Preston Judd's Brace Powers San Jose Earthquakes Past Portland Timbers 3-1

Twenty-nine minutes. That is how long it took the San Jose Earthquakes to turn Saturday night at PayPal Park into a victory lap, and Preston Judd made sure he was the one leading it, all the way into the stands.

Judd scored twice, Eduard Löwen added a goal and an assist, and San Jose built a 3-0 lead before the half-hour mark on its way to a 3-1 win over the Portland Timbers. David Da Costa's 86th-minute finish spoiled the clean sheet, but not the party.

Three Goals Before Thirty

The Quakes struck almost immediately. In the fourth minute, Löwen crossed from the right and Judd rose in the middle of the box to head it high into the net, a goal that stood after a VAR check. Portland responded with its best spell of the half. Ariel Lassiter and Vincent Janssen both tested Earl Edwards Jr. inside the opening 13 minutes, and Da Costa forced another save from the left side of the box in the 22nd minute, moments after James Pantemis had denied Timo Werner at the other end.

Then San Jose struck twice in five minutes. In the 24th minute, Beau Leroux slipped Löwen into the box on the left, and the midfielder took a touch before ripping a left-footed shot from a tight angle into the roof of the net. Five minutes later, Paul Marie supplied Judd in the middle of the box and the striker volleyed a right-footed finish into the top right corner. Judd celebrated by leaping into the crowd and was promptly booked for it.

Reid Roberts picked up a yellow card in the 40th minute, Vítor Costa narrowly missed from a tight angle before the break, and San Jose went to the locker room up 3-0.

Portland Pushes, Pantemis Keeps It Respectable

Benji Kikanovic replaced Marie at halftime, and the hosts went looking for a fourth. Pantemis made three saves in a two-minute window, stopping Löwen in the 50th minute and then Kikanovic and Judd in the 51st.

Portland kept probing but struggled to turn possession into anything sharp. Eric Miller headed wide from close range off a corner in the 49th, Janssen forced Edwards into another save from a difficult angle in the 64th, and Kristoffer Velde just missed two minutes later. A triple substitution in the 67th minute brought on Ian Smith, Eric Izoita and Antony, and the payoff came late.

Judd made way for Luka Jovanovic in the 76th, and Pantemis kept out an Ian Harkes header in the 78th. In the 86th minute, Portland finally broke through: Gage Guerra, another substitute, fed Izoita at the top of the box, Izoita slipped the ball to Da Costa near the penalty spot, and Da Costa controlled it with one touch before finishing with his right foot. Edwards then stopped a late Antony header, and Izoita fired over in stoppage time.

Judd's Career Year Keeps Rolling

Judd finished with four shots, three on target and two goals, and he was a menace all night. Per MLS, the brace gave him 15 goals, eighth in the Golden Boot race, and he now has more goals this season than in his previous four seasons combined. He also scored twice when San Jose beat Portland 3-1 on the road in May, so the Timbers have now seen four Judd goals in two meetings.

As for the celebration, Judd explained that the first one simply did not meet his standards.

"The celebration wasn't planned at all. I just knew my first celebration wasn't up to my standard, so I had to match it with the second one. It worked out," he said.

Löwen was just as influential. He had four shots, two on target, plus the assist and the goal. MLS noted he arrived via a trade with St. Louis CITY SC about a month earlier, and these were his first goal and assist since the move.

"He's a great player and an even better person in the locker room," Judd said of his teammate.

For Portland, Da Costa scored his fourth goal of the campaign and reached 12 goal contributions, per the Timbers, matching his goals and assists output from 2025. Velde led the visitors with five shots, though none found the target. Edwards made five saves, as did Pantemis at the other end.

Five Minutes That Decided It

The game turned between the 22nd and 29th minutes. Portland had just forced Edwards into his third save of the night and was finding real joy through Da Costa and Lassiter. Then Löwen's tight-angle rocket and Judd's volley arrived within five minutes of each other, and a competitive game became a procession. The Timbers outshot San Jose two to one the rest of the way, but a three-goal deficit on the road is a mountain, not a hill.

The Numbers

• Shots: Portland 18, San Jose 13. On target: San Jose 8, Portland 6.
• Possession: Portland 54.1 percent, San Jose 45.9 percent.
• Saves: Earl Edwards Jr. 5, James Pantemis 5.
• Crosses: Portland attempted 28 and completed one.
• Clearances: San Jose 37, Portland 16.

The Quakes Are Climbing

San Jose improved to 13-6-8 with 45 points and is unbeaten in six league matches, with three wins in its last four. MLS said the result lifted the Quakes to third in the Western Conference, five points behind first-place Vancouver. That is a sharp turnaround for a team that, per MLS, went winless in eight matches after the World Cup break.

Head coach Bruce Arena was not ready to celebrate anything yet. "Our goal this year is to qualify for playoffs. We're not there yet," he said.

Portland fell to 9-5-13 with 32 points and sits 10th in the West, according to the club. The Timbers have lost three straight and are winless in four. They visit Sporting Kansas City on Oct. 10, the second of three straight road games, while San Jose travels to Colorado the same night.

Into the Stands, Up the Table

If Judd's season were a streaming sports doc, Saturday would be the episode that ends with the camera lingering on him in the crowd and the Golden Boot race suddenly a real storyline. Nobody had that on their preseason bingo card. San Jose fans clearly do now.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and match notes as reported by MLSsoccer.com and the Portland Timbers (timbers.com).