CINCINNATI, Ohio — Nashville SC heads into Saturday’s regular-season finale at FC Cincinnati needing just one point to own the best regular season in MLS history.
The Coyotes sit level with the 2024 Inter Miami team on 74 points, the league’s single-season high. A win or a draw at TQL Stadium, with kickoff set for 4 p.m. Eastern, would put the record in Nashville’s hands alone.
Nashville has already wrapped up its first Supporters’ Shield. The club went unbeaten at GEODIS Park with 15 wins and two draws, a league record for home victories, and it opened the year with 49 points through 21 games, the best start the league has seen.
Defense has been just as strong. Nashville has allowed a league-low 25 goals, and a shutout Saturday would also break the mark for fewest goals conceded in a 34-game season, set by Philadelphia in 2022 at 26.
The matchup to watch features two of the best chance creators in the league. Winger Cristian Espinoza, in his first year in Nashville after six seasons in San Jose, leads the team in assists, while Cincinnati counters with playmaker Evander. Both sides have scored at least 67 goals this year.
Cincinnati, a longtime rival, still has playoff seeding to fight for, and Nashville is looking to beat it for the second time this season before turning to the postseason.
Head coach B.J. Callaghan said Friday that his group wants to put together a complete 90 minutes no matter the circumstances. Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge lead an attack built around three Designated Players, and Mukhtar this year reached 25 or more combined goals and assists for a fifth season, something no other MLS player has done.
Section: More Nashville TN sports news
Nashville sports business profiles
Filed under: Nashville TN Sports News
