San Jose advances to host Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 matchup against Minnesota United FC
MLS San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose advances to host Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 matchup against Minnesota United FC

Published on April 16, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


San Jose Earthquakes are all smiles after a goal against Phoenix Rising FC
San Jose Earthquakes are all smiles after a goal against Phoenix Rising FC
(San Jose Earthquakes)

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes defeated Phoenix Rising FC 2-0 on Wednesday night in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 at PayPal Park to extend their best overall start in club history to 7-1-0 across all competitions.

The Earthquakes opened the scoring in the third minute when Timo Werner took a short corner kick and pushed it on the left channel to Nick Fernandez, who promptly dribbled to his right and curled a right-footed blast from distance past Phoenix goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky to give San Jose an early 1-0 lead. The hosts doubled their advantage in minute 23 when off a throw-in, Noel Buck laid it off for Fernandez, who found a streaking Jack Jasinski down the right half-space. Jasinski, the Quakes' second-round SuperDraft pick this season, coolly finished with the one-timer from the edge of the box to make it 2-0 for San Jose. However, Jonathan González was sent off before halftime after seeing his second yellow card and the Quakes were down to 10 men by intermission.

In the second half, the game settled down as the Earthquakes' defense tightened down a man. Phoenix attempted 17 shots but were only able to put four on goal, as goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. made a quartet of saves before the final whistle to seal the team's sixth shutout across all competitions. With the victory, San Jose advances to the Round of 16, where the Quakes will host Minnesota United FC at PayPal Park on either Tuesday, April 28, or Wednesday, April 29. The date and time will be determined shortly.

The Black and Blue, now even on points for first place in the Western Conference, return to Major League Soccer regular-season play Sunday, April 19, in a crucial road match against third-place LAFC. Kickoff from BMO Stadium is set for 4 p.m. PT and will air globally on Apple TV (English/Spanish), as well as via local radio on KSFO 810 AM (English) and La Kaliente 1370 AM (Spanish).

GAME NOTES

Tonight was the first time the San Jose Earthquakes and Phoenix Rising FC met in an official competition.

Tonight's win propelled San Jose's overall record to 7-1-0 across all competitions in 2026, extending the best start in club history after eight games in 2012 (6-1-1), which ended in capturing the Supporters' Shield.

With the win, San Jose moved to 24-20 all-time in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play, including a 20-6 record against non-MLS opponents.

San Jose advances to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16, where they will host Minnesota United FC at PayPal Park on either April 28 or 29. The date and time will be determined shortly.

Nick Fernandez's third-minute goal was his first career goal across all competitions.

Timo Werner's third-minute assist was his first in U.S. Open Cup play and third assist across all competitions this season.

Jack Jasinski's 23rd-minute goal was his first career goal across all competitions.

Nick Fernandez's 23rd-minute primary assist was his first career assist across all competitions.

Spreading the wealth: With Nick Fernandez and Jack Jasinski scoring their first goals of 2026, the Earthquakes now have had nine different goal scorers across all competitions. With Nick Fernandez notching his first assist of 2026, the Quakes now have had 10 different players record an assist or more across all competitions.

With only two goals conceded in the first eight games, the Quakes' defense has set a new club record for least goals conceded and most shutouts (6) over an eight-game period across all competitions.

By making the start tonight, Noel Buck and Max Floriani made their 2026 Earthquakes debuts, with the former logging 62 minutes at left winger and initiating the second goal sequence, while the latter played all 90 minutes at center back and helped seal the clean sheet.

Nonso Adimabua made his Quakes First Team debut after a breakout 2025 with San Jose's MLS NEXT Pro side, setting a club single-season record with 13 goals and 19 total goal contributions. Adimabua started tonight's match at center forward and played 62 minutes.

Quakes Designated Player Timo Werner returned from a two-game absence from injury to make the start and play 45 minutes in central attacking midfield, notching an assist in the third minute.

Goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. earned his first clean sheet in U.S. Open Cup play this season and second in as many seasons in the tournament for San Jose. He now has six career clean sheets across all competitions.

San Jose Earthquakes 2 - 0 Phoenix Rising FC

Wednesday, April 15, 2026 - PayPal Park; San Jose, Calif.

