of us are here in Austin. Tuesday night’s quarterfinal matchup will be the first quarterfinal of any kind for San Jose in five years. I’m not sure if that will translate to anything resembling a packed house at PayPal Park, but I do expect their players to harness whatever energy is in that stadium to help them advance. San Jose is a team looking to change the narrative and a win on Tuesday night would be another feather in their 2025 cap.
Austin FC Recent Form
From purely a soccer perspective, Saturday’s postponed match against LAFC could be a positive for Austin FC’s chances in Tuesday night’s quarterfinal. While ATX’s game was called off, their opponents had to play a tough match against New York Red Bulls that ended in a 1-1 draw less than 72 hours before kickoff on Tuesday.
As we discussed on Sunday’s Episode 238, it’s likely that plans have changed for Nico Estévez and his coaching staff when it comes to the lineup. With no wear and tear put on his player’s legs over the weekend, managing the minutes of players like Mikkel Desler and Myrto Uzuni on short rest is no longer a worry for ATX on Tuesday.
It’s not just that Austin FC’s legs should be fresh, the US Open Cup has different rules than league games that directly effect player personnel. Matches that are tied after regulation will go to an additional half hour of extra time. If the two clubs are still level after the additional 30 minute period, the match will be decided in penalty kicks. Austin FC is 1-0 all-time in penalty kick shootouts, with their lone forray into the format coming in the club’s first ever playoff victory back in 2022 against Real Salt Lake.
Benches are also shorter in the US Open Cup, with teams allowed just seven substitutes instead of the typcial nine they are allotted in league play. As E joked in our Sunday preview, less players available for potentially longer games? Makes sense!
Austin’s backline depth will be even thinner than normal on Tuesday night. Julio Cascante will be suspended for a questionable (in my biased opinion) straight red card near the conclusion of ATX’s 3-1 victory over Houston Dynamo in the last round. That likely means that Guilherme Biro is the third choice at centerback in a pinch, with Ilie Sanchez as the break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option.
The only uncertain piece of the ATX lineup for me is the nominal left wing. Myrto Uzuni was off the injury report prior to Saturday’s match (there were no players listed), so he may have been ready to rejoin the starting XI. Picking up on the hints that Estévez has dropped in media availability sessions over the last few weeks, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Robert Taylor get his first Austin FC start, though I do consider Uzuni the favorite to get back on the lineup card.
No matter who gets the start for the Verde and Black on Tuesday night, Austin FC is fresh, healthy and three wins away from their first non-Copa Tejas trophy. Win or lose, this match is another great chance for the team to test themselves in a knockout competition and gain more important experience in a do-or-die situation before the MLS Cup Playoffs begin in late October.
Injury Report
We will not get official injury reports for this US Open Cup match, this is our best estimate based on previous injury reports and coach comments.
ATX:
No players listed
SJ:
Noel Buck (Questionable - Lower Body)
Niko Tsakiris (Questionable - Lower Body)
San Jose Players to Watch
Chicho Arango - The 30-year-old Columbian forward is still one of the most dangerous attacking players that MLS has to offer. Arango was an MVP candidate (and maybe even the favorite) through the first half of the 2024 season before being derailed by injury and suspension. No matter what jersey he’s donned over his career, the man finds the back of the net. In MLS, he’s played for LAFC, Real Salt Lake and now San Jose, recording an incredible 63 league goals with 22 assists in just 109 MLS appearances.
Cristian Espinoza - The longest tenured member of the Earthquakes, Espinoza may also be the most under appreciated player on this roster outside of the San Jose fanbase. His service from both set pieces and open play is deadly and has the second most assists in MLS this season with 11, behind only Anders Dreyer’s 15. While his play style is more geared towards assisting a teammate, Espinoza can also find the back of the net. He’s got 21 league goals since the start of the 2023 season.
Austin FC Keys to the Game
Take Your Chances - While the Earthquakes aren’t going to eclipse the record they set last season with 78 goals conceded, this team still provides opponents with ample opportunities to score in 2025. San Jose has conceded the fifth most xG in MLS so far this year and their aggression going forward will frequently leave them vulernerable at the back. That could open up chances for Austin FC to hit them on the counter, but the struggles for ATX when it comes to finishing their created chances haven’t been fixed to this point of the season. To advance on Tuesday, they’ll need to raise their level in and around the penalty area. Capitalize on the chances that will come against this team and you’ll be in the semi finals come Wednesday morning.
Predictions
ZG - 2-1 Austin FC
E - 2-2 Austin FC wins in PKs
