CARSON, Calif. (AP) — Substitute Ousseni Bouda scored in the 74th minute, and the San Jose Earthquakes extended the LA Galaxy's MLS record season-opening winless streak to 16 games with a 1-0 victory Wednesday night.
Bouda slipped between two defenders and got his third goal of the season on a precise pass from fellow substitute Preston Judd for the Quakes, who snapped a four-game losing streak in the California Clasico rivalry.
The defending MLS Cup champion Galaxy (0-12-4) are edging toward historic ignominy after dropping yet another match at the stadium where they went unbeaten in 2024 and won their league-record sixth title in December.
“The frustrating part for me was we had more than enough opportunities to open that game up and be on top … and we just never got there,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “That’s disappointing.”
The MLS record is 19 straight winless matches in league play by the MetroStars in 1999. Real Salt Lake also played 18 straight without a win from 2005-06.
Earl Edwards Jr. made six saves to keep his third clean sheet of the season for San Jose, which is unbeaten in eight matches across all competitions in May. Quakes head coach Bruce Arena had a successful return to the stadium where he led the Galaxy for nine seasons and won three MLS Cup championships.
The Galaxy nearly salvaged a draw in the final minute of second-half injury time, but Edwards saved captain Maya Yoshida's header deep in the San Jose box. Supporters chanted “We want better!” after the final whistle.
“In this moment, we must apologize to our fans,” Yoshida said. “I feel really embarrassed. I feel really miserable for the fans who support us, even midweek. … Saturday, we need to show a different mentality.”
The Galaxy's woes have only compounded throughout the new season despite the return to health of stars Joseph Paintsil, Gabriel Pec and Marco Reus. All three international veterans played major roles on last year’s championship team, but were limited by injury in the new year.
Reus left in the 59th minute against San Jose after sitting down on the grass without contact and eventually walking off the field. Reus struggled with a knee injury earlier in the season, but had been playing well in recent matches.
Vanney didn't know the nature of the injury, but the coach acknowledged it “doesn't look good” when a player goes down without contact.
“He looked like he was struggling,” Vanney added. “I don’t know if it was hamstring-related. I don’t know if it was cramp-related.”
Disorganized in attack and lacking any crispness in their passing, the Galaxy still look lost without Catalan midfielder Riqui Puig, who orchestrated their excellence throughout the 2024 season before tearing a knee ligament in the conference final. Puig could return this summer, but LA also had to part with a handful of key contributors to last season’s team due to the salary cap constraints created annually for the MLS champion by title bonuses in their players’ contracts.
The Galaxy's leadership has declined to panic during this mammoth skid, even extending Vanney's contract two weeks ago when the winless streak was at a mere 13 games.
LA's Novak Micovic had to make two diving saves in the first two minutes of play, and he finished with four saves in the scoreless first half. San Jose’s Ian Harkes hit the crossbar from long range in the 22nd minute.
The Galaxy host Salt Lake on Saturday night. If they don't beat Salt Lake or win at St. Louis on June 14, they could tie the MetroStars' record June 25 at Colorado.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
Greg Beacham, The Associated Press
