Mere minutes after New York City FC sent Nashville SC to the MLS playoffs, the dam broke wide open.
Sam Surridge and Andy Najar scored within two minutes of each other to open the second half as Nashville (16-11-5, 53 points) beat the Houston Dynamo 3-1 on Sept. 27 at Geodis Park. Already having clinched a postseason berth thanks to NYCFC’s 3-2 win over the New York Red Bulls earlier in the evening, Nashville made no mistake and snapped a three-game losing streak in league play.
Hany Mukhtar opened the scoring in the second minute, and seven minutes later, Houston (9-14-9, 36 points) went down to 10 men after defender Erik Sviatchenko received a red card for a foul on Mukhtar. The Dynamo fought hard, equalizing on Junior Urso’s 40th-minute goal, but Nashville’s pair of All-Stars didn’t need much time to put the game away after halftime.
Nashville moved up to sixth in the Eastern Conference with the win. It has two games remaining in the regular season: At CF Montreal on Oct. 4 and at home against Inter Miami on Decision Day, Oct. 18.
In the meantime, Nashville will prepare for the Oct. 1 U.S. Open Cup final at Austin FC, where it can win its first trophy in club history.
Nashville controls game after Houston red card
Winning a game 11-on-10 isn’t always as easy at it seems. After Sviatchenko was sent off, the Dynamo condensed their defense and forced Nashville to break them down with long runs of possession.
Nashville coach B.J. Callaghan saw a few “impatient” moments with the ball that led to Houston counterattacks, including Urso’s game-tying goal. But Surridge and Najar made those concerns a thing of the past.
“The red card changes the dynamic of the game,” Callaghan said. “I was proud of the group for continuing to stay aggressive with the ball. Really good adjustments at halftime, players adjusted great . . . When we did use possession, you saw that we were able to get into the penalty box, create goal-scoring chances or at the very least finish the attack.”
Nashville SC returns to playoffs
Nashville entered the match having dropped six of its past seven in MLS play, falling from second to seventh in the Eastern Conference. Nonetheless, it’s back in the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons and can now focus on moving up in the standings with hopes of securing a top-four seed and home-field advantage in the first round.
“I’m proud of the club and I’m proud for the fans that they’re back into the playoffs, but at the same time it’s just the first milestone for us,” Callaghan said. “We’re an ambitious club, we want to be ambitious. We earned our way into the playoffs. Now we have to finish.”
The win over Houston was Nashville’s 16th league victory and 20th overall, both of which are club records.
Sam Surridge remains in hunt for Golden Boot
Surridge’s goal in the 48th minute was his 22nd in MLS and 27th across all competitions, breaking the club record set by Mukhtar in 2022. He’s in the hunt to win the Golden Boot as the league’s top scorer, trailing Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi (24) and Los Angeles FC’s Denis Bouanga (23). However, both Messi and Bouanga have four games remaining while Surridge has two.
Nashville is 13-1-2 this season when Surridge scores.
Nashville SC vs. Houston Dynamo score updates
Nashville went back in front on Sam Surridge’s 22nd goal of the season in the 48th minute and Andy Najar added to the lead with a tap-in off a rebound two minutes later.
Junior Urso’s 40th-minute goal got the Dynamo on the board as they look to pull off a result despite a 9th-minute red card on center back Erik Sviatchenko.
Sam Surridge pokes the ball away from Erik Sviatchenko in a dangerous area, and the Dynamo center back ends up fouling Hany Mukhtar, who put the initial pressure on Sviatchenko and gained the ball in prime scoring position. It’s a red card on Sviatchenko and Nashville will have a man advantage for the rest of the game.
Nashville is off to a flying start against Houston as Hany Mukhtar opens the scoring with his 15th goal of the season, jumping on a loose ball in the penalty box and firing it past Jonathan Bond.
