PALO ALTO (July 25, 2026) – The LA Galaxy (5-7-6, 21 points) earned a point on the road with a 1-1 result against the San Jose Earthquakes (10-4-3, 33 points) in the 105th edition of the California Clásico derby at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif. Joseph Paintsil opened the scoring with a 13th minute strike and JT Marcinkowski saved a penalty kick in stoppage time to preserve a hard-fought point for LA.
Goalscoring Plays
LA – Joseph Paintsil (Marco Reus, Harbor Miller), 13th minute: Miller led a counter down the right sideline following a corner kick opportunity for San Jose. After a long run, Miller picked out Reus in the middle of the park, who then played the ball ahead of Paintsil into the box. With his first touch, Paintsil fired a low, right-footed shot past the goalkeeper for the opening score.
SJ – Reid Roberts, 63rd minute: A free kick by Timo Werner ricocheted off the crossbar and bounced around inside the box before the loose ball fell to Roberts for a tap in at the far post to level the match at 1-1.
Postgame Notes
- The 105th overall edition of the California Clásico ended in a 1-1 draw at Stanford Stadium tonight, the 19th regular-season draw of the series all-time. The LA Galaxy now lead the series 40-29-19 in league play since the derby began in 1996.
- Galaxy goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski made his first appearance against his former club tonight. The former Earthquakes’ homegrown rose up through the San Jose academy and earned 95 starts in five seasons with the Northern California club.
- Joseph Paintsil’s first half score was his fourth of the season in league play and fifth in all competitions for the Galaxy in 2026.
- Forward Robert Taylor made his first start for the LA Galaxy in his third overall appearance since signing with the club on July 15.
- Maya Yoshida donned the captain’s armband for the Galaxy in tonight’s match, his first start for the club since April 22 in Columbus.
- João Klauss (foot) and Erik Thommy (foot) were out for tonight’s match due to injury. Emiro Garcés (suspension), Jakob Glesnes (yellow card accumulation), and Ruben Ramos Jr. (international duty) were also unavailable for selection.
Next Up
The LA Galaxy return home next weekend to face Western Conference side FC Dallas on Saturday, August 1 (7:30 p.m. PT, Apple TV) at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Match Information
Match: LA Galaxy at San Jose Earthquakes
Date: July 25, 2026
Venue: Stanford Stadium; Palo Alto, California
Weather: Clear and 73°F
Scoring Summary
|
1
|
2
|
F
|
San Jose Earthquakes
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
LA Galaxy
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
LA: Joseph Paintsil (Marco Reus, Harbor Miller), 13’
SJ: Reid Roberts, 63’
Lineups
LA Galaxy: GK JT Marcinkowski; D Julián Aude (John Nelson, 60’), D Justin Haak, D Maya Yoshida, D Miki Yamane; M Edwin Cerrillo, M Lucas Sanabria (Isaiah Parente, 82’), M Marco Reus; F Robert Taylor (Elijah Wynder, 60’), F Harbor Miller, F Joseph Paintsil
Substitutes not used: Novak Mićović, Chris Rindov, Sebastian Hernandez, Troy Elgersma
San Jose Earthquakes: GK Angus Gunn; D Jamar Ricketts, D Daniel Munie, D Reid Roberts, D Benji Kikanovic; M Nick Fernandez (Paul Marie, 73’), M Beau Leroux, M Jonathan Gonzalez (Ian Harkes, 20’), M Timo Werner, M Jack Skahan (Darius Johnson, 73’); F Ousseni Bouda
Substitutes not used: Francesco Montali, Dave Romney, Jack Jasinski, Noel Buck, Max Floriani, Vitor Costa
Stats Summary
|
SJ
|
LA
|
Shots
|
19
|
9
|
Shots on Goal
|
6
|
2
|
Saves
|
1
|
5
|
Corner Kicks
|
6
|
6
|
Fouls
|
14
|
16
|
Offsides
|
0
|
1
|
Possession
|
61.0%
|
39.0%
|
Misconduct Summary
LA: Lucas Sanabria (caution) 43’
LA: Julián Aude (caution) 45+3’
SJ: Beau Leroux (caution) 80’
SJ: Ian Harkes (caution) 81’
SJ: Jamar Ricketts (caution) 90’
LA: Joseph Paintsil (caution) 90+7’
SJ: Benji Kikanovic (caution) 90+7’
Officials
Referee: Armando Villareal
Assistant Referees: Brooke Mayo, Stefan Tanaka-Freundt
Fourth Official: Abdu Razzaq Juma
VAR: Younes Marrakchi
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
LA Galaxy Postgame Quotes
LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney
On the team’s response tonight after a tough week:
“I was pleased with it. Generally, I don’t think that the reaction and desire or things like that are kind of our challenges. But I thought tonight, the response was good in a tough place to play, against a tough team to play. It's a narrow field. They want to press, they get after you, they send a lot of numbers high. I just thought the desire to compete and fight was good. It was the third game in the week for us, second for them. So I thought the guys just dug really deep and showed a lot of character and battled. We had enough chances there, especially down the second half where I thought we could take the win. Unfortunately, we didn't get those. Keeper made a couple good saves, post got one of them. And then JT [Marcinkowski] had to come up with a big save on the penalty. But it was a game that had a lot of things in it. I was super proud of these guys for the response and the effort.”
