At the Whistle: San Jose Earthquakes 5, Austin FC 1
Austin FC got out to an early lead against San Jose on Wednesday night. That wouldn't last, leading to Verde's most lopsided loss of the season so far.
Rolling out a rotated lineup in a midweek matchup, Austin FC visited San Jose on Wednesday night to face the Earthquakes, and after getting out to an early lead, something familiar happened: Losing a lead in the second half. Then, something unusual happened: Giving up three goals beyond the difference maker, leading to a 5-1 loss to further plunge Verde's 2026 season into ignominy.
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez was without Myrto Uzuni, Jayden Nelson, and Robert Taylor for this one, so had to make some unusual starts, putting CJ Fodrey up top with Facundo Torres and starting Jorge Alastuey in a midfield with Besard Šabović, Nicolás Dubersarsky, and Joseph Rosales.
Estévez also left Oleksandr Svatok and Mikkel Desler on the bench in favor of a Guilherme Biro, Brendan Hines-Ike, Jon Bell, and Jon Gallagher.
The Quakes immediately tested Verde's defense, with Timo Werner feeding Niko Tsakiris with a potential assist 12 yards from goal just 35 seconds in, which was blocked.
In the ninth minute, somewhat against the run of play, Rosales got off a shot too hot for Quakes goalkeeper Daniel to handle, and he looked more than 2025 Daniel than 2026 Daniel on the botched save, caroming off him and into goal for the surprise early lead.
Werner then tested Stuver with a close-in near post shot in the 15th minute, forcing a corner that led to a dangerous Beau Leroux shot that went wide.
Two minutes later, Torres was played into open space with over-the-top pass, with a golden chance to double the lead, but Daniel played that attempt well, Torres wasn't able to cleanly shoot the rebound, and the chance fizzled out.
Verde navigated some first-half Quakes chances, including a Werner chance that Stuver punched away, but that Sabovic managed to run to and get in a heavy first touch that put the ball back into circulation for Preston Judd.
Tsakiris also nearly got a goal several minutes later after Jamar Ricketts put the moves on Jon Gallagher at the edge of the 18-yard box before getting in a cross.
Verde's injury bad luck continued, with Biro being worse for wear after a mid-air collision with Ousseni Bouda resulting in an awkward fall. Biro had to be subbed off in the 38th minute for Žan Kolmanič, to get Verde's full complement of left backs into the match.
After more chances left wanting late in the half — including two Ronaldo Vieira rocket shots from distance just missing the mark — Verde got to retreat to the locker room with the single-goal lead.
Out of the break, San Jose resumed their threat, with Bouda getting time and space less than three minutes past the restart to loft a cross to Judd, whose header forced Stuver into a diving save.
Fodrey rightfully called, in the 55th minute, for a high-kick foul on Reid Roberts resulting in a yellow to be VAR-evaluated for a potential red.
In the 58th minute, with all the chances from all the more likely goalscorers, it was Jack Jasinski — a fullback making his first MLS start, who played Ivy League soccer at Princeton last year — getting onto a Tsakiris corner kick to overpower Verde's defense for the equalizer.
Ref-induced weirdness then ensued. An apparent goal for Austin was whistled for offside controversially at the 69th-minute mark, even though Gallagher appeared to get himself onside when the free kick resulting in a ball in the back of the net was launched.
Then, in a sequence several minutes later in which Rosales got a yellow card, Vieira appeared to headbutt Rosales, which Rosales dramatically sold as a near-fatal blow, but again, you're not supposed to do that.
In the 77th, referee Tim Ford finally found his whistle — penalizing Dubersarsky for a missed ball in the box and catching Ricketts with an errant boot. Werner then converted the penalty to give Verde the lead.
Judd scored an 83rd-minute goal, assisted by Valuable Fantasy League Defender Paul Marie, to make it 3-1. Two minutes later, Bouda made it 4-1. Judd made it 5-1 in the 88th minute.
Given 14 minutes of extra time, Verde was lucky it just stayed at that.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Apple TV left it something of a mystery, but the pass to send Torres toward goal was phenomenal and really should have set him up for his second of the season. I was momentarily worried that it was offside, but it was not. (An offside call getting in the way of a goal would come later.)
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
Many are down on Sabovic, and it's warranted; the botched first touch on the Stuver punchout of the Werner attempt late in the first half was an example of how counterproductive his play has been to everything positive Verde's trying to do.
One thing you might have missed
As the second half was about to start, Apple TV caught a dapper San Jose fan wearing a fedora and a Scooby Doo tie. He's easily one of my favorite fans of the year.
Oh, also, Davy Arnaud apparently got sent off by the refs following the Werner PK.
One nerdy tidbit
Yes, five goals is a lot, but Stuver had 10 saves and looked good executing a lot of those. And there were some Quakes shots that hit the post. It could have been even more lopsided.
Oh, San Jose got off 24 shots in the second half, with 11 on target.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
Let's just say that, on this current pace, Austin will finish the season with 26 points. Last year's Wooden Spoon "winner," D.C. United, finished with 26 points. 2022's Wooden Spoon "winner," also D.C. United, had 27.
We are officially in Wooden Spoon territory.
A question we have heading into the press conference
Where did it go wrong tonight?
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
The Quakes are off to one of the best starts in MLS this season. A reporter who knows them better than most explains their success, as well as what fans think of head coach Bruce Arena.
