San Jose is heading back to the MLS playoffs for the first time since 2023 after a 1–1 draw with Nashville SC on Saturday, Oct. 17, at PayPal Park in San Jose, California.
Preston Judd’s 70th-minute header brought the Earthquakes level, and results elsewhere completed the job. The club said draws by San Diego FC and Portland secured its postseason place. For South Bay supporters, the remaining regular-season matches now carry a different question: where San Jose will be seeded.
The equalizer came from Eduard Löwen’s free kick into the penalty area. Judd met it with a low header past Brian Schwake, answering Hany Mukhtar’s 34th-minute goal for Nashville. San Jose still needed Angus Gunn to turn away Elias Saad in stoppage time, according to the Earthquakes’ match report.
The result extended San Jose’s unbeaten run to nine league games. After Saturday’s matches, MLS listed the Earthquakes fourth in the Western Conference with 48 points and four matches remaining. The league’s format sends the top seven teams in each conference directly to the first-round best-of-three series; eighth and ninth play a wild-card match.
Nashville also left with a milestone. Its draw secured first place in the Eastern Conference, the club said, while Judd’s goal prevented the visitors from taking all three points.