Nashville SC extends unbeaten run to four with goals from Jack Maher and Jacob Shaffelburg

Hany Mukhtar contributed two assists for a total of six in 2024

Nashville Soccer Club defeated FC Cincinnati 2-0 Wednesday night at TQL Stadium, ending the second-longest winning streak (seven) in Major League Soccer history. Defender Jack Maher and midfielder Jacob Shaffelburg led the way with one goal each to help extend the team’s unbeaten run to four (2W-0L-2D).

Victorious: Interim Nashville SC Head Coach Rumba Munthali earned his first career victory in Wednesday night’s win. Munthali is 1W-0L-2D since being appointed.

CincinNOPE: With his six save performance Wednesday night, goalkeeper Joe Willis secured his third clean sheet in his last four starts and his fourth this MLS season.

Two, please: Midfielder Hany Mukhtar’s two assists Wednesday night give him a team-leading six helpers on the season and nine goal contributions across 13 MLS matches in 2024.

Next up: Nashville SC returns to GEODIS Park on Saturday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. CT to host the New England Revolution, presented by CESAR® Canine Cuisine, as it concludes a stretch of three matches in seven days. Tickets for the match, which will celebrate Pride Month, are available here.

Match timeline:

NSH 25’: Hany Mukhtar delivers a corner kick, and Jack Maher heads the ball into the net

NSH 29’: Hany Mukhtar connects with Jacob Shaffelburg, who rifles a shot into the lower corner of the net

Notes:

  • Nashville SC:
    • is on a four-match unbeaten streak (2W-0L-2D)
    • recorded back-to-back clean sheets on the road (May 25 at MTL, May 29 at CIN)
    • snapped the second-longest winning streak (seven) in MLS history with its 2-0 result
    • improved its record against FC Cincinnati to 3W-2L-3D across all competitions
    • is 21W-27L-25D on the road all-time
    • is 45W-7L-20D all-time when scoring first
    • is 36W-26L-36D all-time against Eastern Conference opponents
  • Interim Head Coach Rumba Munthali recorded his first win at the helm of Nashville SC
  • Jack Maher
    • scored his first goal in 2024, and fifth career goal
    • led the team with 0.58 expected goals (xG)
    • leads Nashville SC with 1,169 minutes played
  • Hany Mukhtar
    • recorded two assists, bringing his goal contribution total to 105 (61 goals, 44 assists)
    • leads Nashville SC with six assists this season
  • Alex Muyl leads the team with all 15 MLS matches played
  • Jacob Shaffelburg
    • recorded his first MLS goal of the season, fourth across all competitions
    • registered his 50th appearance as a Boy in Gold
  • Joe Willis
    • recorded back-to-back road clean sheets
    • recorded his fourth shutout in 2024
    • has 63 career MLS clean sheets
  • Dru Yearwood registered his 100th MLS regular season appearance with his 77-minute shift
  • Walker Zimmerman registered his 100th start as a Boy in Gold and his 250th MLS career appearance

Box score:

Nashville SC (4W-4L-7D) at FC Cincinnati (10W-3L-3D)

May 29, 2024 – TQL Stadium

Final score:

NSH: 2

CIN: 0

Scoring summary:

NSH: Jack Maher (A: Hany Mukhtar) 25’

NSH: Jacob Shaffelburg (A: Hany Mukhtar) 29’

Lineups:

NSH starters: Joe Willis; Dan Lovitz, Jack Maher, Shaq Moore (Josh Bauer 46’), Walker Zimmerman (C) (Brent Kallman 66’); Hany Mukhtar (Amar Sejdić 87’), Jacob Shaffelburg (Tyler Boyd 65’), Dru Yearwood (Aníbal Godoy 78’), Alex Muyl, Tah Brian Anunga; Teal Bunbury

Substitutes: Elliot Panicco, Sam Surridge, Forster Ajago, Taylor Washington 

CIN starters: Roman Celentano; Nick Hagglund (Yamil Asad 55’), Miles Robinson, Matt Miazga, Luca Orellano (Bret Halsey 81’), DeAndre Yedlin; Obinna Nwobodo (Malik Pinto 87’), Luciano Acosta (C), Pavel Bucha; Kevin Kelsy, Gerardo Valenzuela (Sergio Santos 55’)

Substitutes: Alec Kann, Alvas Powell, Kipp Keller, Ian Murphy, Stiven Jiminez

Match officials:

Referee: Jair Marrufo

AR1: Nick Uranga

AR2: Walt Heatherly

4TH: Eric Tattersall

VAR: Joe Dickerson

AVAR: Mike Kampmeinert

Weather:  Mostly cloudy, 71 degrees

Nashville SC joined Major League Soccer on Feb. 29, 2020 in front of the largest attendance ever recorded for a soccer match in the State of Tennessee. In its inaugural MLS season, Nashville SC defied expectations by becoming the second MLS expansion side to win and advance to the Conference Semifinals in the 2020 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. Nashville SC returned to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in its sophomore season after becoming just the seventh team in MLS history to go unbeaten at home in a season. The Boys in Gold again qualified for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in both 2022 and 2023, becoming just the third team in league history to reach the postseason during the team’s first four years in existence. Nashville SC inaugurated GEODIS Park, the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and Canada, in front of a sellout crowd of 30,109 on May 1, 2022. For more information, visit NashvilleSC.com and follow the club at @NashvilleSC on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and Spotify.