FC Cincinnati Suffer a Decision Day Loss, Nashville break MLS Records.
CINCINNATI, OH - Nashville SC set a MLS record at TQL Stadium as FC Cincinnati drop their regular season finale, 0-2.
The 2026 MLS Supporters' Shield winning side coached by former USMNT interim head coach BJ Callaghan set all sorts of records.
Nashville set MLS records in:
Single Season Points: 77
Points Per Game: 2.26
Wins in Post-Shootout Era: 23
Fewest Losses: 3
Fewest Goals Allowed: 25
Supporters' Shield Winning Points Margin: +13
T-Most Clean Sheets: 17
Pat Noonan's side started the match strong with a first half that saw Cincinnati create the better chances, forcing four saves from Brian Schwake. Schwake, who recorded his 16th clean sheet in MLS regular season play on Saturday to tie Tony Meola for most clean sheets in a single MLS season, was up to the task as the two sides went into the halftime break in a scoreless deadlock.
In the second half, Nashville's Andy Najar picks out Sam Surridge making a run into the box, playing a through ball into the English striker who gains inside leverage on Cincinnati's Kyle Smith and scores. With goal differential irrelevant, FC Cincinnati put more attacking pieces onto the pitch after the goal, and a couple missed duels in the center of the pitch after a poor giveaway leads to an counter attacking chance for Surridge who records a brace to seal the victory.
With Orlando City SC and Columbus Crew both winning their matches against New England and Chicago, respectively, that saw FC Cincinnati free-fall from 7th in the table to 9th, going from a true playoff berth facing the 2nd seed in the East in the first round to now playing away at Orlando in a play-in match for the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Noonan noted after the match that some of his substitutions were due to injuries, with Teenage Hadebe forced off with an apparent leg injury and Kyle Smith subbed off due to cramping.
Lineups
FC Cincinnati (3-4-1-2): 18 Roman Celentano; 24 Kyle Smith (99 Ayoub Jabbari 81'), 15 Teenage Hadebe (12 Miles Robinson 46'), 11 Sami Gidi; 23 David Douděra (66 Ender Echenique 66'), 20 Pavel Bucha, 5 Obinna Nwobodo (70 José Martínez 87'), 29 Bryan Ramírez; 10 Evander (C); 9 Kévin Denkey, 16 Tom Barlow (17 Kenji Mboma Dem 66')
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
Unused Substitutes: 13 Evan Louro, 2 Alvas Powell, 22 Dado Valenzuela, 27 Brian Anunga
Nashville SC (4-4-2): 99 Brian Schwake; 31 Andy Najar (22 Josh Bauer 83'), 3 Maxwell Woledzi, 5 Jack Maher, 27 Reed Baker-Whiting; 7 Cristian Espinoza (14 Shakur Mohammed 74'), 8 Patrick Yazbek, 16 Matthew Corcoran (6 Bryan Acosta 74'), 11 Elias Saad (19 Alex Muyl 83'); 9 Sam Surridge, 10 Hany Mukhtar (C) (41 Warren Madrigal 90')
Head Coach: BJ Callaghan
Unused Substitutes: 1 Joe Willis, 2 Dan Lovitz, 20 Edvard Tagseth, 21 Thomas Williams
Scoring Summary
61' Goal, Nashville - Sam Surridge
86' Goal, Nashville - Sam Surridge
Disciplinary Summary
31' Yellow Card - Obinna Nwobodo (CIN)
41' Yellow Card - Evander (CIN)
45'+3' Yellow Card - Sami Gidi (CIN)
65' Yellow Card - Kyle Smith (CIN)
88' Yellow Card - Pavel Bucha (CIN)
90' Yellow Card - Alex Muyl (NSH)
90'+6' Yellow Card - Maxwell Woledzi (NSH)
Stats (CIN/NSH)
Possession (%): 49/51
xG: 0.93/1.27
1st Half xG: 0.47/0.19
2nd Half xG: 0.47/1.07
Shots: 14/14
Shots on Target: 5/5
Corner Kicks: 6/2
Saves: 3/5
