SAN DIEGO — Josef Martínez scored early in the first half and a stingy defense led by goalie Daniel made it stand up as the San Jose Earthquakes edged first-place San Diego FC 1-0 and moved into a playoff spot on Saturday night.
Martínez used an assist from Cristian Arango — his seventh — in the 14th minute to score for the 13th time this season, tying him with Arango for most goals on the team. It’s also the most goals Martínez has scored since he totaled 27 in 2019 while playing for Atlanta United.
The Earthquakes (10-14-8) and FC Dallas are now tied for the final playoff spot in the MLS’ Western Conference with 38 points, but Dallas has a match in hand while the Quakes have just two remaining matches.
“I give our guys a lot of credit. It was a great effort. It wasn’t pretty,” San Jose coach Bruce Arena said. “It was an ugly win, but we’ll take it. We’ve had a lot of pretty losses this year, so I’m really happy to have an ugly win.”
Ronaldo Vieira #37 of the San Jose Earthquakes and Jeppe Tverskov #6 of San Diego FC exchange words during the second half at Snapdragon Stadium on Sept. 27, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
The ugly game in front of 29,437 fans at Snapdragon Stadium may have been by design, though.
“We definitely wanted to change the pace of the game,” said San Jose defender Daniel Munie. “We know they like to play quick, play fast and we wanted to slow them down.”
One of San Jose’s few mishaps on defense nearly led to a game-tying goal in the 37th minute by San Diego FC, but Onni Valakari’s attempt from point-blank range was wide right.
Daniel finished with three saves for his fifth clean sheet this season for San Jose and the team’s first shutout since May 28, a 1-0 loss in Los Angeles against the Galaxy.
Arena singled out defenders Munie, and Reid Roberts and Max Floriani for enabling San Jose to snap its three-game losing skid.
“The performance by the three of them, starting with Munie and then Reid, Floriani. It was quite good,” Arena said. “This is not an easy team to beat at home on their home field. I give our guys a lot of credit. It was a great effort.”
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San Diego (17-9-6) has two matches remaining in its first regular season and is tied with Vancouver atop the Western Conference with 57 points. The Whitecaps, however, have a match in hand.
The Earthquakes travel to play Vancouver on Sunday and they’ll do so with momentum on their side.
“We’re going against another good team next Sunday in Vancouver, a difficult venue to play in, but I think we’ll go there with a lot of confidence that we can win the game,” said Munie.
Josef Martinez #17 of the San Jose Earthquakes celebrates after scoring a goal against San Diego FC during the first half at Snapdragon Stadium on Sept. 27, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
Max Floriani #25 and Daniel #42 of the San Jose Earthquakes celebrate after the game against San Diego FC at Snapdragon Stadium on Sept. 27, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)