San Jose Earthquakes Prevail over Philadelphia Union, 0-1

March 7, 2026

CHESTER, PA–Bruce Arena’s San Jose Earthquakes walked away with a 0-1 win over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday evening in front of a packed Subaru Park. It was San Jose’s third MLS win and its third clean sheet of the year – the mirror image of Philadelphia’s three losses to start the season. Philadelphia Coach Bradley Carnell let the Union’s loss roll off his back, describing the game as one of “tight margins” although conceding that “things aren’t going our way right now.” To some, San Jose just looked too big, too strong and too fast for the Union.

On paper, Coach Carnell was right. Possession between the two teams was essentially even. Both teams had three shots on goal. The difference was Philadelphia’s defense and missed connections. The loss of the talented Olwethu Makhanya to a red card from the NYCFC game likely contributed to the result.

The second half saw more possession by the Union, but also the lone score from San Jose. At about the 59th minute, the Quakes had the ball on the left side in the Philadelphia half. San Jose’s Timo Werner saw Ousseni Bouda signaling for the ball and delivered a perfect pass right to Bouda. Philadelphia’s Giovanny Sequera tried to intercept the pass, but he slipped just shy, leaving Bouda with an unopposed shot to the narrow space to the left of Philadelphia’s keeper, Andre Blake.

To be sure, Philadelphia had some good efforts. Indiana Vassilev had two shots saved – one in the first half and one while unattended in the second half. Early in the second half, Nate Harriel aimed a low header to goal off of a free kick from Milan Iloski, but all were saved by San Jose’s keeper, Daniel. Still the effort was insufficient to stem the loss.

Photographs of the game appear below:

Philadelphia’s Augustin Anello leaning back against the Quakes’s Reid Roberts.