San Jose Earthquakes Look To Playoffs With Upcoming Match vs FC Dallas

2 days ago

3 min read

The San Jose Earthquakes secured their spot in the playoffs after facing Nashville SC and a well-known figure, Cristian Espinoza, in what turned out to be one of the team's initial genuine tests of playoff preparedness.

Nashville are the odds on favorite to win the MLS Supporters Shield to secure their spot as the best team in the regular season, but in the end were denied raising the silverware in San Jose by the Earthquakes.

Photo via Jose Rocha of Rocha Report and Rocha Multimedia

The Quakes started off a little rocky against Nashville with Timo Werner being all over the field attempting to create chances, but it just seemed like the team was having issues getting the ball into the opponents' box. After a Preston Judd equalizer, the final whistle blew and due to other teams in the leagues results the Earthquakes had officially claimed on of the playoff spots.

San Jose will head on the road to Texas, and will take on yet another familiar face. During the FIFA World Cup break goalkeeper Daniel was transferred out of San Jose to FC Dallas. Daniel has experienced some positive periods with his new team, but he currently holds a record of 3 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses in matches where he was the goalkeeper, giving up 8 goals allowed.

Daniel with the San Jose Earthquakes during the 2026 U.S. Open Cup (Photo via Jose Rocha of Rocha Report and Rocha Multimedia)

The Quakes are sitting one spot under FC Dallas in the MLS Standings and look to secure a home playoff game to start their postseason run. A win puts them in good position, but they are looking to leave with any points possible especially against a good FC Dallas team.

Earthquakes Dave Romney was asked about the team's upcoming trip to the Lone Star State:

EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER DAVE ROMNEY

On securing a home playoff spot and building momentum heading into the postseason:

“Now that we’ve clinched a playoff spot, our focus is on finishing as high as we can in the standings to host as many home games as possible. We also want to build momentum by playing good soccer heading into the playoffs. We’ve ground out points in some games, but we want to focus on our overall performance while hopefully securing one of those home playoff spots.”

On the team’s resilience and redemption after missing the playoffs last season:

“It's exciting, but this is only my second year here, and making the playoffs is something I’ve come to expect ... so I’m happy we got it done. It was frustrating to miss out by goal differential last year, but this group has a lot of quality, talent and resilience, as I mentioned earlier. It’s nice to see us rewarded for all the hard work we’ve put in over the last two years.”

On Preston Judd’s impact up front and his ability to create scoring opportunities:

“He created a goal out of nothing. That was an unbelievably difficult header to pull off, and he did it. When you have a forward who can create goals out of nothing, it’s massive for us. He’s a handful for opposing center backs because we can play it into the channels or up to him, and he’s going to fight to win the ball, hold it up for us, or turn his defender and get in behind. He’s a force of nature right now. We need to keep feeding him and finding him in those runs. He makes a ton of runs, and we don’t always find him, but I think we’re a very dangerous team when he’s making those runs and getting on the end of the balls we play. It’s about us, as center backs and midfielders, making sure we’re finding him and playing those balls forward.”

On the importance of getting healthy and building momentum heading into the playoffs:

“You just never know, and anything can happen. But if we go into the playoffs healthy, that’s huge for us. I don’t think we’ve been at full strength for many games this season, maybe only seven or eight out of the 30 we’ve played. Hopefully, we can get a few games with a lineup similar to what we’ll use in the playoffs and build some familiarity with that rotation. That would be ideal. I think any team would be nervous to play us in the playoffs.”

On the fans’ support over the years:

“They’ve been huge for us. It’s tough because they’ve had a few lean years without much to cheer for, so it’s exciting to give them something to rally behind. Hopefully, we can make them proud by not only clinching a playoff spot, but also making a deep playoff run and maybe bringing home a trophy.”