SAN JOSE DOMINANT AGAINST THE TIMBERS

by Fernando Abarca

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Preston Judd just loves to score against Portland; Eduard Löwen added a goal and an assist, and the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Portland Timbers 3-1 on Saturday night at PayPal Park.

Judd opened the scoring in the fourth minute, heading in a perfectly placed entry pass from Löwen to give the Earthquakes an early 1-0 lead.

The Earthquakes doubled their advantage in the 24th minute when Löwen scored his first goal for San Jose since joining the club in an Aug. 26 trade from St. Louis City. Beau Leroux helped create the opportunity, pushing the ball toward the left end line before Löwen finished with a first-touch shot into the top of the net.

Five minutes later, Judd struck again to make a double..

Paul Marie flicked the ball into Judd's path, and the forward finished with a volley from the edge of the 6-yard box to give San Jose a 3-0 lead in the 29th minute.

Portland continued to battle, but San Jose goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. kept the Timbers off the scoreboard for most of the night. Edwards made a career-high seven saves in his second start of the season.

The Timbers finally got on the board in the 86th minute when David Da Costa scored to cut the deficit to 3-1 with a goal inside the box. Portland could not find another goal, and the Earthquakes closed out the victory to extend their unbeaten streak to six games.

Judd's two-goal performance gave him 15 goals this season, a career high. It was also his third multi-goal game of the season. Four of his goals this season have come against Portland.

The loss extended Portland's winless run to four games and marked its third consecutive defeat.

The Earthquakes improved to 13-8-6, while the Timbers fell to 9-13-5. San Jose needs to keep winning to go back up to the top of the standings.

San Jose will return to action Oct. 10 at Colorado, while Portland visits Sporting Kansas City on the same day.

San Jose returns to PayPal for the final three matches at home on Oct 17th