- The Boys in Gold win for the ninth-straight time in league play at GEODIS Park; remain the only unbeaten home team in MLS this season at 13W-0L-1D
- Landon Donovan MLS MVP candidate Hany Mukhtar records first half brace to become 16thplayer in MLS history to score 100 career league goals
- Fellow MVP candidate Cristian Espinoza records his league-leading 13th assist of the season; Elias Saad has two assists for second multi-assist match in first 10 MLS games
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 26, 2026) – MLS-leading Nashville Soccer Club extended its GEODIS Park regular season win streak to nine and won for the 13th time in 14 MLS matches at the Castle this season when it defeated Toronto FC 2-0 Saturday night.
MVP candidate Hany Mukhtar, who reached 100 career MLS goals (regular season + playoffs) with his first half brace, put the Boys in Gold on the board in the 16th minute assisted by fellow MVP candidate Cristian Espinoza and Elias Saad before scoring again in the 43rd minute from MVP candidate Sam Surridge and Saad. Joe Willis made three saves and recorded his 79th career MLS shutout (regular season + playoffs).
On a heater: With its win over Toronto, Nashville SC became the second-fastest team in MLS history to reach the 60-point mark at 18W-3L-6D, trailing only LAFC during 2019.
NSC’s centurion: With his two tallies Saturday, MVP candidate Hany Mukhtar became just the 16th player in MLS history to score 100 career league goals. He is the first German-born player to accomplish the feat and the second active player to do so along with Josef Martinez.
Joe said no: Goalkeeper Joe Willis, who started in net for the Boys in Gold 184 times during the regular season between 2020 and 2025, made his first start of 2026 Saturday. The veteran keeper made three saves for his 110th career MLS win and 79th league shutout (regular season + playoffs).
Next up: Nashville SC will be idle until Saturday, Oct. 10 at Austin FC due to the FIFA International match window taking place Sept. 21 to Oct. 6.
Notes:
Nashville SC
- won its club record 18th regular season match with seven games remaining
- won its club record 13th home regular season match
- became the second-fastest team in MLS history to reach 60 points behind LAFC in 2019
- is the only team unbeaten at home in MLS play at 13W-0L-1D
- is unbeaten in 19 of its last 21 MLS matches at 14W-2L-5D
- is unbeaten in 31 of 38 matches this season across all competitions (MLS, Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup)
- is 22W-7L-9D across all competitions this season
BJ Callaghan is tied with Tata Martino for the most wins (37) through 70 matches coached in MLS history
Famara Camara is away from the club with Senegal’s U23 National Team
Cristian Espinoza tied Carles Gil for the most career MLS regular season assists among active players at 96 with his league-leading 13th assist of the season
Warren Madrigal did not dress due to a lower body injury
Will Mackay dressed for Nashville SC for the first time as a short-term call up from the team’s MLS NEXT Pro affiliate Huntsville City Football Club
Hany Mukhtar
- became the 16th player in league history, second active player and first German-born player to reach 100 career MLS goals (regular season + playoffs)
- has 13 MLS goals this season
Ahmed Qasem is away from the club with the Iraq Men’s National Football Team
Elias Saad recorded his fourth and fifth MLS assists of the season
Brian Schwake is away from the club with the United States Men’s National Team
Sam Surridge recorded his second MLS assist of the season
Xavier Valdez is away from the club with the Federación Dominicana de Fútbol Team
Joe Willis
- made his first start of the season
- made three saves
- earned Man of the Match honors
Patrick Yazbek is away from the club with the Australian Men’s National Football Team
Box score:
Nashville SC (18W-3L-6D) vs. Toronto FC (6W-10L-11D)
Sept. 26, 2026 – GEODIS Park
Final score:
NSH: 2
TOR: 0
Scoring summary:
NSH: Hany Mukhtar (A: Cristian Espinoza, Elias Saad) 16’
NSH: Hany Mukhtar (A: Sam Surridge, Elias Saad) 43’
Discipline:
NSH: Sam Surridge (Caution) 81'
Lineups:
NSH starters: Joe Willis; Reed Baker-Whiting, Jeisson Palacios, Maxwell Woledzi, Andy Najar (Josh Bauer 87’); Matthew Corcoran, Eddi Tagseth (Bryan Acosta 86’); Elias Saad (Shak Mohammed 71’), Hany Mukhtar (C), Sam Surridge, Cristian Espinoza (Alex Muyl 78’)
Substitutes: Will Mackay, Dan Lovitz, Jack Maher, Owen Prethus, Jordan Knight
TOR starters: Luka Gavran; Matheus Pereira, Zane Monlouis, Nicksoen Gomis (Kobe Franklin 63’), Jackson Gilman; Niklas Dorsch, Daniel Salloi (Emilio Aristizabal 73’), Jonathan Osorio (C) (Alejandro Piedrahita 73’); Lewis Morgan (Alonso Coello 46’), Josh Sargent, Theo Corbeanu (Derrick Etienne Jr. 87’)
Substitutes: William Yarbrough, Raheem Edwards, Lazar Stefanovic, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint
Match officials:
Referee: Ramy Touchan
AR1: Brooke Mayo
AR2: Walt Heatherly
4TH: Amin Hadzic
VAR: Daniel Radford
AVAR: Brian Dunn
Weather: 75 degrees and clear
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