San Jose beats LA in 103rd California Clasico to extend unbeaten streak in all competitions to eight games

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MLS San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose beats LA in 103rd California Clasico to extend unbeaten streak in all competitions to eight games

May 29, 2025 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.
San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.
(San Jose Earthquakes)

CARSON, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes defeated the LA Galaxy 1-0 in the 103rd California Clasico in all competitions Wednesday night in Major League Soccer regular-season play at Dignity Health Sports Park in front of 15,345 fans to extend their unbeaten streak in all competitions to eight games.

The hosts assailed the net early and often, with a Matheus Nascimento goal called back for offside. But midfielder Ian Harkes fired the first warning shot for San Jose in the 22nd minute with a long-range effort from outside the box that bounced off the crossbar. The half would end scoreless.

In the 54th minute, Galaxy forward Gabriel Pec cut back on the right wing and closed in on net, but Quakes goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. dove to his right to make a spectacular save from point-blank range. The breakthrough came in the 74th minute when Rodrigues lifted a long ball for Preston Judd, who rushed down the right wing and fed a pinpoint pass to Ousseni Bouda, who streaked down the middle and finished the play to give San Jose a 1-0 lead. In stoppage time, Edwards Jr. sealed the victory with another save off the line to earn Northern California Honda Dealers Man of the Match honors.

The two archrivals will meet again in Northern California exactly one month from tonight on Saturday, June 28, at Stanford Stadium. The Earthquakes have already announced 30,000 tickets sold along with the pregame, halftime, in-game and postgame festivities, which include a 1,000-drone light show-the largest in MLS history.

The Black and Blue will now complete the second leg of their road trip by facing St. Louis CITY SC on Saturday, June 1. Kickoff from Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri, will take place at 11:30 a.m. PT and will be broadcast globally via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (English/Spanish), as well as via local radio KSFO 810 AM (English) and 1370 AM La Kaliente (Spanish).

GAME NOTES

The Earthquakes move to 29-40-17 (126 GF, 141 GA) vs. LA Galaxy in MLS play with an 11-24-6 (58 GF, 74 GA) road record.

Wednesday's match marked the 103rd California Clasico in all competitions, with San Jose's all-time record in the series 34-50-19 (144 GF, 168 GA). The scene now shifts to Stanford Stadium on June 28 when the Quakes host the 104th edition of the rivalry.

Bruce Arena won his 269th career regular-season game, extending his record for MLS head coaches.

Head Coach Bruce Arena and Assistant Coach Dave Sarachan returned to Carson where they raised the MLS Cup with the LA Galaxy three times (2011, 2012, 2014) and the Supporters' Shield in 2010 and 2011. Arena's stint with the Quakes' SoCal rival also earned him MLS Coach of The Year honors (2009, 2011).

San Jose won in Carson for the first time since a 3-2 triumph on July 13, 2022. Cristian Espinoza, Jeremy Ebobisse and Marcos López all netted that day.

With the win, San Jose is now on a eight-game unbeaten streak in all competitions (5-0-3).

Earl Edwards Jr. made six saves including a clutch stop in the waning seconds of the match to stub the ball off the crossbar and seal the win.

Counting May 17 against New England when he came on at halftime, Earl Edwards Jr. finished his third clean sheet in all competitions.

The clean sheet is now the Quakes' fourth in MLS regular-season play this season and their fourth in the last six games in all competitions (2-0 at Colorado on May 10, 0-0 with New England on May 17 and 1-0 over Portland on May 20 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16).

Heading into tonight, the Quakes' attack led all MLS with 32 goals and 33.62 expected goals. They added one goal tonight to keep that lead with 33 and 35.2 expected goals.

Cristian Espinoza continued to lead MLS with eight assists and 52 key passes.

Ousseni Bouda's go-ahead goal in the second half was his third of the season and fifth of his MLS career.

Preston's Judd's primary assist on Bouda's goal was his first of the season and third of his MLS career. He now boasts three goals and three assists in all competitions in the month of May.

Rodrigues' secondary assist on Bouda's goal was his second of the season and fifth of his MLS career.

Two current Quakes formerly played for the LA Galaxy: defender Dave Romney (2015-19), who appeared 84 times and scored three goals, and forward Preston Judd (2022-23), who appeared 17 times and scored three goals. The pair also played for LA Galaxy II where Judd scored 30 goals in 57 appearances (2021-23) and Romney found the back of the net twice in 24 appearances (2015-19).

LA Galaxy 0 - 1 San Jose Earthquakes

Wednesday, May 28, 2025 - Dignity Health Park; Carson, Calif.

Weather: 63°F Partly Cloudy

Attendance: 15,345

Man of the Match Presented by Northern California Honda Dealers: Earl Edwards Jr.

*all stats unofficial

Match Officials:

Referee: Alexis Da Silva

AR1: Jose Da Silva

AR2: Bruno Rizo

VAR: Younes Marrakchi

AVAR: Edwin Jurisevic

4th Official: Tom Felice

Scoring Summary:

SJ (0-1) - Ousseni Bouda (Preston Judd, Rodrigues) 74'

Misconduct Summary:

SJ - Benji Kikanović (caution) 69'

SJ - Vítor Costa (caution) 90+1'

LA GALAXY: Novak Micovic (GK); John Nelson (Julian Aude 82'), Maya Yoshida (C), Zanka, Mauricio Cuevas (Miki Yamane 69'); Edwin Cerrillo, Lucas Sanabria (Elijah Wynder 82'), Marco Reus (Diego Fagundez 59'); Matheus Nascimento (Christian Ramirez 69'), Gabriel Pec, Joseph Paintsil.

