D.C. United and Nashville SC are pursuing vastly different goals this season. While D.C. is trying to end its MLS-high six-year playoff drought, Nashville is seeking its first-ever Supporter’s Shield trophy.
Both teams are currently in position to accomplish those goals, though their margins for error are thin. Those are the long-term stakes when Nashville (12-2-3, 39 points) faces D.C. United (5-5-7, 22 points) on Saturday in Washington.
As the ninth-place team in the Eastern Conference, D.C. United occupy the final rung on the postseason ladder, leading 10th-place Orlando City by two points.
D.C. is coming off a 2-1 win at home over Toronto FC as Tai Baribo scored the game-winner on a penalty kick 10 minutes into stoppage time.
It was another down-to-the-wire game for D.C. Only three of its matches have been decided by more than one goal.
“Every game for us it’s a fight. We don’t win easy games,” said Baribo, who has a team-high 10 goals. “Everything is hard, especially Nashville, maybe the best team in the league.”
When the teams met on May 9 in Nashville, the Boys in Gold were without top scorer Sam Surridge (10 goals) and fell behind by two goals.
But in the final 15 minutes, playing a man up after D.C.’s Silvan Hefti was ejected, Nashville got two goals from Warren Madrigal to escape with a 2-2 draw.
After that match, Nashville won five straight before falling Saturday at Orlando City 1-0.
Nashville has struggled to finish lately, scoring just two goals in its last three matches, all against teams with losing records.
During the stretch, they have put just eight shots on target compared to 12 for their opponents.
“Right now, we are getting the ball into the box and into the areas that we want,” Nashville coach B.J. Callaghan said. “But at the moment, it just comes down to technical execution and the decision-making to find the right runners.”
Nashville has the best record in MLS, two points clear of Inter Miami. Until recently, the Boys in Gold have been the best team in the league at putting away chances, scoring 33 goals compared to an expected 26.
Hany Mukhtar (six goals, five assists), Cristian Espinoza (three goals, eight assists) and Madrigal (five goals, four assists) round out the Nashville attack.
“It’s really a good team. Good individual players,” D.C. coach Rene Weiler said. “They don’t need a lot of chances to score goals, very efficient.”
–Field Level Media
