San Jose Earthquakes take an eight-match unbeaten run into Saturday's trip to Nashville SC, and Jack Jasinski put a face to the surge with a late equalizer at Real Salt Lake. His goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time held up for a 1-1 draw and kept San Jose in fourth place in the Western Conference.
That is why Nashville Vs San Jose is drawing attention now. San Jose can secure a playoff place this weekend if they beat the league leaders, while Nashville can clinch the Supporters' Shield by the end of the weekend with a win of their own. Jasinski, who scored his second career MLS goal against Real Salt Lake, said the group has been able to find results after a formation change. “We've had a bit of a formation change, and since then we haven't lost in a while and have managed to squeak out draws and get some wins,” he said.
The draw at Real Salt Lake also showed how narrow the margins have been. San Jose's equalizer came on the team's second shot on target, after Real Salt Lake had taken the previous nine shots in the match. That kind of escape does not happen by accident, and Jasinski pointed to the same stubborn edge when he said, “This team just doesn't quit until the end, and over a long season, that starts to pay off.”
There is still a catch. San Jose have not lost in eight MLS outings, but they have drawn their last two and now face the league leaders on a quick turnaround. Jasinski said the schedule has been manageable because the squad has been used well, adding, “It's a quick turnaround to Nashville on Saturday, but we've used the whole squad well, and we'll continue to do that going forward.”
Nashville bring a different kind of pressure into the match. They have won their last four, beat Sporting Kansas City 4-0 in their most recent game and are nine points from their last five matches away from a new single-season points record. They sit 14 points clear of Inter Miami in the East, and Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge have now scored in the same match 13 times since the start of the 2024 season. San Jose and Nashville have met four times before, and all four finished level, which leaves Saturday with enough at stake for both sides to treat the next point as more than just another draw.
