Published for San Jose Earthquakes fans — October 2026
By Toxlay Sports Editorial Team · Last updated October 23, 2026
⚽ San Jose Earthquakes Fans — Your Never Say Die Spirit Is Waiting!
A record start, a blockbuster signing, and a playoff berth sealed at last. The Quakes are going back to the postseason for the first time since 2023 — and November in PayPal Park is going to shake.
The Club
The San Jose Earthquakes are one of American soccer’s founding stories. Born in 1994 as the San Jose Clash, an MLS founding club from the league’s first season in 1996, renamed Earthquakes in 1999, and relaunched in 2008 after a two-season hiatus, the Quakes are now in their 29th MLS season. Blue and black, owned by John Fisher, playing at PayPal Park in San Jose — capacity approximately 18,000, with the longest bar in North America and a home crowd that has waited a long time for a team like this one.
The history matters here. San Jose won MLS Cup in 2001 and 2003 and the 2012 Supporters’ Shield, building a “Never Say Die” identity on impossible comebacks long before it was fashionable. The modern era, though, has been lean: before 2026, the Quakes’ last playoff berth was 2023, and the wilderness years tested even the Ultras’ famous patience.
The man hired to end the wait is a giant of the league: Bruce Arena, the five-time MLS Cup winner, serving as head coach and sporting director since November 2024. Arena’s first season was a renovation. His second has become a revival — built on a homegrown playmaker, a bargain striker turned Golden Boot contender, and the kind of marquee signing this club rarely makes.
Are the Earthquakes in the playoffs? For the first time in three years, the answer San Jose fans type into Google comes back the way they want: yes — clinched, sealed on October 17 with games to spare, and with home-field position in Round One firmly in their hands. The autumn mission now is bigger: win a playoff round for the first time in 14 years.
⭐ FAN FAVORITE
#19 Judd — San Jose Earthquakes Style Jersey
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From backup to the Golden Boot conversation. Sixteen league goals and the header that clinched the playoffs — the No. 19 of the season’s best story, made for Quakes fans.
Last Season (2025): The Renovation
Bruce Arena’s first season in San Jose was a renovation, not a revival. The Quakes missed the MLS Cup Playoffs again — their last berth before 2026 dated to 2023 — despite a veteran attack of Josef Martínez and Chicho Arango delivering real moments. The finale summed up the nearly-men energy: San Jose roared back behind goals from Martínez and young Niko Tsakiris to erase a second-half deficit against LAFC in a famous Decision Day win — and it still wasn’t enough to reach the postseason.
The quiet success story was hiding in plain sight. Backup striker Preston Judd scored seven goals as a reserve, the kind of return that makes a sporting director plan a season around you. Meanwhile creator Cristian Espinoza, the club’s long-time assist machine, moved on to Nashville SC in the reshuffle. Arena spent 2025 learning exactly what he had. In 2026, he showed the league what he’d built.
Best Players Right Now
Preston Judd — #19, striker. The story of San Jose’s season, and maybe of the league’s. From backup (seven goals in 2025) to 16 league goals and 3 assists and the Golden Boot conversation — and it was Judd’s header on October 17 that set up the playoff clinch. Under contract through June 2029, the Quakes’ No. 19 is the present and the future in one shirt.
Timo Werner — #11, forward, Designated Player. The blockbuster: a Germany international and Champions League winner with Chelsea, signed from RB Leipzig in winter 2026 on a deal through June 2028. Werner’s pace stretches every defence San Jose face — back lines drop five yards deeper just because he’s standing on the last shoulder, and Judd feasts on the space.
Niko Tsakiris — #10, midfielder. The homegrown playmaker: 3 goals and 11 assists, second only to Judd in the affections of the PayPal Park crowd. Tsakiris announced himself with that 2025 Decision Day goal against LAFC; in 2026 he has become the creative heartbeat of a playoff team while still a youngster.
Ousseni Bouda — #7, forward. The Burkina Faso international whose direct running complements Judd’s penalty-box game. Where Judd occupies centre-backs, Bouda attacks the space they vacate — a partnership of opposites that Arena has tuned beautifully.
Eduard Löwen — midfielder, Designated Player. The late-August statement: a DP prized away from St. Louis CITY SC, a conference rival, in the middle of a playoff race. Löwen’s set-piece delivery and passing range were an instant upgrade for the playoff push — the kind of ambition this club rarely shows, shown at exactly the right moment.
Angus Gunn — #1, goalkeeper. The Scotland international who took the starting gloves in the fall — and then immortalized himself. Playoff berth on the line, Nashville pressing for a winner on October 17, Gunn produced a 91st-minute save that preserved the 1–1 draw and sealed the clinch. One save, one legend.
Star Spotlight
Nine from ten (spring 2026). San Jose opened 2026 by winning nine of their first ten matches — something no MLS team had managed in the post-shootout era, since 2000. In a matter of weeks, the West’s perennial strugglers were the league’s story, and the cushion they built in spring is the reason the fall wobbles never became a collapse.
The Levi’s occasion (September 19, 2026). A 2–2 draw with LAFC at Levi’s Stadium — the Quakes taking their show to the 49ers’ stage and going toe-to-toe with the glamour club in front of a big-stage crowd. San Jose didn’t just visit the big room this season; they belonged in it.
