Nashville clinch first Supporters' Shield as Surridge and Mukhtar sink Montreal

Nashville SC secured their first Supporters' Shield on Saturday, October 24, beating CF Montreal 2-0 away from home to settle the race for Major League Soccer's best regular-season record. MLS confirmed the title with three matches still to play, after second-half goals from Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar took Nashville to 70 points.

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Surridge broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute. According to the Associated Press match report, Reed Baker-Whiting delivered a cross from the left and Montreal goalkeeper Samsy Keita stopped the striker's initial header. Surridge reacted to the loose ball and scored at the second attempt, giving the visitors the opening goal after a first half without a breakthrough.

Mukhtar doubled the advantage in the 76th minute after intercepting a misplaced Montreal pass. The Nashville attacker finished from close range with Keita facing him, putting the visitors two goals clear. The result extended Nashville's unbeaten league sequence to seven games and left their record at 21 wins, three losses and seven draws, AP reported.

There were notable performances from both goalkeepers. Brian Schwake made five saves for Nashville and recorded his league-leading 14th shutout of the season, according to AP. At the other end, Keita made three saves on his MLS debut. The 17-year-old became the youngest player to start a match for Montreal, whose record fell to six wins, 18 losses and seven draws.

The Shield brings rewards beyond the trophy. MLS said Nashville have secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and qualification for the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup. Their opening playoff opponents will be the winners of the Eastern Conference wild-card match between the eighth and ninth seeds. Nashville will host the first game of that best-of-three series, plus the third if one is needed.

The achievement follows Nashville's 2025 US Open Cup triumph under head coach B.J. Callaghan. A further target remains in the regular season: Inter Miami's record of 74 points. Nashville need five more points from their final three fixtures to surpass that total, according to MLS. They next host Philadelphia Union on Wednesday, October 28.