Loons beat San Jose 3-1 but miss out on playoffs

Loons beat San Jose 3-1 but miss out on playoffs Associated Press KSTP ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Nectarios Triantis scored two goals late in the second half as Minnesota United beat the San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 on Saturday for their third straight victory. Despite the loss, San Jose (14-10-10) clinched a top-four spot in the MLS Cup playoffs. Minnesota (11-12-11) entered needing a win and some help to secure a wild card spot, but Seattle beat LAFC to keep the Loons out of the playoffs. Tomás Chancalay tied it at 1-all in the 57th minute for Minnesota. Chancalay raced past the defense for a through ball from Joaquín Pereyra and rolled a breakaway shot inside the far post. Minnesota took a 2-1 lead in the 82nd when Marcus Caldeira settled a ball at the back post and poked it to Triantis for a deflected shot that bounced off the post and in. Triantis received a pass near the midfield circle and took four touches to get inside the 18-yard box for a shot through the legs of a defender and under a diving Angus Gunn in stoppage time. San Jose is winless in its last eight league games against the Loons dating to a pair of 1-1 draws in 2023. The Quakes have failed to score two goals in any game during the stretch. Preston Judd opened the scoring for San Jose in the 45th . Niko Tsakiris made a long run but cutting back two defenders on a nice individual effort and he sent a through ball for an unmarked Judd, who calmly sent it inside the far post. Up next San Jose: Will play No. 5 seed Houston in a best-of-three series. Minnesota: Season is over.