Nashville SC lineup
GK: Joe Willis; DF: Daniel Lovitz, Jack Maher, Jeisson Palacios, Andy Najar; MF: Alex Muyl, Edvard Tagseth, Patrick Yazbek; FW: Jacob Shaffelburg, Hany Mukhtar (captain), Sam Surridge
Houston Dynamo lineup
GK: Jonathan Bond; DF: Felipe Andrade, Ethan Bartlow, Erik Sviatchenko, Griffin Dorsey; MF: Artur (captain), Jack McGlynn, Junior Urso; FW: Lawrence Ennali, Ondrej Lingr, Ezequiel Ponce
Watch Nashville SC vs. Houston Dynamo with MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
What time does Nashville SC vs. Houston Dynamo start?
- Date: Saturday, Sept. 27
- Time: 7:30 p.m. CT
- Where: Geodis Park, Nashville, Tennessee
What TV channel is Nashville SC vs. Houston Dynamo on today?
Nashville SC vs. Houston Dynamo can be streamed with MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. This is the third season of a 10-year partnership between MLS and Apple TV, which will carry every MLS regular-season and playoff game.
Nashville SC vs. Houston Dynamo injury updates
Nashville – Out: Matthew Corcoran (international duty), Julian Gaines (thigh), Wyatt Meyer (foot), Jonathan Perez (thigh), Taylor Washington (knee). Questionable: Jordan Knight (thigh), Ahmed Qasem (ankle). Houston – Out: Franco Escobar (illness), Blake Gillingham (head), Pablo Ortiz (suspended), Nelson Quinones (lower body), Brooklyn Raines (international duty), Daniel Steres (lower body), Andrew Tarbell (knee). Questionable: Antonio Carlos (lower body), Diadie Samassekou (lower body).
Nashville SC vs. Houston Dynamo betting odds
Odds via BetMGM
- Moneyline: Nashville -175, Houston +400, tie +310
- Over/under: 2.5 goals (over -155, under +110)
Nashville SC schedule
All times Central
- Feb. 22: T 0-0 vs. New England Revolution
- March 1: L 2-0 at New York Red Bulls
- March 8: W 2-0 vs. Portland Timbers
- March 16: W 3-1 at Philadelphia Union
- March 22: W 3-0 vs. CF Montreal
- March 29: L 2-1 vs. FC Cincinnati
- April 5: L 2-1 at Charlotte FC
- April 12: W 2-1 vs. Real Salt Lake
- April 19: L 3-0 at Seattle Sounders
- April 26: W 7-2 vs. Chicago Fire
- May 3: T 1-1 at Atlanta United
- May 6: W 1-0 vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves*
- May 10: W 2-1 vs. Charlotte FC
- May 14: W 2-1 vs. New York Red Bulls
- May 17: T 0-0 vs. D.C. United
- May 21: W 3-2 at Orlando City*
- May 24: W 2-1 at Toronto FC
- May 28: T 2-2 at Columbus Crew
- May 31: T 2-2 vs. New York City FC
- June 14: W 2-0 at Chicago Fire
- June 25: W 3-2 at New England Revolution
- June 28: W 1-0 at D.C. United
- July 5: W 1-0 vs. Philadelphia Union
- July 9: W 5-2 vs. D.C. United*
- July 12: L 2-1 at Inter Miami
- July 16: W 3-0 vs. Columbus Crew
- July 19: W 1-0 vs. Toronto FC
- July 25: L 1-0 at San Diego FC
- Aug. 9: L 3-1 at St. Louis City
- Aug. 17: L 2-1 at New York City FC
- Aug. 23: W 5-1 vs. Orlando City
- Aug. 30: L 1-0 vs. Atlanta United
- Sept. 13: L 2-1 at FC Cincinnati
- Sept. 16: W 3-1 vs. Philadelphia Union
- Sept. 20: L 3-2 at Orlando City
- Sept. 27: vs. Houston Dynamo, 7:30 p.m.
- Oct. 1: at Austin FC, 7 p.m.*
- Oct. 4: at CF Montreal, 6:30 p.m.
- Oct. 18: vs. Inter Miami, 5 p.m.
*-U.S. Open Cup game
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on X/Twitter @Jacob_Shames.