NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Aug. 15, 2026) – Nashville Soccer Club kept its place atop the MLS and Eastern Conference standings by defeating Inter Miami CF 4-1 Saturday night at GEODIS Park in front of a sellout crowd.
All-Star Andy Najar scored a header on a long-distance ball from Elias Saad less than 17 minutes into the match to start the scoring and goalkeeper Brian Schwake stopped a first half Lionel Messi penalty kick to keep the Boys in Gold on top. After Miami drew even during first half added time, Hany Mukhtar scored his first of two goals to put Nashville on top for good in the 49th minute.
One of one: With its win, Nashville SC remains the only team in MLS not to lose a regular season match at home in 2026 with a 9W-0L-1D record at GEODIS Park while outscoring opponents 29-10.
Instant impact: Elias Saad, who was acquired in July from the German Bundesliga, recorded his first two career MLS assists Saturday night. The attacker has three helpers in just five NSC appearances across all competitions.
Triple threat: A trio of Nashville SC All-Stars scored Saturday night with Andy Najar (17’), Hany Mukhtar (49’, 63’) and Sam Surridge (57’) all finding the back of the net.
Next up: Nashville SC will continue a stretch of eight matches in 29 days when it visits the New York Red Bulls at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Wednesday, August 19 at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Notes:
Nashville SC:
- is in first place in MLS at 13W-2L-4D and 43 points
- is unbeaten in 12 of its last 13 MLS matches at 9W-1L-3D
- is 9W-0L-1D at GEODIS Park in MLS play this season
- is outscoring opponents 29-10 at home in MLS in 2026
- is unbeaten in 24 of 29 matches this season across all competitions
- is 17W-5L-7D across all competitions this season (MLS, Concacaf Champions Cup Leagues Cup)
- is 5W-2L-4D all-time at home (GEODIS Park, Nissan Stadium) vs. Inter Miami CF across all competitions
Reed Baker-Whiting recorded his first two MLS assists of the season and his first career multipoint MLS game
Matthew Corcoran recorded his second MLS assist of the season
Cristian Espinoza recorded his ninth MLS assist of the season
Hany Mukhtar scored his seventh and eighth MLS goals of the season
Andy Najar scored his first goal of the season
Elias Saad recorded his first two-career MLS assists and has three helpers this season across all competitions
Brian Schwake made four saves
Sam Surridge
- scored his 12th MLS goal of the season and his 14th across all competitions
- scored his 50th career regular season goal
Box score:
Nashville SC (13W-2L-4D) vs. Inter Miami CF (11W-3L-5D)
Aug. 15, 2026 – GEODIS Park
Final score:
NSH: 4
MIA: 1
Scoring summary:
NSH: Andy Najar (A: Elias Saad, Matthew Corcoran) 17’
MIA: Telasco Segovia 45’ + 3
NSH: Hany Mukhatr (A: Elias Saad, Reed Baker-Whiting) 49’
NSH: Sam Surridge (A: Cristian Espinoza, Reed Baker Whiting)
NSH: Hany Mukhtar 63’
Discipline:
NSH: Sam Surridge (Caution) 45’ + 6
MIA: Casemiro (Caution) 48’
MIA: Lionel Messi (Caution) 59’
MIA: David Ruiz (Caution) 79’
Lineups:
NSH starters: Brian Schwake; Reed Baker-Whiting (Josh Bauer 88’), Maxwell Woledzi, Jeisson Palacios (Jack Maher 72’), Andy Najar (Dan Lovitz 84’); Elias Saad (Alex Muyl 72’), Matthew Corcoran, Eddi Tagseth; Hany Mukhtar (C), Sam Surridge, Cristian Espinoza (Shak Mohammed 71’)
Substitutes: Joe Willis, Ahmed Qasem, Bryan Acosta, Famara Camara
MIA starters: Rocco Rios-Novo; Sergio Reguilon (Noah Allen 74’), Gonzalo Lujan, Ian Fray (David Ruiz 75’), Facundo Mura (Maximiliano Falcon 33’); Casemiro, Rodrigo De Paul, Yannick Bright; Telasco Segovia (Lovend’s Delinois 86’), Lionel Messi (C); Luis Suarez
Substitutes: Dayne St. Clair, Fricio Caicedo, David Ayala, Daniel Pinter, Preston Plambeck
Match officials:
Referee: Drew Fischer
AR1: Ryan Graves
AR2: Rhett Hammil
4TH: Alexis Da Silva
VAR: Lukasz Szpala
AVAR: Joshua Patlak
Weather: 91 degrees and clear
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