Weather: 58° Cloudy

NorCal Honda Dealers Man of the Match: Nick Fernandez

*all stats unofficial

Match Officials:

Referee: Elton Garcia

AR1: Bruno Rizo

AR2: Fernando Fierro

4th Official: Jamie Padilla

Scoring Summary:

SJ (1-0) - Nick Fernandez (Timo Werner) 3'

SJ (2-0) - Jack Jasinski (Nick Fernandez) 23'

Misconduct Summary:

SJ - Jonathan González (caution) 13'

SJ - Paul Marie (caution) 28'

SJ - Jack Jasinski (caution) 37'

SJ - Jonathan González (caution, ejection) 39'

PHX - Adrian Pelayo (caution) 47'

PHX - Charlie Dennis (caution) 84'

PHX - Anthony Capetillo (caution) 90+1'

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Earl Edwards Jr. (GK); Paul Marie (Niko Tsakiris 77'), Dave Romney, Max Floriani, Jack Jasinski; Ian Harkes, Jonathan González, Timo Werner (C) (Beau Leroux 46'); Nick Fernandez (Jack Skahan 77'), Noel Buck (Reid Roberts 62'), Nonso Adimabua (Ousseni Bouda 62').

Substitutes not used: Daniel (GK), Daniel Munie.

POSS.: 35.6%; SHOTS: 14; SOG: 7; CORNERS: 9; SAVES: 4; FOULS: 13

PHOENIX RISING FC: Patrick Rakovsky (GK); Daniel Flores (Luke Biasi 46'), Aleksandar Vukovic (Gunnar Studenhofft 65'), Adrian Pelayo (Pape Mar Boye 77'), Eziah Ramirez (Charlie Dennis 46'); JP Scearce (C); Jean-Eric Moursou (Anthony Capetillo 65'), Diego Gomez; Hope Avayevu, Ihsan Sacko, Darius Johnson.

Substitutes not used: Chituru Odunze (GK), Jackson Gaydon.

POSS.: 64.4%; SHOTS: 17; SOG: 4; CORNERS: 5; SAVES: 5; FOULS: 13

EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA

On Nick Fernandez's standout performance:

"He's a good player. He's been a good player for us. He's played a lot of [MLS NEXT Pro] games. He's gotten in a little bit this year now, and he's been a good player. Probably his more comfortable natural position would be as a 10, but he's very versatile. He could play in a number of positions in the midfield. So he's been good."

On the team's overall performance to secure the victory:

"Well, clearly scoring a goal in the first three minutes is huge, so I certainly liked that. The second goal was important, and then we had a couple of chances at a third. One of the positives on the night is we got minutes for players that haven't played in a while. [Timo] Werner is an example. He got 45 minutes tonight. Some of our other reserves-our goalkeeper 90 minutes, Nonso [Adimabua] in the No. 9 position got his minutes. [Ian] Harkes continues to get minutes. Max Floriani got 90 minutes tonight. [Jack] Jasinski. So those things are positives. I think Nick [Fernandez] and Paul Marie had played 75 minutes tonight. So those are positives, because we're going to need to use a lot of players over the next six games or so."

"I liked that we didn't get concede a goal. I think Reid Roberts coming in helped us in the back line. I thought [Beau] Leroux did very well for us, coming in as a reserve. He was one of our better players, for sure, in the second half. He did a good job."

On the team's mindset looking forward to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16:

"I think you got to try to win it. We have the next game at home against Minnesota [United FC]. It won't be easy, but that should be our goal."

EARTHQUAKES WINGER NICK FERNANDEZ

On facing Phoenix Rising FC tonight:

"In these Cup games against the USL teams, it's important to have the right mindset. We wanted to come out flying. Being able to score in the first five minutes is vital. That put us on the front foot the whole game, and gave us the confidence to control it before the red card. It doesn't matter who we're playing, we're going to come out flying."

"Obviously, the red card makes it a little more difficult, but to be able to close out the win and still get a clean sheet with 10 guys is important for the whole group."

On scoring his first goal for the Quakes:

"It's a moment I'll never forget: Getting the first start of the year and scoring is a very special moment, and celebrating with my team."

On the opportunity to be in the starting XI:

"It doesn't really matter who's out there. We're all just playing for each other and playing together. So I think it being our first game for a lot of us this season, we had something to prove. We wanted it a little bit more, and just it made it easier, and we were working harder, and it was just a good group of guys."

On the level of confidence the coaching staff has in the team:

"It helps a lot that the coaches give us confidence. No matter who's out there, we're going to play the same way, and they trust every one of us. There's never any hesitation to put us out there. The trust from the coaches is obviously very vital in that, and it just gives us all the confidence to work hard and do what we need to do to win games."

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San Jose Earthquakes are all smiles after a goal against Phoenix Rising FC
San Jose Earthquakes are all smiles after a goal against Phoenix Rising FC
   



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