Nashville SC will take on host Orlando City in a matchup of Eastern Conference teams that can clinch playoff berths on Saturday.
Nashville (15-10-5, 50 points) enters on a high after Sam Surridge scored a hat trick in a 3-1 victory Tuesday over the Philadelphia Union in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals.
The brilliant work of Surridge helped Nashville SC recover from a tailspin in which they had lost five of six MLS matches, with the lone win coming against Orlando City, 5-1, four weeks ago.
“We’ve had a bit of a sticky patch but a game like (Tuesday) will give us confidence,” said Surridge, who leads the MLS in goals with 21, one more than Lionel Messi of Inter Miami.
Surridge has teamed with 2022 league MVP Hany Mukhtar (14 goals, 11 assists) to give Nashville the most prolific scoring duo in the MLS.
Nashville can sew up its fifth playoff berth in the last six years with a victory on Saturday or a loss or draw by the New York Red Bulls, who play at last-place Montreal.
Meanwhile, Orlando City (13-7-9, 48 points) can wrap up their sixth straight playoff berth with a win on Saturday plus a loss or draw by the Red Bulls.
The Lions are happy to play at home, where they have won four straight matches, including two in the Leagues Cup. By contrast, they haven’t won on the road since July 25.
Perhaps the most agonizing result came Saturday when Orlando City played to a 1-1 draw at D.C. United, who played a man short for the last 43 minutes and were outshot 26-6.
“This frustration is part of the game,” Orlando coach Oscar Pareja said. “We have to polish in the last third again and be the team that we are when we create options and score.”
Finding the net has not been a problem most of the year for the Lions, who have put up 55 goals, which is tied for second-most in MLS.
The Lions have been paced by Martin Ojeda (14 goals, 13 assists) and Marco Pasalic (11 goals, four assists).
–Field Level Media
