Niko Tsakiris, a 20-year-old Saratoga native, scored two goals to help the San Jose Earthquakes beat San Diego FC 3-0 Saturday night, and move within one point of first place in the MLS’ Western Conference table. For a team that finished 20th overall last season, that’s not a bad place to be sitting.
Preston Judd added a goal and an assist while San Jose’s defense, fronting goalkeeper Daniel, recorded its fifth shutout in six matches in front of 17,410 at PayPal Park.
The victory leaves the Earthquakes at 5-1-0 for the first time in franchise history, dating back to its inception in 1974. Their 15 points tie them with the Vancouver Whitecaps (5-1-0), just behind first-place LAFC (5-0-1) in the West.
“Well, (when we) broke training camp and you told me we’d be 5-1 after the first six games … I would not agree with that, so I’m very pleased,” said Earthquakes’ second-year coach Bruce Arena. “However, we have a long way to go.”
Benji Kikanović #28 of the San Jose Earthquakes is defended by David Vazquez #19 of San Diego FC during the San Jose Earthquakes vs. San Diego FC match at PayPal Park on April 4, 2026 in San Jose, California.
San Jose scored all three of its goals in the first half, beginning with Tsakiris’ goal in the 13th minute. While on the counter-attack, the Quakes’ homegrown player ran onto a ball-ahead played by Judd and then slipped a rising shot inside the near post.
Tsakiris then converted from the penalty spot in the 34th to make it 2-0 while notching his first career multi-goal match. That goal made Tsakiris (at 20 years, 289 days old) the second youngest player in San Jose history to score a brace – trailing only Landon Donovan, who had three braces before turning 21.
Joining the company of a Hall of Famer Donovan was a thrill for Tsakiris, who nonetheless tried to keep things in perspective when asked about it.
“It’s amazing. I think, first and foremost, amazing to get three points tonight back at home,” Tsakiris said. “We’re building day by day, game by game here, and to get this achievement with this group of guys, it’s special.
“The career that he had and the player that he was, it’s special to be with him in that same category. I still have a lot of work to do, and it’s a great first step for me.”
The Quakes weren’t done scoring. In the third minute of first-half stoppage time, when Beau Leroux motored down the left sideline and found a streaking Judd who promptly finished the goal to make it 3-0 at halftime.
San Diego’s Manu Duah was shown a straight red card in the 32nd minute, forcing his squad to play a man down the rest of the way. Duran Ferree had seven saves for San Diego (3-1-2).
San Jose will next travel to Missouri to face Sporting Kansas City (1-4-1) next Saturday night. Kansas City may be in 16th place out of the West’s 16 teams, but Arena is counting on anything, no matter how hot his squad may be right now.
“Well, obviously, I think we’re a confident team right now, but we have 28 more games to play,” Arena said. “We may lose our next 28 games, so we have to put everything in the right perspective.”