The San Jose Earthquakes are expected to keep their impressive start as they face struggling Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night in Kansas City, Kan.
With a record of 5 wins and 1 loss (15 points), the Earthquakes have achieved their best start since the franchise began in 1974.
San Jose has performed well defensively and offensively, with goalkeeper Daniel recording five shutouts and the team outscoring opponents 10-1.
In their last match, San Jose defeated San Diego FC 3-0 in a strong showing.
Coach Bruce Arena expressed surprise at the team’s excellent start, stating, “If you told me we’d be 5-1 after the first six games… I wouldn’t agree with that, so I’m very pleased. However, we have a long way to go. We need to improve, and hopefully, we can maintain decent form in the first half of the season to set ourselves up for playoff qualification.”
Niko Tsakiris, 20, scored two goals against San Diego, making him one of only two players in club history to score twice in a match before turning 21, joining former star Landon Donovan.
San Jose’s strong season began with a 3-0 victory over Sporting KC on February 21, where Daniel Munie scored twice.
This loss marked a challenging start for Sporting Kansas City, who hold a record of 1 win, 4 losses, and 1 draw (4 points), with a goal difference of 14-6.
Recently, Sporting KC lost 3-1 to Real Salt Lake and were outshot 23-5. The match’s early goal from Salt Lake’s Diego Luna set the tone.
SKC defender Justin Reynolds commented on the team’s struggles, saying, “It’s bad. We need to start playing before we get hit in the face. This has affected our morale.”
Dejan Joveljic scored for Sporting KC, and he has netted four of the team’s six goals this season, with a total of 22 goals in 38 matches since joining from the Los Angeles Galaxy before the 2025 season.