San Jose's Second-Half Comeback Bid Falls Short
MLS San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose's Second-Half Comeback Bid Falls Short

Published on August 30, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


San Jose Earthquakes on game night
San Jose Earthquakes on game night
(San Jose Earthquakes)

AUSTIN, Texas - The San Jose Earthquakes fell to Austin FC 3-1 on Saturday at Q2 Stadium in Major League Soccer regular-season play in front of 20,738 fans.

The Quakes were aggressive early. In the first 10 minutes, Josef Martínez had two chances in the box, but the first attempt was batted away by Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver and the second one was a goal that was ruled offside. In the 12th minute, the hosts capitalized off a transition moment. Midfielder Owen Wolff played a through ball for forward Osma Bukari down the right wing, who then took one dribble and netted his attempt for the far post to give Austin a 1-0 lead. Verde doubled the advantage in minute 33, when Bukari collected a turnover on the touchline, sped down the right wing, and fed Myrto Uzuni with a low cross to tap in for a 2-0 lead at the break.

After intermission, San Jose got back in the game in the 53rd minute off a corner kick. Wingback DeJuan Jones took a shot from the top of the box that ricocheted in front of net. Quakes defender Daniel Munie was in perfect position to emerge from the scrum and clean up the mess, thumping the ball home to make it a 2-1 contest. Six minutes later, Cristian "Chicho" Arango almost equalized but his shot from the top of the box was deflected and then tipped by Stuver over the crossbar. However, in minute 77, an own goal off a wayward clearance gave Austin FC a 3-1 lead for the final margin despite San Jose outshooting Austin (19-9) and dominating possession (58%-42%).

With the result, San Jose now occupies the ninth and last playoff spot in the MLS Western Conference with 35 points (9-12-8). Meanwhile Austin FC trades places with the Quakes and moves to eighth with 38 points (10-9-8).

The Black and Blue now head into the international break before returning to action at home Saturday, Sept. 13, for Prime Time at Levi's Stadium vs. LAFC. Kickoff will take place at 5:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast globally via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (English/Spanish), as well as via local radio on 107.7 FM The Bone (English) and KZSF 1370 AM La Kaliente (Spanish).

GAME NOTES

With the result, San Jose now occupies the ninth and final playoff spot in the MLS Western Conference with 35 points (9-12-8). Meanwhile Austin FC trades places with the Quakes and moves to seventh with 38 points (10-9-8).

The Quakes are now 2-3-6 (21 GF, 19 GA) against Austin in MLS regular-season play with a 1-3-3 (13 GF, 15 GA) record on the road.

Daniel Munie's 53rd-minute goal was his second of the season and second of his MLS career. He has now recorded goal contributions in consecutive games after notching an assist in last week's road win over Houston.

Newly signed Ronaldo Vieira started his first game for San Jose, playing 68 minutes before giving way to Beau Leroux.

Earthquakes defender Nick Lima faced his former team. After joining MLS as a Quakes Homegrown player in 2016, Lima was traded to Austin FC in 2020. After a stint with the New England Revolution in 2024, the Castro Valley native made his return to his hometown club in 2025.

The Earthquakes are currently second in the league in expected goals (58.77), with the Philadelphia Union holding a narrow lead with 59.28. After scoring one goal tonight, San Jose is currently third in team goals this season (53).

Austin FC 3 - 1 San Jose Earthquakes

Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025 - Q2 Stadium; Austin, Texas

Weather: 90°F Cloudy

Attendance: 20,738

*all stats unofficial

Match Officials:

Referee: Jon Freemon

AR1: Kathryn Nesbitt

AR2: Mike Nickerson

4th Official: Lorenzo Hernandez

VAR: Geoff Gamble

AVAR: Mark Allatin

Scoring Summary:

ATX (1-0) - Osman Bukari (Owen Wolff) 12'

ATX (2-0) - Myrto Uzuni (Osman Bukari) 33'

SJ (2-1) - Daniel Munie (unassisted) 53'

ATX (3-1) - Bruno Wilson (own goal) 77'

Misconduct Summary:

SJ - Ronaldo Vieira (caution) 41'

ATX - Guilherme Biro (caution) 67'

ATX - Oleksandr Svatok (caution) 86'

AUSTIN FC: Brad Stuver (GK) (C); Mikkel Desier (Zan Koimanic 89'), Brendan Hines-Ike, Oleksandr Svatok, Guilherme Biro; Dani Pereira, Osman Bukari (Jader Obrian 84'), Jon Gallagher, Nicolas Dubersarsky (Besard Sabovic 64') (CJ Fodrey 84'), Owen Wolff; Myrto Uzuni (Diego Rubio 64').

