Nashville Soccer Club (5W-3L-3D, 18 pts.) returns to Major League Soccer competition at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 13 when it visits D.C. United in a match that can be watched on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app and heard on 104.5 The Zone.

Nashville SC registered its second consecutive three-goal match last Saturday, as it defeated Chicago Fire FC 3-0 and climbed to third place in the Eastern Conference. Just a week prior, Nashville had recorded its first season high multigoal match in a 3-1 victory over rival Atlanta United FC.

Reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar proved his value once again, as he registered the hat trick over Chicago, which earned him the Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire for Matchday 11 of the 2023 MLS season award. With his hat trick, Mukhtar became just the eighth player in MLS history to score multiple hat tricks against the same opponent after he made MLS history in 2021, scoring the fastest hat trick in MLS history, occurring within a span of six minutes (10’, 13’ 16’) against the Fire on July 17 at Nissan Stadium.

Since the start of 2021, Mukhtar has won the Man of the Matchday award six times, which is double the number of any other player in the league; he has seven overall in his career.

In the 2022 and thus far in the 2023 seasons, Hany Mukhtar has produced seven multi-score games, which are the most by an MLS player over that timeframe. The German attacker is currently sitting on 49 MLS regular season goals and could become the first NSC player to reach the 50-goal mark in regular season matches with a goal at D.C. United.

Last night, Nashville SC earned a trip to the Round of 16 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 2-0 victory over FC Dallas at GEODIS Park. Winger Fafà Picault scored the game-winning goal in the 63^rd minute, while Alex Muyl scored the insurance goal in the 76^th minute as Elliot Panicco recorded his second consecutive shutout of the season on Open Cup play.

Wednesday’s Open Cup match was special for Nashville SC Head Coach Gary Smith as he managed his 400^th career match in the win. Smith, whose 400 matches span five different squads and four different professional leagues, has earned results in 281 of those matches.

Nashville Soccer Club in conjunction with U.S. Soccer announced today that the club will take on Inter Miami CF on the road on either May 23 or 24 as part of the Southeast Region in the Round of 16 in the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Additional information on date, time and broadcast will be shared in the coming days.

Nashville SC was drawn in the fourth slot of the Southeast Region which includes Birmingham Legion of the USL Championship and Charlotte FC of MLS. Should the team advance to the Quarterfinals, the Boys in Gold would travel to face the winner of the Birmingham Legion (USL Championship) vs. Charlotte FC (MLS) match on either June 6 or 7.

Shifting back to this Saturday, the Boys in Gold are unbeaten all-time against D.C. United owning a 3W-0L-1D record, and outscoring United 9-3. Nashville SC has visited Audi Field three times. In its last match there on June 25, 2022, the Boys in Gold cruised to a 3-1 victory after Dan Lovitz got the party started with a goal in the 6^th minute and Mukhtar’s brace secured the win.

Come Saturday, the Boys in Gold will look to keep their momentum going, having gone five consecutive matches unbeaten (4W-0L-1D) across all competitions, and having allowed the fewest goals in MLS with six (LAFC has allowed the second fewest goals with seven in two fewer matches played).

Midfielder Dax McCarty will be on milestone watch as well, as his next appearance will mark 450 MLS regular season appearances.

MLS NEXT PRO UPDATE:

Nashville SC’s MLS NEXT Pro affiliate Huntsville City FC will hit the road to take on Chicago Fire II at 7 p.m. CT on Friday, May 12 for the final of a seven-match road trip before the grand reopening of Joe Davis Stadium on May 19. Fans can catch the action at the official watch party at Rocket Republic Brewing or watch it on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app by clicking here.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

• Television:  MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV App
• 104.5 The Zone for English radio

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 defeated 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 2021 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. Nashville SC inaugurated GEODIS Park, the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and Canada, in front of a 30,109-sellout crowd on May 1, 2022. For more information, visit NashvilleSC.com and follow the club at @NashvilleSC on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Spotify.