Toronto – The San Jose Earthquakes continued their historic run Saturday, battling to a 1–1 draw against Toronto FC at BMO Field. The result extends San Jose’s unbeaten streak to seven league matches and ties an MLS record for the longest unbeaten road start to a season. With the point, the Earthquakes also improve to a league-best 9-1-1 record, maintaining their grip on first place in both the Western Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings.
“Well, it was a heck of a play by Reid [Roberts] at the end of the game,” said head coach Bruce Arena. “On the day, we didn’t play well. There’s no hiding from that. But I give the guys credit for hanging in there, grinding, and getting a point. Usually, when you don’t play well on the road, you go home with nothing, so getting one point is a positive. That said, we still didn’t play well. It’s been two straight weeks with midweek games, and we’re struggling a bit physically. We picked up another injury today, so it’s going to be challenging. But we’re no different from any other team. That’s part of it, and we have to deal with it. Hopefully, we can use the week off to get some rest and improve a bit.”
Toronto struck early, finding the opener just two minutes in when Daniel Sallói cut inside from the left and curled a precise shot into the far corner for a 1–0 lead. San Jose responded quickly. In the 14th minute, Niko Tsakiris delivered a dangerous free kick that Preston Judd redirected into the net, notching his team-leading seventh goal of the season to level the match.
The Earthquakes nearly took control midway through the second half when Judd tapped in what appeared to be his second goal of the afternoon. However, the play was overturned after video review ruled Jack Skahan offside in the buildup, keeping the match deadlocked.
Toronto pushed for a late winner in the 86th minute, but San Jose’s defense delivered a defining moment. After Sallói chipped a one-on-one chance over goalkeeper Daniel, defender Reid Roberts sprinted back and executed a dramatic goal-line clearance to preserve the draw.
The Earthquakes now turn their attention to a marquee showdown next weekend, returning home for a high-stakes clash with Vancouver Whitecaps FC in a battle for Western Conference supremacy and early Supporters’ Shield positioning.
“Yeah, we have a long way to go, Arena added. “We’re not walking around thinking we’re anything special, we know we have to keep improving every week. It’s going to be challenging, and we just have to keep getting better. Like any team, there are egos in the group, but we didn’t play well today. It’s been a tough week, not perfect, but we managed to get a couple of results, and we’ll leave it at that. Now we need to use the next week to recover and try to be better next Saturday.”
The San Jose Earthquakes continued their record-setting start to the 2026 MLS season, improving to 9-1-1 with 26 goals scored and just seven conceded. The result extends the club’s league-record pace through 11 matches, keeping San Jose firmly atop both the Western Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings. Meanwhile, Toronto FC moved to 3-3-5 on the season and currently sit sixth in the Eastern Conference.
Saturday’s result also added another chapter to the interconference rivalry. San Jose’s all-time regular season record against Toronto now stands at 6-5-9, including a balanced 3-3-5 mark on the road at BMO Field. The Earthquakes have now earned points in three consecutive visits to Toronto, underscoring their growing confidence away from home.
San Jose extended its unbeaten run in league play to seven matches, though its six-game winning streak came to an end—matching a previous club record set in 2005, the same year the franchise captured its first Supporters’ Shield. Despite the snapped streak, the club’s consistency continues to define one of the strongest starts in MLS history.
Roster construction has also played a key role in the Earthquakes’ success. Head coach Bruce Arena once again leaned heavily on domestic talent, starting eight American players in the match. San Jose leads MLS in American player usage in 2026, averaging 7.9 per starting lineup and allocating roughly 70% of total minutes to U.S.-born players. The lineup also featured eight former college athletes, reflecting a roster-building strategy that emphasizes development and experience at the collegiate level, an approach that continues to pay dividends during the club’s dominant campaign.
Content and photo from SJE
