RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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CARSON, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 19: Head coach Bruce Arena walks on the fieldbefore the game against the LA Galaxy during at Dignity Health Sports Park on August 19, 2026 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) Getty
At one stage, the San Jose Earthquakes seemed like the team to beat atop the MLS’s Western Conference. Now, they’re in the middle of a six-game winless streak and have lost five of those six games, with their only draw coming against the LA Galaxy at the end of July.
After the Earthquakes’ devastating 5-1 loss to Minnesota United FC, head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena spoke to the media and discussed his team’s abysmal run of form.
Physicality and Efficiency
“I think that our our opponents have been very physical against us over the last four or five games, and we haven’t responded well to that. We’ve not done a good job in the middle third of the field in terms of having some kind of physicality, some kind of presence, some kind of ball winning, and some better passing,” Arena said.
Opponents have certainly played a physical brand of soccer against the Earthquakes this season, as they currently sit second in the league for fouls suffered. The Earthquakes’ 282 fouls by an opponent trail just Colorado for the league lead.
Reiterating another of Arena’s points, this season the Earthquakes have had the sixth-worst passing percentage in the entirety of the MLS. Ironically, the team that just beat them in dramatic fashion, Minnesota, is one of the few teams with a worse passing percentage.
Finding the Net
Arena then went on to address another key area where the Quakes have struggled as of late: getting the ball into the net. “The goalkeeper in the LA game on Wednesday was outstanding against us, and the goalkeeper tonight did a very good job as well,” Arena said. “Those moments in the game make a difference. In LA, we could easily have had two or three goals in the opening minutes of that game, and we failed to execute. Tonight, we had some chances that would have kept the game close, and we failed there as well.”
Although the San Jose Earthquakes have done a good job overall at scoring goals this season, as they currently sit fifth in the MLS for goals, they’re not converting on as many chances as they should. They currently have the second-highest expected goals in the league, with 46.03, yet they’ve only scored 39 goals.
Subtraction by Addition?
Arena, as expected, didn’t beat around the bush when it came to his goalkeeper, Angus Gunn. “We haven’t had any saves that have kept us in the games,” the Earthquakes’ boss said. Then when asked specifically if Gunn’s role at the first-choice goalkeeper was intact moving forward, Arena replied, “I don’t think we have many players that are locked in at this point. We need to make some changes,” without addressing Gunn’s status directly.
Gunn, a goalkeeper with Premier League and EFL Championship experience, seemed to be a solid replacement for the outgoing Daniel, who was sent to FC Dallas. Instead, the Scottish international has struggled mightily during his short time in the MLS. In six starts for the Earthquakes, he’s allowed 18 goals against and saved just 55% of the shots that he’s faced.
Despite sitting fourth in the Western Conference, things certainly have begun to look bleak for the Earthquakes. They currently sit even on points with FC Dallas and St. Louis City SC, but narrowly hold the fourth position due to goal differential. If this poor run of form continues, it’s entirely possible that the Earthquakes fall out of a playoff spot entirely.
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