New England might be the Revolution, but Nashville SC was the revelation.
The Boys in Gold put on a show in their MLS regular season debut at GEODIS Park Saturday night, trouncing the New England Revolution 4-1 in a match that was all Nashville all the way. Sam Surridge, Hany Mukhtar and Warren Madrigal provided the firepower for Nashville, who extended their unbeaten run in home openers at GEODIS Park to five consecutive years and set a club record for most goals scored in a regular season opener.
The story of the night was Nashville’s overpowering attack and relentless press, which held New England utterly incapable of threatening the home goal for most of the match. A key reason for this was the three offseason acquisitions to whom Nashville gave home debuts on Saturday — Cristian Espinoza, Maxwell Woledzi and Madrigal — as well as 2025 Golden Boot Runner-up Surridge.
Madrigal was the star of the show in the first half, causing New England’s defense countless problems with his speed and tricky dribbling down the left wing. It wasn’t long until the Costa Rican helped the Boys in Gold turn their relentless pressure into an advantage on the scoreboard.
Surridge, barely nine hours removed from announcing a contract extension with the Club, opened Nashville’s tab within five minutes, poking home a Madrigal flick-on off an Espinoza corner. The Boys in Gold kept the pressure up even with an early advantage and soon found the back of the net again — also through Surridge — in the 16th minute. This time, the Englishman sliced his way into the center of the box to meet an Eddi Tagseth cross with his outstretched right foot, placing his team 2-0 up and himself firmly into the early season Golden Boot race.
Surridge’s brace marked his sixth and seventh goals he has scored against New England in six career appearances, as well as his seventh MLS regular season brace since joining Nashville in 2023. But the greater history marks belong to Madrigal, whose assist on Surridge’s opener made him the first Nashville SC player to record an assist in his MLS debut. And if that wasn't enough, Madrigal's dish on Hany Mukhtar’s close-range rocket in the 39th minute to put Nashville ahead 3-0 also made the Costa Rican the first Boy in Gold to ever record multiple points in their first game.
Nashville conceded a consolation goal two minutes out of halftime. But it didn’t take long — less than two minutes, to be exact — for its first-half mojo to return and for its historic evening to continue.
Espinoza released Patrick Yazbek on the counterattack in the 49th minute, who drove a low cross into the box for Surridge to pounce on. Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner parried away by the Englishman’s back-heeled effort, but Madrigal was there to punch home the rebound, registering his first Nashville goal and his team’s fourth of the night.
Nashville’s defense impressed throughout the night as well. The center-back tandem of Palacios and Woledzi was stout, with the latter especially impressive in his ability to weave through the press and carry the ball forward. Andy Najar and Dan Lovitz were characteristically solid on the flanks and threatening in attack, while Brian Schwake continued his seven-game win streak as a starter in his MLS debut.
The win is a serious statement of intent for Nashville, who returns to GEODIS Park Tuesday for the second leg of their first-round matchup against Atlético Ottawa in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Nashville SC vs Atlético Ottawa
Tuesday, Feb. 24 at GEODIS Park | 7 p.m.
Round One, Leg Two of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup (CCC).
