The Portland Timbers lost 3-1 to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, Sept. 26, at PayPal Park, dropping to 10th in the Western Conference.

Portland (9-13-5, 32 points) has now lost three straight and gone four matches without a win. The Timbers sit one spot outside the nine-team playoff field with the regular season winding down.

San Jose striker Preston Judd did the damage early. He scored in the fourth minute, and after teammate Eduard Löwen added a goal in the 24th, Judd struck again in the 29th. Portland trailed 3-0 at halftime.

Judd now has a career-high 15 goals this season, four of them against Portland, according to OPB. He entered 2026 with just 11 career goals across four MLS seasons.

"We need to compete better and today we didn't," Timbers coach Martí Cifuentes said in a postgame interview.

Midfielder David Da Costa pulled one back in the 86th minute, his fourth goal of the season. Eric Izoita, the homegrown player recently signed to a first-team contract, recorded the assist, his first in MLS. Gage Guerra added the secondary assist.

Da Costa, who led the team with three shots on goal, said the Timbers need to start games better. He called the first-half performance unacceptable, according to a postgame video on timbers.com.

The standings paint a tight picture around the playoff line. Portland sits at 32 points alongside Real Salt Lake and San Diego FC, while Seattle also has 32 points with a game in hand, according to ESPN's Western Conference table. The ninth and final playoff spot belongs to whichever club can separate from the pack over the final stretch.

Goalkeeper James Pantemis made five saves for Portland but had little chance on the early barrage. He will miss the Timbers' next match after being called up to the Canadian Men's National Team for the international window.

The Timbers travel to Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, Oct. 10, with a 5:30 p.m. PT kickoff on Apple TV.