On the differences between San Jose and LAFC:
“They couldn't play more differently. LAFC was perfectly fine sitting in a low block, defending in their half of the field, protecting their goal, forcing us to break them down. Playing off our turnovers and trying to get counterattacks. Playing off set pieces and things like that. They are competent, obviously in possession, and they can do things, but they didn't even try to press us the night we played them. They didn't on goal kicks, they just backed off most of the game. They just kept themselves connected. It was completely opposite of this game. San Jose almost never backs off. They are coming all the time. They're trying to get man-to-man. Even if you break them, they're recovering, trying to get back under the ball and then back to stepping out man-to-man as quickly as possible. They expose themselves in transitions. It's like we can hurt you more than you can hurt us or we can score more aggressively than you can score against us. So it's just totally two different games.”
On Marco Reus and the team’s performance on the road compared to at home:
“We've got to get our home performances and our home results moving in the right direction. It should be our fortress and we should be getting points there. Whether that's Marco taking the reins, our center backs doing their job, midfield doing their job. I just think collectively we've all got to have a good night together on our home field. Like, you know, the last time I did this, it was really hard. Yeah, but I think it's worth it. So, I'm going to go with that. And I feel like the last couple of games we had some below the level performances, which means collectively, we were also below the level, and then we didn't get results, we made mistakes, things like that. Today I think a lot of guys played to their level. And as a result, we looked like a more competent team in certain phases of the game, and we were able to get something out of it and had the possibility to win it. So again, I just think we all individually and collectively need to play better when we're at home. And it needs to be quickly.”
LA Galaxy Goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski
On saving the stoppage-time penalty:
“I think I was just trying to make up for the little bit of a mistake that I made. I think our team deserved at least a point tonight, if not more. I was just trying to do my best to preserve that. I think the guys put in a hell of a shift. It was just a really collective effort throughout the ninety five minutes. I just do my best to make sure we get something out of the game.”
On his return to San Jose:
“I came to these games growing up. It's no secret that I played for San Jose for seven years. At the same time, I'm so happy and I'm so thankful to be down here [in LA] and just kind of have a fresh start, a fresh opportunity to prove myself again. That's all I can ask for and just want to make the most of the opportunity. So yeah, I had a bunch of family and friends in the stands, and it was amazing seeing them after the game. But at the end of the day, we were just trying, I think as a team, to put in a better performance than we have in the past two games. And I think we were a little unlucky not to get all three points tonight. I think Joe [Paintsil] had a few really big chances that on another night they go in. Just trying to soak it all in really.”
On rebounding from the club’s midweek loss:
“There's for sure a team spirit that's united and I think when you put in a performance like we did tonight on the road in a bit of a tough environment, it always shows some character. It shows some grit. It shows some tenacity that I think we need to carry into every game and doesn't just have to be on the road in hostile environments. I think we need to impose ourselves more in every match, home or away. And I think tonight we can look at some of the good stuff that we did. Obviously, there were a few negatives as well, and we’ll learn from those. But we have to try to take each match as a stepping stone.”