Substitutes not used: Stefan Cleveland (GK), Julio Cascante, Mateja Djordjevic, Robert Taylor.

POSS.: 42%; SHOTS: 9; SOG: 2; CORNERS: 5; OFFSIDES: 4; SAVES: 4; FOULS: 21; xG: 1.6

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel (GK); Reid Roberts (Bruno Wilson 36'), Dave Romney, Daniel Munie; Jamar Ricketts (Ousseni Bouda 46'), Ian Harkes, Ronaldo Vieira (Beau Leroux 68'), DeJuan Jones; Josef Martínez, Cristian "Chicho" Arango (C), Preston Judd (Noel Buck 68').

Substitutes not used: Earl Edwards Jr. (GK), Max Floriani, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Benji Kikanović, Nick Lima.

POSS.: 58%; SHOTS: 19; SOG: 5; CORNERS: 4; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 0; FOULS: 10; xG: 1.6

EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA

On the team's performance against Austin FC tonight and the push for playoffs:

"Hopefully we can be better. We gave away easily two goals today. The second and third goals are disgraceful. That has to be on me as the coach of this team. Give Austin credit, they capitalize on those mistakes. ... The mistakes we made today are not going to position us to win games or get a point."

"We've given away goals in this game, and the game at home against San Diego [FC], the game on the road against [Real] Salt Lake, these are all games where, in my opinion, we walk off the field with a point or three points. We can't continue to do that. Obviously if we do, our season ends in October for sure."

On the halftime substitution of defender Reid Roberts:

"He did have an injury. I probably would have taken him out at some point, but combination of injury and obviously, he struggled."

On the performance of midfielder Ronaldo Vieira tonight:

"He did a solid job. I think pushing him for the 60-plus minutes was challenging. He's in preseason [form], really for himself and so it's a challenge. I thought he did a good job."

EARTHQUAKES FORWARD OUSSENI BOUDA

On the team's performance tonight:

"After every game, we break the game down and we study it. We see where we could have done better. In this game, there's a lot of things that could have done better. We will look at it. At halftime, it was only 2-0 down, I can probably name 500 games where people have come back from 2-0 down, especially 45 minutes left. We cut it down to 2-1 and unfortunately, we conceded the third one at a crucial time. So it's very frustrating to be honest. It's time to look at the game, break it down, and see where we need to improve and turn the page to LAFC."

On his role entering tonight's match off the bench:

"Wherever I can play to help the team, that's where I will step in and do my best. If it's as a wingback, the way we play, wing backs find themselves high up the field, which is something that I'm used to. It's more defending than normal. Whatever the coaches want me to play, I'm willing to go out there and do that."

"If the coaches are making changes at halftime, it's because they feel like we need to change things as quick as possible. Anybody that comes in, the responsibility is to bring more energy and push the team forward and come in with fresh legs, which is exactly what I tried to do. I was out there and tried to give my best for the 45 minutes that was given."

On the team's hopes for the playoffs:

"We're coming down to the end of the season, and it's the playoff push. Everybody knows what's on the line. So that, in itself, is the motivation. We want to make the playoffs, and we have a good team. A team that should make the playoffs. We want to extend the season for as long as possible. That's the motivation, trying to make the playoffs. We don't need any other motivation from outside. Five games left. Time to give it our best."

On the team's next match against Los Angeles Football Club:

"We have a little bit of time before that game against LAFC. We need to regroup and come back, train harder and prepare. You know, go to that game and play to the best of our abilities. I think we're a really good team. I honestly think that our record doesn't show how good we are, and there's still some things that we need to fix. I think there was a lot of things that were preventable in the goals that we conceded, but now it's time to turn the page and move on to the next game."

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San Jose Earthquakes on game night
San Jose Earthquakes on game night
   



Major League Soccer Stories from August 30, 2025


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