After locking up the top spot in the Eastern Conference for the first time in franchise history, Nashville SC can claim the Supporters’ Shield when they head north of the border to visit CF Montreal on Saturday.
Nashville (20-3-7, 67 points) needs just one point to clinch the No. 1 seed in the MLS overall standings. The Tennessee club is 12 points up on Inter Miami and the Vancouver Whitecaps, who are tied for second place.
Even if Nashville SC lose this weekend, the shield will be theirs if Vancouver loses or draws to Colorado.
Nashville is coming off a 1-1 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes last week, which snapped a four-game winning streak but extended its point streak to six games (4-0-2).
Hany Mukhtar tallied the lone goal against San Jose, giving him 16 on the season — one behind Sam Surridge for the team lead — and extending his goal streak to five games.
“It’s really good to play and to be around such talented players like Sam and like Hany,” midfielder Cristian Espinoza said. “But I always say it’s not just Sam and Hany, it’s all the team. … It’s the whole team which is shining right now and that’s why this team is really special. That’s why we are in the position that we are right now.”
At the other end of the standings, Montreal (6-17-7, 25 points) sits last in the Eastern Conference and second to last in the league overall. The club is 1-7-2 in its past 10 MLS contests, including a 1-1 draw against the Seattle Sounders last week.
While Nashville has had time to rest this week, Montreal played a midweek match for the Canadian Championship. They played to a 1-1 draw against Hamilton side Forge FC but fell 4-2 on penalty kicks.
It was the third straight season that Forge FC have knocked Montreal out of the tournament.
“There’s not much to say,” defender Luca Petrasso said. “We all feel like we’ve been hit by a train.”
Prince Owusu continues to pace Montreal’s long-struggling offense with a career-best 15 goals on the season, but the striker has just two in his past six MLS games, both coming against FC Cincinnati on Sept. 26.
Nashville has owned the battle against Montreal, going 7-1-4 over 12 all-time meetings, including a 1-0 victory at home back in July. Their lone loss against the Canadian side over those dozen matchups came when they dropped a 1-0 decision in Montreal on June 21, 2023.
–Field Level Media
