- The Boys in Gold win 10 regular season home matches for the first time; match club record for wins in a single season across all competitions with 18 set in 2023
- Most Valuable Player candidate Sam Surridge reclaims Golden Boot lead from Lionel Messi with 19th and 20thgoals of the season
- Fellow MVP candidate Hany Mukhtar adds two goals, two assists, becomes fifth player in MLS history to record at least 10 goals and 10 assists in four different seasons
Nashville, Tenn. (Aug. 23, 2025) – Nashville Soccer Club continued its record-setting season when it defeated Orlando City SC 5-1 at GEODIS Park Saturday night for its 10th regular season home victory of 2025, a new club record. With the win, the Boys in Gold reached the 50-point mark and kept pace in the race for Major League Soccer’s Supporters’ Shield and the top spot in the Eastern Conference, just four points back of the Philadelphia Union.
Golden Boot leader and Most Valuable Player candidate Sam Surridge opened the scoring less than three minutes into the match when he scored his 19th goal of the season from Hany Mukhtar. Mukhtar scored in the 16th minute on Josh Bauer’s first career MLS assist and again in 40th minute from Jacob Shaffelburg to give the Boys in Gold a 3-0 lead, and Surridge recorded his third brace and fifth multigoal game of 2025 from Shaffleburg and Jeisson Palacios in the 43rdminute to give the Boys in Gold a 4-0 halftime lead. Palacios iced the match in the 90’ + 4th minute, connecting with Mukhtar and Bauer on a corner kick.
Make it last forever, friendship never ends: Surridge (20 goals, four assists) and Mukhtar (14 goals, 11 assists) lead MLS with the most goal contributions by two teammates this season (49). The Designated Player duo have connected on 13 goals and are the only teammates in the league with at least 20 goal contributions apiece.
Just bust a move: With his first assist tonight, Mukhtar became the fourth player in MLS history to register five-straight seasons of 10 or more helpers and the fifth player in league history to record at least 10 goals and 10 assists in four different seasons (2021-23, 2025).
The Notorious J.O.E.: Nashville SC goalkeeper Joe Willis became the 10th goalkeeper in MLS history to make 300 MLS starts Saturday night (regular season and playoffs). In his 300 starts with D.C. United, Houston Dynamo, and Nashville, Willis has 107 wins, 78 clean sheets, and 926 saves.
Next up: Nashville SC will play its last match before pausing for the September FIFA International Window when it hosts Atlanta United FC at GEODIS Park on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 7:30 p.m. CT presented by Vanderbilt Health.
Notes:
Nashville SC:
- won its 10th regular season home match for the first time in club history
- won its 15th regular season match for the first time in club history
- won its 18th match across all competitions for the second time in club history (2023)
- is fourth in MLS and third in the Eastern Conference with 50 points, four points behind the league-leading Philadelphia Union
- is 14W-4L-4D in its last 21 matches across all competitions
- is 10W-1L-3D in MLS home matches this season
- faced ORL for the 16th time Saturday, the most matches it has played against a single club across all competitions
- is undefeated this season across all competitions when Sam Surridge scores (11W-0L-2D)
- is 5W-6L-5D all-time vs. ORL across all competitions (regular season + playoffs + U.S. Open Cup)
- is 73W-60L-62D all-time (regular season + playoffs)
- is 44W-19L-33D all-time at home (regular season + playoffs)
- is 54W-42L-44D all-time vs. Eastern Conference opponents (regular season + playoffs)
- is 49W-48L-50D all-time on weekends (regular season + playoffs)
- is 40W-37L-37D all-time on Saturdays (regular season + playoffs)
- is 8W-10L-6D all-time during August (regular season)
Josh Bauer recorded his first and second career MLS assists and set a new career high for single season goal contributions with four (two goals, two assists)
Tyler Boyd dressed for his first match since tearing his ACL July 17, 2024 against Orlando City SC
Hany Mukhtar
- scored his 13th and 14th goals of the season for his 12th career regular season brace and second of 2025
- recorded his team-leading 10th and 11th MLS assists of the season
- became the fourth player in MLS history to record 10 or more assists in five consecutive regular seasons
- became the fifth player in MLS history to record at least 10 goals and 10 assists in four different seasons (2021-23, 2025)
- earned Nashville SC Man of the Match honors
Alex Muyl made his 300th career MLS appearance (regular season + playoffs)
Jeisson Palacios recorded his second goal and first assist as a Boy in Gold
Jacob Shaffelburg recorded his first and second MLS assists of the season
Sam Surridge
- scored his league-leading 19th and 20th goals of the season
- joined Hany Mukhtar as the second player in club history to score 20 goals in a single regular season and became the third English-born player in MLS history to do so
- recorded his third brace and fifth multi-goal game of the season
Tate Schmitt made his Nashville SC debut as a substitute in the 76th minute
Joe Willis
- became the 10th goalkeeper in MLS history to make 300 career MLS starts (regular season + playoffs)
- set a new career high for regular season wins with 15
- recorded three saves
Walker Zimmerman made his 250th career regular season start
Box score:
Nashville SC (15W-8L-5D) vs. Orlando City SC (13W-7L-8D)
Aug. 23, 2025 – GEODIS Park
Final score:
NSH: 5
ORL: 1
Scoring summary:
NSH: Sam Surridge (A: Hany Mukhtar) 3’
NSH: Hany Mukhtar (A: Josh Bauer) 17’
NSH: Hany Mukhtar (A: Jacob Shaffelburg) 40’
NSH: Sam Surridge (A: Jacob Shaffelburg, Jeisson Palacios) 43’
ORL: Luis Muriel (A: Tyrese Spicer) 76’
NSH: Jeisson Palacios (A: Josh Bauer, Hany Mukhtar) 90’ + 4
Discipline:
ORL: Kyle Smith (Caution) 50’
NSH: Joe Willis (Caution) 71’
ORL: Luis Muriel (Ejection) 81’
NSH: Ahmed Qasem (Caution) 82’
NSH: Rodrigo Schlegel (Caution) 90’ + 1
Lineups:
NSH starters: Joe Willis; Jeisson Palacios, Josh Bauer, Walker Zimmerman (C), Andy Najar (Tate Schmitt 76’); Gastón Brugman (Bryan Acosta 76’), Patrick Yazbek (Eddi Tagseth 88’), Hany Mukhtar, Jacob Shaffelburg (Ahmed Qasem 63’), Alex Muyl (Jonathan Pérez 89’); Sam Surridge
Substitutes: Brian Schwake, Jack Maher, Tyler Boyd, Teal Bunbury
ORL starters: Pedro Gallese; Robin Jansson (C), Rodrigo Schlegel, Adrian Marin, Kyle Smith (Alex Freeman 58’); Cesar Araujo (Eduard Atuesta 58’), Nicolas Rodriguez (Mario Pašalić 58’), Dagur Thorhallsson (Luis Muriel 74’), Joran Gerbet (Zakaria Taifi 89’); Ramiro Enrique, Tyrese Spicer
Substitutes: Javier Otero, David Brekalo, Martin Ojeda, Ivan Angulo
Match officials:
Referee: Timothy Ford
AR1: Andrew Bigelow
AR2: Gerard-Kader Lebuis
4TH: Jon Freemon
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
AVAR: Mark Allatin
Weather: 80 degrees and mostly cloudy
