San Jose Earthquakes head coach Bruce Arena has urged his players to give everything in their final regular-season match against Austin FC.
The Earthquakes, who are currently two points off the play-in places in 11th, must beat Austin on decision day while hoping Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids both lose on the final day.
San Jose were left in this position after they lost 4-1 to the Vancouver Whitecaps last time out.
Arena believes the Earthquakes can still pull off an unlikely achievement, but acknowledged their current position was their own doing.
“We’re going to do everything we can to try to win in the last game of the season,” said Arena after their defeat to the Whitecaps.
“We don’t have control of things. Certainly, a point today would have put us in a better position, but we failed there.
“But all we can do is, in the last game of the season, go out and try to get three points and see where we stand when all the dust clears. Hopefully, it’s positive.
“There’s no excuses on our end. You could look at the game, you could pick out a half dozen things we need to do better. It was a poor performance on our part, and probably well deserved.”
Next Match: Decision Day @AustinFC
Presented by @CEFCU pic.twitter.com/eBlz77nceY
— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) September 21, 2025
Austin have already guaranteed themselves an automatic playoff spot after they beat Los Angeles FC 1-0 last time out.
However, they cannot finish any higher than sixth in the Western Conference heading into the last match.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
San Jose Earthquakes – Cristian Arango
Josef Martinez and Cristian Arango have both scored 13 regular-season goals in 2025, with the latter also providing eight assists.
It is the second time in team history that San Jose has had multiple players with 13 or more goals in a single season – in 2012, Chris Wondolowski scored 27 while Alan Gordon added 13.
Austin FC – Owen Wolff
Owen Wolff scored his sixth goal of the 2025 regular season against LAFC, tying him with Myrto Uzuni for the team high.
Wolff has also notched eight assists this season, making him the third Austin player to have six or more goals and assists in a single season (Diego Fagundez & Sebastian Driussi, both in 2022).
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
San Jose have scored at least once in 31 of their 33 regular-season games so far this season. That is most matches with a goal by any MLS team in 2025 and the second-most such regular-season games in team history, behind the Earthquakes’ 32 in 2012.
Austin are on an eight-match unbeaten streak against San Jose in all competitions (W2 D6). That is twice as long as their next-longest undefeated streak against any team in club history (four vs Sporting KC).
Austin have used just 22 players in the 2025 regular-season, three fewer than any other MLS team this season. The last MLS team to use just 22 or fewer players in a regular season was the Philadelphia Union (22) in 2022, a season that ended in an MLS Cup Final appearance for the team.
In their last six league matches, Earthquakes have won two and lost four. Austin, meanwhile, have won three and lost three in their last six.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
San Jose Earthquakes – 34.6%
Draw – 25.9%
Austin FC – 39.5%