Ousseni Bouda had a goal and an assist in the first 17 minutes and the San Jose Earthquakes held on to beat Real Salt Lake 2-1

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Ousseni Bouda had a goal and an assist in the first 17 minutes and the San Jose Earthquakes held on to beat Real Salt Lake 2-1 on Saturday.

San Jose (14-9-10) moved up two spots to third place in the Western Conference with one match remaining in the regular season. The top four teams in each conference earn home-field advantage for the best-of-3 first round.

The Earthquakes jumped in front in the 2nd minute on an unassisted goal by Bouda off a free kick. Seven of Bouda's 12 career goals over 102 appearances have come this season in 32 matches.

Bouda and Preston Judd set up defender Benji Kikanovic for his first netter since 2024 and the Earthquakes took a two-goal lead in the 17th minute. Four of Bouda's five career assists have come this season. Judd notched his career-high third to go with a career-best and team-high 16 goals.

Real Salt Lake cut it to 2-1 in the 23rd minute on a goal by first-year defender Juan Manuel Sanabria — his second. Defender Sam Junqua earned his career-best third assist and Saba Lobjanidze collected his fifth in his first season with the club after making 85 appearances for Atlanta United over four seasons.

Earl Edwards Jr. finished with three saves in his third start this season for San Jose, which improves to 7-5-5 at home.

Rafael Cabral stopped three shots for Real Salt Lake (12-15-6) — now 3-11-3 on the road.

The loss, coupled with the Los Angeles Galaxy's 4-1 victory over Austin FC, knocks Real Salt Lake out of a playoff spot heading to Decision Day.

Six teams began the day vying for the final three berths.

Salt Lake: Hosts Los Angeles FC to close out the regular season on Saturday.

San Jose: At Minnesota United on Saturday to finish the regular season.