The San Jose Earthquakes beat the Shield-winning Philadelphia Union 1-0 in Chester, Pa., on Saturday. It was the team’s third straight victory —and third straight clean sheet — in three Major League Soccer games this season.
“Good teams win these kind of games,” coach Bruce Arena said after the win.
Indeed, they do. And San Jose, fresh off a seesawing 2025 season that saw it regain some dignity from a last-place finish in 2024, is about as good as teams come. But it’s managed that goodness with a lineup that might raise the eyebrows of a casual fan. Just one player, newly signed attacker Timo Werner, is a recognizable superstar, and he’s not even fit enough to play full games for San Jose yet.
No, this perfect trio of games was executed by Arena’s unheralded squad of NCAA veterans. Goalscorer Ousseni Bouda came to MLS from Stanford; midfielder Beau Leroux came from San Jose State. But it’s the team’s two center backs, Indiana’s Daniel Munie and San Francisco’s Reid Roberts, who best exemplify Arena’s NCAA strategy. They’re the latest in a long line of Arena’s defensive draft picks, and their journey looks set to be San Jose’s journey in 2026, one that could take it to the very top of the MLS standings.