The San Jose Earthquakes could have been outclassed in a lopsided 4-1 street loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday, however they’ve nonetheless acquired a preventing probability to make the Main League Soccer playoffs with only one sport remaining.
Sebastian Berhalter, the son of former U.S. males’s nationwide group coach Gregg Berhalter, had two objectives and an help to spark Vancouver’s win at BC Place.
San Jose (10-15-8) fell out of playoff place with the loss and nonetheless has 38 factors, good for simply eleventh place within the Western Convention, the place 9 groups will take part within the postseason. Eighth-place Dallas has 41 factors, whereas Actual Salt Lake and Colorado have 40 factors apiece.
San Jose will want a victory over Austin FC in its last common season sport on Saturday, Oct. 18 at PayPal Park. Plus, the Earthquakes will want loads of assist from Actual Salt Lake’s two remaining opponents (Seattle and St. Louis) in addition to Colorado’s last opponent (LAFC) on Oct. 18.
The Quakes’ probabilities of qualifying for the postseason could come right down to neither Salt Lake nor Colorado incomes one other level.
“We’re going to do everything we can to try to win in the last game of the season. We don’t have control of things,” mentioned San Jose coach Bruce Area. “Actually, a degree as we speak would have put us in a greater place, however we failed there. However all we will do is, within the final sport of the season, exit and attempt to get three factors and see the place we stand when all of the mud clears.
“Hopefully, it’s positive.”
Vancouver goalie Ralph Priso made a goal-line block of a header by Josef Martínez within the seventh minute to disclaim San Jose an early lead.
Then the Whitecaps’ offense took over and San Jose couldn’t recuperate.
Vancouver’s Rayan Elloumi and Thomas Müller every scored a objective to place the Whitecaps up 2-0, Berhalter then blasted a rising shot from 30 yards out that slipped contained in the put up to make it 3-0 within the 74th.
San Jose’s lone objective got here from Beau Leroux, who made it 3-1 within the 89th with a shot from exterior the realm that deflected off Vancouver’s Giuseppe Bovalina into the online. It was Leroux’s fifth objective of the season.
Any intrigue Leroux’s objective could have added was rapidly stamped out as soon as Berhalter scored his second objective within the second minute of stoppage time.
Leroux rapidly turned his consideration to a different objective.
“We just need to finish out the season strong. One last game of the regular season. We all need to be together,” Leroux mentioned.
Vancouver (17-6-9) now has 60 factors and is tied with San Diego atop the Western Convention, two factors forward of third-place Minnesota.
HONORING THEIR FOUNDER
The Earthquakes wore put on black armbands in Vancouver for Sunday’s sport in opposition to the Whitecaps in honor of Milan Mandarić, the membership’s founder who died Saturday on the age of 87.
Mandarić began the group in 1974 as a part of the North American Soccer League. He bought the membership in 1977, however later purchased again in and helped deliver Manchester United legend George Greatest to the Quakes in 1980.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of our founder and longtime owner Milan Mandaric,” the Quakes mentioned in an announcement. “We are forever indebted to Milan for bringing professional soccer to San Jose and building the Earthquakes into one of the longest running clubs in the United States.”
Within the late Nineteen Nineties, the Serbian expertise businessman grew to become proprietor and chairman of English membership Portsmouth, later getting concerned with Leicester Metropolis and Sheffield Wednesday.
Mandaric died in Belgrade, Serbia after a quick sickness.
Initially Printed: October 5, 2025 at 7:37 PM PDT
