SAN JOSE — The San Jose Earthquakes took care of business on the final day of the regular season, but with their playoff fate out of their own hands, ultimately, it didn’t matter.
The Quakes broke through with a pair of late goals to pull out a 2-1 win over Austin FC on Saturday. The other results they would have needed to claim the Western Conference’s final playoff seed on Major League Soccer’s “Decision Day,” however, didn’t go their way.
San Jose needed to win its match and depended on three other outcomes. FC Dallas beat Vancouver and Real Salt Lake tied St. Louis, locking the Quakes out of the postseason despite getting the needed draw from Colorado against LAFC. They needed one loss from FC Dallas or Real Salt Lake.
The Earthquakes players watched from the field as their fate was sealed with the final seven minutes of the RSL-St. Louis match airing on the jumbotron.
For much of the match at PayPal Park, it didn’t appear that scoreboard watching would be a worthwhile activity.
The Quakes dominated possession and owned advantages in most statistical categories. They outshot Austin 10-2 and held possession for more than 60% of the game. But they missed their first eight shots on goal — and first 24 total attempts — before Josef Martinez headed their first goal past Austin keeper Brad Stuver in the 75th minute.
Martinez’s goal tied the score at 1, and Niko Tsakiris put them ahead 2-1 just 2 minutes later on a free kick reminiscent of the one he made in the U20 World Cup.
Austin FC attempted only one shot on goal in the first half, but the right-footer from Owen Wolff gave Austin a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute.
In Bruce Arena’s first season at the helm, San Jose clearly corrected course from last year’s last-place finish but faded down the stretch, costing them a return to the postseason for the first time since 2023. The Earthquakes lost four of their final six matches to finish 10-15-8, two points shy of the playoffs.
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