MONTRÉAL — Nashville SC is the best team in MLS. The Boys in Gold beat CF Montréal 2-0 on Saturday, October 24, to clinch the first Supporters’ Shield in club history, with three regular-season games still to play.
Sam Surridge broke the deadlock early in the second half, finishing at the far post after Reed Baker-Whiting’s cross down the left flank. Surridge’s header bounced off first-time starter Samsy Keita in goal, but the follow-up fell his way and he buried it. Hany Mukhtar sealed it late, pouncing on a defensive error at the edge of the box and poking a shot under Keita’s outstretched legs — his sixth straight game with a goal.
The win was built on defense. Nashville, already the league leader in clean sheets and fewest goals conceded, held Montréal scoreless and to just 0.53 expected goals, with goalkeeper Brian Schwake producing a stunning full-stretch save to deny Daniel Pereira in the second half. Center backs Maxwell Woledzi and Jeisson Palacios swept up everything in front of him.
Nashville (70 points, 21-3-7) has now secured the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed in the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs, home-field advantage at GEODIS Park through MLS Cup on December 18, and a berth in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup. The Shield is the club’s second trophy, after the 2025 U.S. Open Cup, and the first for head coach B.J. Callaghan, who also led Nashville to the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals in the spring.
History is still in reach: Nashville is chasing the MLS single-season points record of 74, set by Inter Miami in 2024, and needs five points from its final nine to break it. The Boys in Gold return to GEODIS Park next for a homecoming against Philadelphia, last year’s Shield winners.
Photo: Nashville SC / MLS
Photo: MLS
Photo: MLS / Nashville SC
Source: MLSsoccer.com, October 2026; Nashville SC, October 24, 2026
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