Match Recap: Nashville SC advances to Concacaf Champions Cup Semifinals

• The Boys in Gold defeat Club América 1-0 at historic Estadio Banorte and reach the Champions Cup Semifinal Round for the first time in team history; will face the winner of the Seattle Sounders vs. Tigres UANL Quarterfinal Series  
• Nashville becomes first MLS club to defeat Club América at historic Estadio Banorte 
• Midfielder Hany Mukhtar scores series-winning goal, earns Concacaf Champions Cup Player of the Match honors 
• Goalkeeper Brian Schwake recorded an NSC career-high nine saves to secure his fifth shutout in six Concacaf Champions Cup starts

MEXICO CITY (April 15, 2026) – Nashville Soccer Club will play in the Concacaf Champions Cup Semifinals for the first time in team history after defeating Club América 1-0 in Mexico City Tuesday night. The Boys in Gold eliminated the LIGA MX side on aggregate via Hany Mukhtar’s series-winning goal in the 51st minute assisted by Cristian Espinoza.  

History in Mexico City: With tonight’s win Nashville SC became the first ever MLS side to defeat Club América at Estadio Banorte. The Boys in Gold have now recorded wins in four different countries: Canada, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the United States.  

Schwake’s squeaky clean: Goalkeeper Brian Schwake remains undefeated in tournament play for Nashville SC at 8W-0L-3D (CCC, Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup), with five clean sheets in six Concacaf Champions Cup matches in 2026 and eight across all competitions. Schwake recorded a Nashville SC career-high nine saves at Estadio Banorte.   

Road warriors: The Boys in Gold are unbeaten in CCC this season at 3W-0L-3D (2W-0L-1D on the road), outscoring opponents 9-1. Nashville SC is 4W-1L-2D away from GEODIS Park across all competitions with a plus-four away goal differential in 2026.  

Next up: First-place Nashville SC will conclude a stretch of three-straight MLS road matches when it visits Atlanta United FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, April 18 at 6:30 p.m. CT.  

Notes:            

Nashville SC:        

• advanced to the Concacaf Champions Cup Semifinals for the first time in club history 

• became the first MLS club to defeat Club América at Estadio Banorte 

• is the first MLS team to maintain clean sheets against Club América in consecutive Champions Cup matches 

• is 5W-1L-4D all-time in the Champions Cup 

• is outscoring opponents 9-1 in Champions Cup and 24-5 across all competitions this season 

• recorded its fifth shutout in six Champions Cup matches this season 

• is unbeaten in 12 of its first 13 matches this season across all competitions 

• is 8W-1L-4D across all competitions this season (MLS, Concacaf Champions Cup) 

• is 4W-1L-2D on the road across all competitions this season

Cristian Espinoza  

• recorded his second CCC assist of the season 

• is tied for team lead with eight goal contributions across all competitions (also, Sam Surridge)

Hany Mukhtar 

• scored his first CCC goal of the season 

• earned Concacaf Champions Cup Player of the Match honors

Andy Najar led Nashville SC with 96.7% passing accuracy (minimum 29 passes) 

Brian Schwake  

• is 8W-0L-3D in tournament play (CCC, U.S. Open Cup) for Nashville SC 

• recorded his fifth shutout in six CCC matches this season 

• made a Nashville SC career-high nine saves

Box score:                   

Nashville SC (3W-0L-3D in Concacaf Champions Cup) vs. Club América (2W-1L-3D in Concacaf Champions Cup) 

April 14, 2026 – Estadio Banorte 

Final score:                  

NSH: 1 

AME: 0 

Scoring Summary: 

NSH: Hany Mukhtar (A: Cristian Espinoza) 51’ 

Discipline: 

NSH: Patrick Yazbek (Caution) 63’ 

NSH: Brian Schwake (Caution) 90’ + 2 

Lineups:  

NSH starters: Brian Schwake; Reed Baker-Whiting (Dan Lovitz 57’), Maxwell Woledzi, Jeisson Palacios (Jack Maher 77’), Andy Najar; Patrick Yazbek (Bryan Acosta 71’), Alex Muyl (Matthew Corcoran 70’), Eddi Tagseth; Cristian Espinoza, Hany Mukhtar (C), Warren Madrigal (Ahmed Qasem 71’) 

Substitutes: Joe Willis, Xavier Valdez, Shak Mohammed, Woobens Pacius, Thomas Williams, Josh Bauer 

AME starters: Rodolfo Cota; Israel Reyes, Sebastian Caceres, Cristian Borja, Ramón Juárez (Isaias Violante 54’); Jonathan Dos Santos (C) (Alan Cervantes 68’), Brian Rodriguez, Raphael Veiga; Alex Zendejas (Miguel Vazquez 80’), Erick Sánchez (Vinicius Lima 69’), Patricio Salas (Raul Zuniga 69’) 

Substitutes: Fernando Tapia, Kevin Alvarez, Nestor Araujo, Aaron Mejia, Alexis Gutierrez, Thiago Espinosa, Diego Arriaga 

Match officials:            

Referee: Walter Lopez 

AR1: Keytzel Corrales 

AR2: Raymundo Feliz 

4TH: Cristhofer Corado 

VAR: Tatiana Guzman 

AVAR: Selvin Brown 

Weather: 67 degrees and partly cloudy

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