San Jose Earthquakes are off to a 7-1-0 start and will try to keep it rolling Wednesday night when they host Austin FC, a club that has gone six MLS matches without a win. The Earthquakes have 21 points and have outscored opponents 17-3, a surge that has made them one of the league’s early surprises.
Bruce Arena was careful not to treat the matchup like a formality. In this league, he said, there are no trap games, and any team can beat you on any day. San Jose will have to prove that again after beating Los Angeles FC 4-1 on Sunday, a result powered by Ousseni Bouda’s two goals. Bouda now has four goals this season.
Bouda said the fast start reflects the group’s mentality. He called it the culture the team has built this year and said everyone is committed to taking it one match at a time. The Earthquakes have already played only eight matches, he noted, so there is still a long season ahead and the goal is to keep the level steady while improving as the months go on.
The numbers make the opening run hard to dismiss. San Jose did not make the playoffs last season, but it has already shown more balance and punch than it did a year ago. Arena described the early stretch as part of that eight-game start, and the record backs him up: the Earthquakes have looked sharp at both ends, while no opponent has managed to put together much against them.
Austin arrives with a much shakier resume. It is 1-3-4 with seven points, and the team has gone 0-3-3 in its last six MLS matches. On Sunday, Austin tied Toronto FC 3-3 after leading late in the match, a result that felt more like another missed chance than a step forward. The club also drew Inter Miami 2-2 on April 4, showing it can hang with top sides even if the results have not followed.
That is the tension inside this game. Austin’s coach, Nico Estevez, said his team cannot afford to be intimidated and has to play aggressively. It needs to attack San Jose, find its weaknesses and limit its strengths, he said. Forward CJ Fodrey sounded a similar note, saying Austin has turned in good performances and has shown it can compete against the best teams in the league, but that confidence has to last for 90 minutes and turn into results.
The matchup history suggests both teams know each other well. San Jose and Austin split their two regular-season meetings last season, and Austin also beat San Jose in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal. Overall, the Earthquakes are 3-2-6 in 11 MLS matches against Austin, a record that suggests the visitors have been more than a nuisance for San Jose in the past.
Still, Wednesday night belongs to the Earthquakes. They have the points, the goal difference and the momentum, and Austin has not won in its last four road matches. If San Jose keeps playing with the same edge it showed against LAFC, it will leave little doubt that this start is more than a hot streak.