For the final time in the Major League Soccer regular season, Nashville SC (12W-9L-11D, 47 pts.) is back at GEODIS Park on Sunday night.
The Boys in Gold face off against Houston Dynamo FC (9W-17L-6D, 33 pts.) in the last regular season home match of 2022. Nashville finds itself in the heat of the playoff race with two matches to go, and a win on Sunday is all it needs to clinch a berth in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. If other results around the league fall in line, three points vs. Houston could also lock up a top-four seed and a home playoff match.
Nashville SC enter this weekend in fourth place in the Western Conference just three points shy of third place. Nashville SC is riding a season-high six match unbeaten streak, not having lost a match since Aug. 14, while outscoring opponents 16-3 in that stretch.
Landon Donovan MVP frontrunner Hany Mukhtar will look to add to his 23 goals this season to extend his lead in the MLS Golden Boot race. Austin FC’s Sebastián Driussi enters the week two goals behind Mukhtar. Mukhtar has contributed at least one goal in 17 of his last 20 MLS appearances. Additionally, captain Dax McCarty could make history this weekend, becoming second all-time in MLS history in matches played in the regular season by an outfield player. McCarty is currently tied with Jeff Larentowicz at 437 matches.
Sunday is Fan Appreciation Night at GEODIS Park. From beer specials to an LED lightshow before the match to special fan-led musical guests, you won’t want to miss the last regular season home match of 2022. Learn more about our Fan Appreciation Night activities.
Date: Sunday, Oct. 2
Time: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: GEODIS Park (Nashville, Tenn.)
TV: MyTV30
Local Stream: NashvilleSC.com/stream, Nashville SC app
English Radio: iHeartRadio Online, Nashville SC App
Spanish Radio: El Jefe 96.7 FM
Win and N – Nashville SC will clinch a berth in the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs if:
Nashville win vs. Houston or …
Nashville draw vs. Houston AND Portland draw vs. LAFC or …
Salt Lake lose at LA Galaxy or …
Portland lose vs. LAFC or …
Portland draw vs. LAFC AND Salt Lake draw at LA Galaxy
Additionally, a Nashville win plus a LA Galaxy loss AND a Portland loss or draw AND a Minnesota loss or draw would secure a playoff match at GEODIS Park for the Boys in Gold. Should Nashville SC clinch a playoff berth, it would make them the fifth-ever team in Major League Soccer to have accomplished such feat in their first three seasons (Chicago Fire, Seattle Sounders, Atlanta United and LAFC).
Head Coach Gary Smith says the team is aware of what’s at stake in Sunday’s match.
“We go about our business in the very same way that we would any other week,” he said. “Everyone understands and appreciates that the window of opportunity to clinch, and certainly to put ourselves in an even stronger position, is very narrow. Therefore, the job’s got to get done. My hope is the guys come with the right attitude and attack the game in the right fashion, and it’s rare that they don’t, and we get a good job done. That’s as simple as it gets.”
One More Time – GEODIS Park has been kind to Nashville SC during the stretch run of the season. Since August 21, the Boys in Gold are unbeaten at GEODIS Park with three league wins and one draw. The team also defeated Liga MX powerhouse Club América on penalties in the Leagues Cup 2022 Showcase in that span.
Ahead of Fan Appreciation Night, Smith had a message for the fans that have created that intimidating atmosphere at GEODIS Park.
“First and foremost, they’ve been wonderful for us this year,” Smith said. “Our home stadium has become a venue that we are excited to be in. They’ve made almost a cauldron of noise and atmosphere, which has benefited us. My message to the fans would be to keep us at a boiling point, to stay behind the group and give us that extra man come Sunday and hopefully into what we would love to be a home playoff match.”
Scouting Houston Dynamo FC – This will be the second matchup of the season between Nashville and Houston. On May 14, Houston earned a 2-0 win over a rotated Nashville SC squad just days after the 120-minute win over Atlanta United FC in the U.S. Open Cup.
Despite their position near the bottom of the Western Conference, Smith says Dynamo FC is a team no one should overlook.
“We suffered one of our most disappointing, frustrating and upsetting results in Houston when they beat us and played for more than 45 minutes with 10 men,” Smith said. “It was a difficult day, and that has been offered up to the players again that this is a group that is more than capable. The season has not gone how they would have planned it, I’m sure. But they’ve invested a lot of money in this group, and there are a lot of good players. Given the right opportunity and circumstances, they’ve shown they’re capable of beating the very best.”