The 91st-minute save (October 17, 2026). Judd’s header had San Jose level with Nashville and a playoff berth one result away. Then, in the first minute of stoppage time, Nashville carved the chance that would have won it — and Angus Gunn threw himself across his goal to keep it out. When San Diego and Portland both drew later that night, the Quakes were in. Three years of waiting, ended by a header and a save.
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More Quakes stars, same blue and black.
This Season (2026): The Revival
San Jose sit 4th in the Western Conference on 48 points (13 wins, 8 defeats, 9 draws), 52 scored and 42 conceded — and, most importantly, clinched. The first playoff berth since 2023 was sealed on October 17 with a 1–1 home draw against Nashville SC: Judd’s header, Gunn’s 91st-minute save, and confirmation that night when San Diego and Portland both drew. If the playoffs started today, San Jose would host Houston in Round One.
The architecture of the season is the record start — nine wins from the first ten, a post-shootout-era first — followed by the fall steadiness of an eight-game league unbeaten run arriving at the playoffs: the 2–2 with LAFC at Levi’s, a 3–1 win over Portland on October 3, draws at Colorado and Real Salt Lake, and the Nashville clincher. The one blemish is the U.S. Open Cup, which ended in the Round of 32 — a footnote in a season like this.
And the subplot hanging over November: San Jose have not advanced past Round One in 14 years. Arena, a five-time MLS Cup winner, was not hired to end one drought and feed another. With Judd in Golden Boot form, Werner stretching defences and Tsakiris pulling strings, this is the best Quakes team in a generation. The drought-ending run starts now.
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Mark Your Calendar
Saturday, October 24, 2026 — at FC Dallas (7:30 p.m. CT). The run-in opens in Texas, with seeding — not survival — on the line. A rare luxury for San Jose fans; enjoy it.
Wednesday, October 28, 2026 — vs Colorado Rapids, PayPal Park (7:30 p.m. PT). Back home under the lights, protecting the No. 4 seed and the home game that comes with it.
Saturday, October 31, 2026 — vs Real Salt Lake, PayPal Park. Halloween night at PayPal Park. Costumes in the stands, points on the pitch, and the final home game of the regular season.
Saturday, November 7, 2026 — Decision Day. The regular-season finale fixes San Jose’s final seeding and their Round One opponent. Wherever it lands, the Quakes’ postseason place is already secure — the only question is who comes to PayPal Park first.
November 20 – December 2, 2026 — Round One, Best-of-3. As things stand, San Jose host Houston in Round One — and a first playoff series win in 14 years is the mission. The conference semifinals follow December 5–6, the conference finals December 11–12, and MLS Cup 2026 lands on Friday, December 18. Every match streams on Apple TV with MLS Season Pass.
Biggest Rivalries — The Wars
1. LA Galaxy — the California Clásico. MLS’s original California rivalry, forged in the early-2000s wars when these clubs set the league’s standard — they met in the 2001 MLS Cup Final, won by San Jose. Two decades on, the Clásico still carries an edge no expansion-era derby can fake: old trophies, old scars, and a generation of fans raised to dislike each other properly.
2. LAFC. The new-money California feud — and San Jose have made a habit of ruining LAFC’s scripts. The Quakes’ famous 2025 Decision Day comeback came against LAFC, and on September 19, 2026 they went toe-to-toe again in a 2–2 draw at Levi’s Stadium. Glamour club versus Never Say Die: it writes itself.
3. Portland Timbers. A West Coast feud with genuine edge, built on Cascadia-versus-California bragging and years of tight, angry games. San Jose won the 2026 PayPal Park meeting 3–1 on October 3, part of the unbeaten run that carried them into the playoffs — and a result Portland will carry into next season’s rematch.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do the San Jose Earthquakes play next?
San Jose are away at FC Dallas on Saturday, October 24, 2026 (7:30 p.m. CT), then home to the Colorado Rapids on October 28 and Real Salt Lake on October 31 at PayPal Park, with Decision Day on November 7. The Earthquakes have already clinched their 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs berth.
Are the Earthquakes in the playoffs?
Yes — San Jose clinched on October 17, 2026, their first playoff berth since 2023, via a 1–1 draw with Nashville SC. As the current No. 4 seed in the Western Conference they would host Houston in Round One, which runs November 20 – December 2.
Where do the Earthquakes play, and how do I get tickets?
The Earthquakes play at PayPal Park in San Jose, capacity approximately 18,000, with occasional marquee matches at Levi’s Stadium. Tickets are sold through sjearthquakes.com and its ticketing partners, and every match streams live on Apple TV via MLS Season Pass.
What have the Earthquakes won?
San Jose have won two MLS Cups, in 2001 and 2003, and the 2012 Supporters’ Shield. The 2026 playoff run is their first since 2023 — and the Quakes have not won a playoff round in 14 years, a drought this squad was built to end.
⚽ San Jose Earthquakes Fan Shop
The full Quakes trio — Judd, Werner and Tsakiris in blue and black.
Sources & official links: San Jose Earthquakes official site · MLS official site · San Jose Earthquakes tickets
Blue and black, back in the playoffs, never say die — San Jose is shaking again.
