The MLS postseason was guaranteed for FC Cincinnati for a fifth straight season. However, the path to the cup this year will need an extra trip.
Cincinnati (12-10-12, 42 pts.) could not deny Nashville SC (23-8-3, 77 pts.) the MLS regular-season points record on Saturday afternoon. A second-half brace from Sam Surridge sealed the deal, giving Nashville SC the 2-0 win on Decision Day.
The loss puts Cincinnati at the #9 seed, forcing them to travel to Orlando just to qualify further through the wild card play-in match.
“A tough night, losing a little bit of steam and then losing that seeding,” Pat Noonan admitted after the match. “Our next challenge is now going on the road against Orlando because that’s how the results went. We had it in our own hands but unfortunately couldn’t make the most of it.”
FC Cincinnati had enjoyed a good spell of momentum heading into the postseason. While the sweep of D.C. United kept the team afloat, four massive points against Inter Miami and Philadelphia locked the Orange & Blue into another playoff run. A win would have kept them out of the Eastern Conference play-in match.
Meanwhile, Nashville SC had accomplished Job #1—winning the Supporters’ Shield decisively with two weeks left in the season. The 4-0 win against Cincinnati in August was merely a stepping stone to the top. However, Saturday’s matchup had the potential to be the cherry on top. A draw or win would have meant Nashville would have the modern-day regular-season points record.
The added bonus for the Music City is that they are heading into the playoffs in near-perfect health. The only uncertainty was center-back Jeisson Palacios (lower leg), but head coach B.J. Callaghan opted to rest him in place of Jack Maher. Otherwise, the starting lineup was identical to that in the win over Red Bull New York.
Pat Noonan had more to shuffle on FC Cincinnati’s card. Center-backs Nick Hagglund (concussion) and Julian Malatini (leg) were unavailable, but Miles Robinson returned to the bench after their own injury spells. Tyrell Malacia was day-to-day, but was held out for Saturday’s match.
Hagglund’s absence meant that Teenage Hadebe played the central center-back role with Sami Gidi and Kyle Smith flanking the sides. Otherwise, Noonan started his strongest lineup, returning David Doudera to the Starting XI.
First half
Comparatively speaking, Cincinnati had a much better first half than the last time they clashed with Nashville. Much of the offensive push showed fruits on Nashville’s defending end, even though possession was almost a clean split.
Cincinnati’s best attempts came through Tom Barlow. His smash to Brian Schwake’s right in the 27th minute caught the goalkeeper’s arm and the crossbar to deny the first goal. Barlow’s tight shot in the 36th minute also forced Schwake into a stretch to smother the shot.
Nashville played much of the counter, milking yellow cards out of the Cincinnati XI. Hany Mukhtar had Nashville’s lone attempt on net in the 43rd minute, but Roman Celentano got big to deny any scoring in the first 45 minutes.
The first half was not without its frustrations. An early yellow card to Obinna Nwobodo on a questionable foul, bringing out the boo birds from the crowd. The Orange & Blue would get more calls against them, dictating the pace for the second half.
Second half
The biggest momentum swing in the second half may have been before the whistle was blown. Hadebe came out with was was considered a leg issue. Miles Robinson, coming off his own injury, replaced him at halftime.
The frustrations translated into emotions on the pitch. David Doudera’s header in the 56th minute flew far off frame, leading to the wingback slapping his hands on the ground.
Nashville broke the ice in the 61st minute. The defense pulled the Cincinnati attack closer to the Nashville goal before countering down the right line. Andy Najar threaded a pass to a streaking Surridge who had beat the back line. His right-footed shot skirted past Celentano to make it 1-0.
The lead to Nashville meant that Cincinnati were back into the wild-card match at that moment. Orlando had taken a 1-0 lead over New England, a lead they would not lose.
Cincinnati’s best shot to knot the match came from a breakaway in the 68th minute. Kevin Denkey and Ender Echenique had Nashville’s defense on the ropes, but Kenji Mboma Dem could not control a final pass in the box for a shot.
With the Cincy attack pulled up high, Nashville slammed the door with another counter. Patrick Yazbek started a three-on-one attack in the 86th minute that found Surridge streaking down the left. The English striker’s 21st goal of the year virtually doomed the Orange & Blue.
“(Nashville) are tough to score against and play against, and we didn’t make the most of those moments,” Noonan noted. “In the second
half, the positioning of Najar and (Matthew) Corcoran caused us some challenges on our left side defensively. And then I just think they took their moment that opened up the game, got us stretched when we were pushing for the equalizer, and left us exposed on that last action where we were trying to switch play, were too stretched out and we lost a couple essential duels and opened up the space behind.”
The screw turned even tighter after the final whistle. A goal by Columbus in injury time gave the Crew a 4-3 win over Chicago, gifting them the #7 seed. Cincinnati now have to travel to Orlando just to qualify for the chance to replay Nashville.
“It’s a bummer losing this game and then having to go to the play-in game,” Tom Barlow reflected. “But I feel the last handful of games over the last three weeks has been a lot of games for us, and I think we’ve really come together. We scraped our way and gotten some points and gotten into the playoffs.
“I think there’s a lot of positives and right now I still feel confident about going down to Orlando and getting the win.”
Barlow did set an incredible personal accomplishment. The forward played all 34 regular-season matches for FCC, only done once before for the Orange & Blue (Alvaro Barreal in 2023).
IT’S THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR 🔥
The 2026 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs are LOCKED IN. 🔒 https://t.co/SjSmqJXb2B
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 8, 2026
The path to the MLS Cup will have to go through every team ahead of Cincinnati. The only possibility of a playoff home match will be a rematch against, statistically, the team to compile the best regular-season performance in MLS history.
Major League Soccer, Match #34
FC Cincinnati vs. Nashville SC
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: 25,513
Result: FC Cincinnati 0, Nashville SC 2.
BOX SCORE
FC Cincinnati Starting XI (3-4-1-2):
Roman Celentano (GK); Kyle Smith (Ayoub Jabbari 81′), Teenage Hadebe (Miles Robinson 46′), Samuel Gidi; David Doudera (Ender Echenique 66′), Pavel Bucha, Obinna Nwobodo (Jose Martinez 87′), Bryan Ramirez; Evander (C); Tom Barlow (Kenji Mboma Dem 66′), Kevin Dénkey.
Bench: Evan Louro, Gerardo Valenzuela, Brian Anunga, Alvas Powell.
Nashville SC Starting XI (4-4-2):
Brian Schwake (GK); Andy Najar (Josh Bauer 83′), Jack Maher, Maxwell Woledzi, Reed Baker-Whiting; Patrick Yazbek, Matthew Cocoran (Bryan Acosta 74′); Cristian Espinoza (Shak Mohammed 74′), Elias Saad (Alex Muyl 83′); Sam Surridge, Hany Mukhtar (C) (Warren Madrigal 90′).
Bench: Joe Willis, Daniel Lovitz, Edvard Tagseth.
Scoring summary:
NAS – Sam Surridge 61’ (Najar)
NAS – Sam Surridge 86′ (Yazbek)
Discipline:
YC – Obinna Nwobodo 31′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Evander 41′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Samuel Gidi 45+3′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Kyle Smith 65′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Pavel Bucha 88′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Alex Muyl 90′ (NAS, foul)
YC – Maxwell Woledzi 90+6′ (NAS, foul)
Next Match:
MLS Cup Playoffs, at Orlando City SC, Thursday November 19th, 7:30pm; Apple+.
Recommended for you
