SAN JOSE – The San Jose Earthquakes entered Wednesday night with one of the stingiest defenses in MLS.
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They hadn’t conceded a goal from a set piece all season. They hadn’t allowed a goal from outside the penalty area. And they hadn’t trailed by more than one goal during a club-record 10-3-2 start that left them tied with Vancouver atop the Western Conference.
After a two-month break for the World Cup, all of those streaks came to an abrupt end as they resumed play.
Hosting one of the Eastern Conference’s struggling teams, the Earthquakes (10-4-2, 32 points) were thoroughly outplayed in a 4-0 loss to Orlando City SC at PayPal Park, showing little of the form that fueled their historic first half of the season.
The match also marked a disastrous debut for goalkeeper Angus Gunn, who started all three World Cup matches for Scotland and took over for Daniel, San Jose’s starter since 2023.
Orlando (5-9-2, 17 points) struck just six minutes in when center back David Brekalo headed home the opening goal on a set piece. Ivan Angulo doubled the lead in the 29th minute with a strike from outside the box,
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French star Antoine Griezmann, making his MLS debut after joining Orlando from Atlético Madrid, capitalized on a turnover by left back Jamar Ricketts just three minutes into the second half, pushing the lead to 3-0. Braian Ojeda added a fourth 25 minutes later.
While Griezmann made an immediate impact, San Jose designated player Timo Werner struggled throughout the night. The German international picked up a yellow card late in the first half, completed just 41.7% of his passes — the lowest percentage of any player in the match — and was substituted in the 74th minute.
The disappointing performance was a stark contrast to the way the Earthquakes entered the break. San Jose had just earned its first win at Portland since 2011, extending its best start in club history, while Orlando came in after surrendering six goals in its previous league match.
Instead of building on that momentum, the Quakes returned looking rusty, suffering their most lopsided defeat since June 2024.
San Jose doesn’t have much time to regroup. It faces the LA Galaxy Saturday at Stanford Stadium in the California Clasico.
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