Substitutes not used: John McCarthy (GK), Emiro Garces, Tucker Lepley, Isaiah Parente.

POSS.: 53.7%; SHOTS: 13; SOG: 6; CORNERS: 10; OFFSIDES: 5; SAVES: 5; FOULS: 5; xG: 1.5

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Earl Edwards Jr. (GK); Dave Romney, Daniel Munie, Rodrigues; Vítor Costa, Ian Harkes, Beau Leroux (Mark-Anthony Kaye 65'), Benji Kikanović (Nick Lima 72'); Amahl Pellegrino (Ousseni Bouda 65'), Cristian Espinoza (C) (Max Floriani 86'), Josef Martínez (Preston Judd 65').

Substitutes not used: Luca Ulrich (GK), Hernán López, Paul Marie, Reid Roberts.

POSS.: 46.3%; SHOTS: 13; SOG: 6; CORNERS: 4; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 6; FOULS: 13; xG: 1.6

EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA

On tonight's road win and the pivotal play where Preston Judd and Ousseni Bouda combined on the game-winning goal:

"Obviously a challenging game for both teams. ... We played a little better in the second half. That game could've gone either way. There were a couple transition moments that the Galaxy had that were very dangerous, as well as ourselves, that we didn't capitalize on. But obviously, a huge goal. Very good play by Judd and great finish by Bouda. We're pleased anytime you win a game on the road in MLS. It's important, so I'm pleased with the team's performance tonight."

On where the team stands at this point of the season:

"We're getting better but we're still missing some players. We probably were without three or four starters tonight, and when we get our full team together i think we can have a good second half of the season. So I give a lot of credit to our team. The complete roster has contributed."

On the performance of goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.

"A big save for sure. Earl's been called upon because of Daniel's injury and it's good to see he's getting rewarded. He played a good game and made a couple good saves, so that'll do a lot for his confidence."

On returning to Carson and Dignity Health Sports Park, where he coached the Galaxy from 2008-16:

"I've really enjoyed it here. I have a lot of good friends here. Friends for life. I enjoyed living in L.A. and coaching the Galaxy. I came back one other time with New England [in 2019] here, so it's nice to be back. And now I'm back in California with San Jose. These have all been good experiences."

EARTHQUAKES GOALKEEPER EARL EDWARDS JR.

On earning the clean sheet:

"It was a good night. I felt good about my performance. Obviously, being a No. 2 [goalkeeper] at times, you have to be prepared to play. I've been called upon these last few games and finding my form and able to get the shutout tonight and get a solid win against the Galaxy."

On the confidence boost after tonight's performance:

"I would say tremendously. I'm human. You would like to think that I can just step in there and you're at the top of your game all the time. But sometimes, there's ups and downs. I think I've been building confidence over the last few weeks. I'm fortunate to put a performance together tonight and help us get a W."

On returning to Los Angeles as a UCLA alumnus:

"It's a place I've played a lot. If not in the stadium, in the fields around it. I was talking to my dad earlier today and it's nice to come back to town-see familiar faces in the crowd and things of that sort. It's definitely an environment I'm comfortable in and was happy to be back."

On the team displaying the mental and physical resiliency to win on the road despite the tough schedule:

"The resiliency was big. Obviously, we played a lot of games in the last few weeks. It's starting to wear on us a little bit. A lot of it is physical, but the mental aspects come in and you have to overcome both. This time of year in MLS, that's what happens. You get midweek games quite a bit and you have to hopefully have a deep enough roster to deal with it, which we do. We're getting results. So we're happy."

"We have a tight-knit group. Everyone gets along. We push each other in training. We're close off the field. It's not something I've always experienced throughout my career so I could tell, we have a tight-knit group. Guys push for each other. We hold each other accountable. We have a good thing going."

EARTHQUAKES GOALKEEPER OUSSENI BOUDA

On coming off the bench and connecting with Preston Judd to score the game-winning goal:

"When the subs came in, we knew we had the fresh legs and we wanted to be aggressive in the box and try to get a goal. That's exactly what happened. We thought we used space very well on that goal. Preston Judd did a beautiful ball for me and I just had to redirect it. So kudos to the entire team. Then we had to really roll up our sleeves and defend and hold on to the lead, which I thought we did an amazing job. It was a great team effort tonight. I'm glad we were able to get the three points."

"I think one of the things that me and Preston bring is our ability to stretch a defense and running behind. When I saw that he was going to be able to get his head up and put a ball across, I just tried to sprint as hard as possible and get in between the defense. I was just hoping for a great ball there so I could redirect it. I'm glad that we're both thinking the same thing. The timing was perfect, the ball was perfect and I decided to be there. I just had to get there. I hope we can continue to develop these kind of chemistries in between different players, not just me and Preston, but anybody."

On the team's overall depth:

"At any given day, we can put a different lineup there and feel strong that we can get a result. I think that we have a really strong team. There are a lot of people that can step up at any time and that's one of our strengths for the long term and for the duration of the season-that's going to come in handy and help us. As you can see, this month has been crazy and many people have had to step up at different times, and people have done so. That's one of the greatest strengths of this team."

On Earl Edwards Jr.'s performance:

"I thought Earl had an amazing performance today from the beginning to the end. He made some great saves and he was vocal. He really kept us in the game today. So kudos to Earl for keeping us in this game and I think he deserves a lot of praise tonight.

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San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.
San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.
   



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