Werner assists on another Bouda goal as Quakes edge Union, improve to 3-0 for first time in MLS history

CHESTER, Pa. — German import Timo Werner had his second assist in as many appearances for San Jose, and “Daniel” earned his third straight shutout as the San Jose Earthquakes beat the Philadelphia Union on Saturday.

The Quakes (3-0-0) are off to their best start since joining the MLS in 1996.

“I think the effort tonight was great,” Quakes head coach Bruce Arena said. “The performance certainly was not perfect, but good teams win these kinds of games because they know how to grind it out on a night when you know we’re not moving the ball particularly well. We played together as a team for 90 plus minutes, and to leave Philadelphia with three points is huge.”

Ousseni Bouda scored for the second consecutive game as San Jose kept the Union (0-3-0) winless after it won the Supporter’s Shield a year ago for having the league’s best record.

After a scoreless first half, San Jose struck in the 59th minute. Niko Tsakiris pushed the ball ahead to Werner on the left wing, who made a half-turn and fed a streaking Bouda with a low diagonal pass that beat the last man on the Philadelphia back line. The former Stanford forward buried the pinpoint pass for his second goal of the season.

Werner is one of the biggest signings in club history and already is clearly has established chemistry with Bouda. Werner debuted in the second half of last week’s 2-0 home win over Atlanta and was on the field for just 18 minutes before he assisted on Bouda’s goal in that game.

“I think it’s a natural connection that we’re starting to build, and I’m really happy about it,” Bouda said of Werner. “We’re very happy to have Timo on the team. He brings a lot of experience, but he’s also just a great guy. He’s always looking to find his teammates and makes things easier for the rest of us. Hopefully it’s a connection we can keep building throughout the season and turn into more goals. And now I’ve got to return the favor, I need to find him for one, so it’s on me to get him an assist.”

Daniel De Sousa Britto — known simply as “Daniel” — had three saves for San Jose.

The Earthquakes’ previous best MLS start was in 2003, when they opened 2-0-1 on their way to the MLS Cup championship.

“This is the standard we expect from ourselves,” Bouda said. “We saw in preseason that we looked really good, not just because we were winning, but in the way we were winning. It’s also the second year with our staff, so they know us better and we know them better. We go into every game with full confidence, knowing we’ve prepared well during the week.

“After that, we can let our talent show. We’re a very talented, young team, and we’ve looked good since day one. This is the standard we’ve set for ourselves—we run for each other, and then let our talent speak for itself.”

The Quakes return home on March 15 to face Seattle Sounders FC in the featured game of the week on Sunday Night Soccer. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. and the game will be broadcast globally via Apple TV (English/Spanish), as well as local radio on KSFO 810 AM (English) and La Kaliente 1370 AM (Spanish).