Nashville SC win first trophy in club history: "Everyone is a part of this!"

AUSTIN, TX – Nashville SC are US Open Cup champions.

The Boys In Gold downed Austin FC on Wednesday night to take home the first trophy in club history, and the first major professional sports championship in Tennessee state history.

It was a monumental night for the club, for the city of Nashville as a whole. 12 years after a plucky little fan-owned amateur team began play at the Vanderbilt lacrosse stadium, a different iteration of that same club brought home the oldest trophy in American soccer, capping off more than a decade of milestones.

After the win, Taylor Washington, one of the first players signed for the USL roster back in 2018, was at a loss for words.

"I have too many words and not enough," he smiled, clearly emotional after the victory.

"For guys who have been following the club since USL, I mean, eight years, eight years!" he beamed. "We've wanted the trophy for so long. When BJ came in that was his goal, and praise God, it happened! The boys played so incredibly, and everyone stepped up all throughout the year.

"This is for everyone. This is for the fans. This is for the city. This is the first trophy in the state of Tennessee! Everyone is a part of this. Everyone played a role. And I think we get to share with everyone, we get to celebrate with everyone. Just celebrate. Kiss your loved ones. Hug them. Wake your kids up. Just celebrate!"

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A collective effort

Nashville's Open Cup win was a true team effort, in every sense of the word. Brian Schwake stepped up in goal in every game, saving a crucial penalty kick in the final. Players like Wyatt Meyer and Jonny Pérez scored vital goals. Ethan O'Brien came up from Huntsville to fill an important shift in Orlando. Virtually every player on the roster was called on.

"The only word you can come up with is proud," Callaghan told reporters afterwards. "I think when you bring together a group of guys from all walks of life across the whole world – we started with a kid, 17 years old, Chris Applewhite to 36 years old, I won't name the name – bringing them behind a vision of that we wanted to compete for trophies this year and committing to that on January 10th when we got together. To do what you say you're going to do, it gives us a tremendous amount of pride."

Nashville SC brought every player with them to Orlando, even those who were injured, truly emphasizing the collective effort that went into the win.

"What I'm most proud of is everyone can feel like they were a part of this, and that's going to stick with a lot of guys forever," said club captain Walker Zimmerman, who lifted the Cup for the second time in his career. "Everyone contributed. Everyone was here to celebrate. I'm just really happy for all the guys, and especially those for winning their first trophy."

A grind-it-out mentality

Nashville have played their share of attractive soccer this season. Under Callaghan, they've been much more attack-minded than in past years, and it's resulted in a career year for Sam Surridge and a return to form from Hany Mukhtar. In fact, the two players have combined for 45 goals in all competitions this season, more than the 43 goals the entirety of Austin have managed this year.

And while the duo stepped up again on Wednesday, scoring both of Nashville's goals, the performance was characterized more by grit, a willingness to do whatever it took to win.

"Throughout the season we've had those moments and we've been able to step up. You saw that again tonight," said Callaghan. "That whole second half is just a complete team performance. The guys that started the game played well, and the guys that came into the game elevated the play. And obviously it's not easy at the end of a final to finish it out, and I thought we did a really good job of that, and just proud of the group and proud of the team performance."

A win for all of Nashville

With close to 300 Nashville fans at Q2 Stadium and over 1,000 more watching from Geodis Park, Wednesday was a snapshot of just how quickly the club has become a core part of the city.

"We've constructed this team, we've constructed the way that we play to embody the city of Nashville and to represent the city of Nashville," said Callaghan. "Whether they were here, whether they were at the stadium, whether they were at home, you know, I hope that they are proud of the group, these guys, and the whole team in not only winning the trophy, but the way that we go about our work every single day."

For Zimmerman, who's been with Nashville since their MLS debut and has been one of the main face of the club, the win caps off six years of progress.

"It feels like the most complete culmination of a journey," he reflected. "It's been a good six years. We've had highs and lows, heartbreaks, and this is obviously our greatest success... This was the first step of really fulfilling what we said we were going to do. The way that we did it, and the way that we've played, our style of play, how we've evolved this year."

Mike Jacobs summed it up perfectly.

"There are plenty of seats in the bandwagon. Any time anyone wants to hop in, there's plenty of room for them."