Nico Estévez sees signs that his offense is awakening, even though the defense might be faltering. CJ Fodrey assures us that there's work going on behind the scenes.
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez maintains that there's a fine line between winning and losing. Of course, teams can also draw, which Verde have now done in three of the last four league matches.
Austin FC grabbed the opening goal on Saturday afternoon and then went up 3-2 late in the match. But there was one more goal in the match, and it was Toronto's.
Rolling out a rotated lineup in a midweek matchup, Austin FC visited San Jose on Wednesday night to face the Earthquakes, and after getting out to an early lead, something familiar happened: Losing a lead in the second half. Then, something unusual happened: Giving up three goals beyond the difference maker, leading to a 5-1 loss to further plunge Verde's 2026 season into ignominy.
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez was without Myrto Uzuni, Jayden Nelson, and Robert Taylor for this one, so had to make some unusual starts, putting CJ Fodrey up top with Facundo Torres and starting Jorge Alastuey in a midfield with Besard Šabović, Nicolás Dubersarsky, and Joseph Rosales.
Estévez also left Oleksandr Svatok and Mikkel Desler on the bench in favor of a Guilherme Biro, Brendan Hines-Ike, Jon Bell, and Jon Gallagher.
The Quakes immediately tested Verde's defense, with Timo Werner feeding Niko Tsakiris with a potential assist 12 yards from goal just 35 seconds in, which was blocked.
In the ninth minute, somewhat against the run of play, Rosales got off a shot too hot for Quakes goalkeeper Daniel to handle, and he looked more than 2025 Daniel than 2026 Daniel on the botched save, caroming off him and into goal for the surprise early lead.
Werner then tested Stuver with a close-in near post shot in the 15th minute, forcing a corner that led to a dangerous Beau Leroux shot that went wide.
Two minutes later, Torres was played into open space with over-the-top pass, with a golden chance to double the lead, but Daniel played that attempt well, Torres wasn't able to cleanly shoot the rebound, and the chance fizzled out.
Verde navigated some first-half Quakes chances, including a Werner chance that Stuver punched away, but that Sabovic managed to run to and get in a heavy first touch that put the ball back into circulation for Preston Judd.
Tsakiris also nearly got a goal several minutes later after Jamar Ricketts put the moves on Jon Gallagher at the edge of the 18-yard box before getting in a cross.
Verde's injury bad luck continued, with Biro being worse for wear after a mid-air collision with Ousseni Bouda resulting in an awkward fall. Biro had to be subbed off in the 38th minute for Žan Kolmanič, to get Verde's full complement of left backs into the match.
After more chances left wanting late in the half — including two Ronaldo Vieira rocket shots from distance just missing the mark — Verde got to retreat to the locker room with the single-goal lead.
Out of the break, San Jose resumed their threat, with Bouda getting time and space less than three minutes past the restart to loft a cross to Judd, whose header forced Stuver into a diving save.
Fodrey rightfully called, in the 55th minute, for a high-kick foul on Reid Roberts resulting in a yellow to be VAR-evaluated for a potential red.
In the 58th minute, with all the chances from all the more likely goalscorers, it was Jack Jasinski — a fullback making his first MLS start, who played Ivy League soccer at Princeton last year — getting onto a Tsakiris corner kick to overpower Verde's defense for the equalizer.
Ref-induced weirdness then ensued. An apparent goal for Austin was whistled for offside controversially at the 69th-minute mark, even though Gallagher appeared to get himself onside when the free kick resulting in a ball in the back of the net was launched.
Then, in a sequence several minutes later in which Rosales got a yellow card, Vieira appeared to headbutt Rosales, which Rosales dramatically sold as a near-fatal blow, but again, you're not supposed to do that.
In the 77th, referee Tim Ford finally found his whistle — penalizing Dubersarsky for a missed ball in the box and catching Ricketts with an errant boot. Werner then converted the penalty to give Verde the lead.
Judd scored an 83rd-minute goal, assisted by Valuable Fantasy League Defender Paul Marie, to make it 3-1. Two minutes later, Bouda made it 4-1. Judd made it 5-1 in the 88th minute.
Given 14 minutes of extra time, Verde was lucky it just stayed at that.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Apple TV left it something of a mystery, but the pass to send Torres toward goal was phenomenal and really should have set him up for his second of the season. I was momentarily worried that it was offside, but it was not. (An offside call getting in the way of a goal would come later.)
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
Many are down on Sabovic, and it's warranted; the botched first touch on the Stuver punchout of the Werner attempt late in the first half was an example of how counterproductive his play has been to everything positive Verde's trying to do.
One thing you might have missed
As the second half was about to start, Apple TV caught a dapper San Jose fan wearing a fedora and a Scooby Doo tie. He's easily one of my favorite fans of the year.
Oh, also, Davy Arnaud apparently got sent off by the refs following the Werner PK.
One nerdy tidbit
Yes, five goals is a lot, but Stuver had 10 saves and looked good executing a lot of those. And there were some Quakes shots that hit the post. It could have been even more lopsided.
Oh, San Jose got off 24 shots in the second half, with 11 on target.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
Let's just say that, on this current pace, Austin will finish the season with 26 points. Last year's Wooden Spoon "winner," D.C. United, finished with 26 points. 2022's Wooden Spoon "winner," also D.C. United, had 27.
We are officially in Wooden Spoon territory.
A question we have heading into the press conference
Where did it go wrong tonight?
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
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