Many Bay Area sports franchises are coming off disappointing seasons or are in the middle of one. But one team in Major League Soccer is having a season that must be seen to be believed.

Forget Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. This is a team with no recognizable stars at the moment. A team that no one expected to win anything at all. It’s the San Jose Earthquakes. 

Yes, those San Jose Earthquakes. The other team that is owned by John Fisher, who so happened listed it for sale last summer (opens in new tab). The same team that — despite having legends like George Best, Landon Donovan, and Chris Wondolowski wear the shirt — has made the playoffs only once since 2012. The team that, two years ago, set the dubious record for most goals conceded in a single season (78 in 34 games). 

But that was then.

This season the Quakes are off to the best start in league history, winning nine of their first 10 games — a record which puts them at the top of the standings, ahead of the big-spending giants. If the team keeps up this pace — which is a big if — it will be on pace for 91 points, which would shatter the MLS record of 74, set by Inter Miami in 2024. 

Most remarkably, the Quakes are accomplishing this while being one of the lowest-spending teams in the league. They rank 28th out of 30 in team payroll, according to Capology (opens in new tab). Before the season, the team let go of seven veteran starters, including three leading scorers, and brought in only one notable player, former German international Timo Werner, to replace them. 

“We’re not a club that has the resources of Miami or Los Angeles,” said head coach Bruce Arena, who took the job in San Jose after the club’s terrible 2024 season. “We have to rely on some kids making it as homegrowns, some making it as college draft choices, and trying to be shrewd in the way we build our roster.” 

In his first year in charge, the Quakes finished in 10th place in the Western Conference and missed out on the postseason yet again. Then came the roster purge. 

“Addition by subtraction,” Arena called it. 

While there are two dozen games left to play this season, San Jose’s hot start looks like more than just a fluke. The Quakes have scored 25 goals and given up only six (last year they finished with a ratio of 60-63). In that run, they’ve beaten three of the Western Conference’s best teams last season (LAFC, San Diego, and Vancouver); come from behind to win by multiple goals on three occasions; and are unbeaten on the road. 

The latest sign that the Quakes train seemingly can’t be stopped came Tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup, when, down 2-1 in the second half to Colombian superstar James Rodríguez and Minnesota United, the Quakes ripped off three goals in eight minutes to win the in-season tournament game 4-2. 

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“The train is still rolling,” said midfielder Beau LeRoux, 22, after scoring two goals with his weaker left foot against Minnesota. “Once [we] get a lot of results, I think it takes some pressure away, and [we] can just play with confidence.”

The Quakes’ winning streak has breathed new life in and around PayPal Park, which the team opened in 2015. Attendance has waned in recent years, but now the outdoor stadium by the airport, just north of downtown San Jose, is drawing nearly 18,000 fans for every home game. The large Hispanic community and robust soccer heritage of the region make for a lively and diverse atmosphere. 

League experts and commentators have gone from bemused to outright giddy about the unexpected turnaround, with one former ESPN personality, Max Bretos, calling it a “non stop thrill ride (opens in new tab).” 

While teams can certainly luck into or grind out some ugly wins, this level of statistical dominance shows that the Quakes have found a way to play beautiful soccer on a weekly basis. 

Arena became MLS’ winningest coach — with five championships — off the backs of established stars like David Beckham. But this year, at age 74, he’s showing off perhaps his finest coaching work yet by minting new stars from scratch. 

LeRoux, a product of the unheralded San Jose State soccer team, is one example. He’s now playing at an All-Star level alongside Niko Tsakiris, 20, who took over the team’s primary playmaking role this year after the depth chart was cleared ahead of him. Both midfielders have been emboldened to attack with a naivety that only comes from knowing no other alternative. 

Take a look at this ridiculous cross-field pass Tsakiris completed to Werner last month against St. Louis in a comeback win: 

The Quakes’ dominant lineup is littered with other Cinderella stories. Leading scorer Preston Judd was a minor league player before making it to the Quakes’ bench two years ago. Now he is Arena’s unquestioned starting striker.

“I’m not going to give it away,” Judd said of the opportunity. 

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“I feel like everybody knows each other’s strengths and weaknesses and everyone knows our team identity,” he said. “So it’s easier to play when guys know each other like that.”

Werner, who was once tipped to be Germany’s next great player and won the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, has seamlessly blended into his new team and has rediscovered the joy of consistent playing time after being cast off to train on his own by two other teams in Europe. 

In the Quakes’ most dominant win of the season, last month against Austin FC, Werner in 89 minutes logged an astonishing eight shots on goal and 15 crosses. 

Where Arena has really shined is in the discipline shown by his young backline, despite its lack of experience. Defenders Daniel Munie, Reid Roberts (a product of University of San Francisco), Jamar Ricketts, and Jack Jasinski — who were all drafted out of college and were not starting last season — are now stifling some of the league’s highest-paid attackers. 

“The biggest thing is that we look like a team,” Arena said after San Jose shocked the star-studded LAFC 4-1 on the road. “It’s a complete effort by the group.”

“We’re limited,” he added. “What we try to do is manage how we work with players every day and give them the confidence to know that when their number is called, they’re ready to play at this level.” 

The end-to-end effort is what even the casuals will notice when they watch the Quakes this year: the aggressive press to take the ball from the opponent, the willingness of all 10 outfield players to track back and cover for one another when someone is out of position, the eagerness to attack right away after a dead ball. 

“We want to be a hard team to play against,” LeRoux said. “There are no egos on this team. Everyone wants to work for each other.” 

While it’s been wildly successful thus far, is this confluence of events a recipe for sustained success? 

“That’s one way of looking at it,” Arena said, cracking a smile. “If you gave me a little bit more money, that wouldn’t hurt.”