Nashville SC continued to ride the wave of strong form, beating Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 in their longest road trip of the season. The win pushes the Coyotes up into fifth place in the MLS Western Conference.
The XI
Gary Smith switched back to a back five, making six changes to the side that beat FC Dallas 4-0 last weekend at Geodis Park.
Walker Zimmerman, Dan Lovitz, Dax McCarty, Shaq Moore and Jacob Shaffelburg were given a rest on the bench, while C.J. Sapong didn’t make the trip with what was described to the media as “back tightness”.
In his place, Ethan Zubak was given the start, while Jack Maher got the nod in the center of defense.
On the pitch
Nashville picked up right where they left off last weekend. Randall Leal opened the scoring after 19 minutes with a low driven shot from well outside the box. The goal was just his second of the year, and his first since Geodis Park’s opener on May 1.
Jack Maher finished off the night for Nashville, scoring a pair of headed goals to ice the result. Hany Mukhtar picked up an assist for both, putting him on 16 goals and 11 assists on the season, just one away from his 2021 total.
Nashville found themselves with a golden chance to add a fourth in second half stoppage time after Jacob Shaffelburg earned a penalty kick, but substitute Dax McCarty saw his effort saved just five minutes after entering the match.
The big picture
The win sees Nashville finish the night in fifth place in the West, with two huge home games against Colorado Rapids and Austin FC coming later in the week.
The win is the just the second time all season that the ‘Yotes have won consecutive matches. They didn’t allow a shot on target in either.
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