March 7, 2026; Chester, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Union forward Milan Ilowski (10) controls the ball in the first half against the San Jose Earthquakes at Subaru Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Ousseni Bouda scored for the second straight game with a late assist from Timo Werner and the San Jose Earthquakes remained perfect with a 1-0 win at the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night.
Daniel made three saves for San Jose (3-0-0, 9 points), a team that has given up 63 goals for 10th place in the Western Conference in 2025.
This turnaround in defensive form helped the Quakes put together the best three-game start to a season in the club’s history.
Meanwhile, retooled Philadelphia (0-3-0, 0 points) continued to struggle on offense after parting ways with four starters from their 2025 Supporters’ Shield win. Their only record was a 2-1 loss at home to New York City FC last week.
Philadelphia’s second home loss follows its only loss to a home team during the 2025 regular season.
Werner, who previously played for RB Leipzig and Tottenham Hotspur before his move to MLS, has not contributed a league assist since Tottenham were held to a 1-1 draw against Fulham on December 1, 2024.
Werner has now made two appearances out of two from the substitute bench as he continues to work on his 90-minute fitness.
This time Werner connected with Bowda in the 59th minute. Bowda is the third Quakes player to score two goals this season.
Werner received a pass from Tsakiris and immediately spun, splitting two defenders and directing a low diagonal pass into the box for Bowda’s run.
Bouda allowed central defender Japhet Sery Larsen to play him onside until a pass was made and then met this with a crisp right-footed one-time finish past Andre Blake (3 saves) and inside the left post.
Both teams were in dangerous positions from the opening minutes, but it was Philadelphia that came closest to scoring.
Daniel made some of his best saves in the minutes just before and after halftime. In the 45th, Indiana Vasilev’s right-footed shot was ignored from the center of the penalty box. In the 46th, Daniel blocked Nathan Hariel’s close-range header.
Once San Jose scored first, the game tilted towards Daniel’s goal, but he was rarely tested. He easily pushed Vasilev’s effort over the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area in the 85th minute.
–Field level media
