Nashville SC may have had eyes on their Concacaf Champions Cup clash in Miami on Wednesday, but the 'Yotes scrapped and clawed to a 1-0 win on the road at Columbus Crew on Saturday.
The win helps Nashville keep pace with New York City FC atop the Eastern Conference at this very early stage, and 10 points from their first four games is the best start to a season in club history.
Let's dive into individual player rankings!
Ben Wright
• Players begin with a base grade of 6 and can increase or decrease their rating based on performance.
• Players must play a minimum of 15 minutes to earn a rating.
Brian Schwake - 8.0
Brian Schwake was forced into just a couple saves, but when called upon, he answered. There was also a couple off-target shots that Schwake probably had covered regardless. All in all, a good outing from the young keeper, who extended his unbeaten run to 12 matches as Nashville's starting goalkeeper.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 7.1
Dan Lovitz - 8.0
Dan Lovitz returned to his spot in the starting lineup and put in a good shift on the road. In addition to some solid defending, the Coyotes' stalwart left back created one big chance and was accurate on two of three long balls attempted.
Stock: Up
Sofascore Rating: 7.8
Jack Maher - 7.5
Jack Maher wore the captain’s armband and nearly found the opener with a 39th-minute header, only for the effort to be saved well by Columbus’ Patrick Schulte. He was also largely steady at the back, as has become expected.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 7.2
Maxwell Woledzi - 7.5
After a truly magnificent performance in midweek, Maxwell Woledzi oozed confidence. Columbus did manage to catch him in possession a time or two, showing that even though the Ghanaian’s marauding on-ball runs are tenacious, they do come with some inherent risk.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 7.5
Josh Bauer - 7.5
Josh Bauer took starting duties in this one at right back and was an effective cog in the machine that suffocated much of Columbus’s best chances through the game.
Bauer won five of seven ground duels and all four tackles he attempted to go along with a good effort in attack, completing 14 passes in the opposition half, and two of three attempted long balls to keep pace with his counterpart on the left.
Stock: Up
Sofascore Rating: 7.5
Alex Muyl - 6.5
Alex Muyl was Alex Muyl in this game. He was everywhere, doing everything, but some of the polish he’s shown in recent games was lacking in this one.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.3
Eddi Tagseth - 7.0
Eddi Tagseth was Eddi Tagseth in this game, much like Muyl. He was everywhere doing everything, but the Norwegian Nuisance was much more effective than Muyl in key areas throughout the game, and was able to control the tempo of the game in some stretches.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 7.4
Bryan Acosta - 6.5
Bryan Acosta was fairly solid overall in this one. His biggest highlight was a great corner delivery that was nearly headed home by Jack Maher in the 39th minute. He's a valuable depth piece in this team.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.6
Woobens Pacius - 5.5
Woobens Pacius was given the nod for his first career start in MLS, but unfortunately was largely ineffective. He picked up his second yellow card of the season for his troubles, a booking that played into his withdrawal at halftime.
Stock: Down
Sofascore Rating: 5.9
Warren Madrigal - 6.5
Warren Madrigal found himself a couple of half-chances that he’ll probably feel he should’ve done better with, and has cooled off a bit overall from his red-hot start to the year.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.4
Ahmed Qasem - 6.0
Ahmed Qasem again showed good energy that seemed lacking at points last season, and overall appears to be generally continuing an upward trend. Aside from a few flashes, that trend didn’t really show as much in this one. The Swedish attacker never really put it all together and was eventually substituted at the half after picking up an early yellow card.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.3
Substitutes
Hany Mukhtar - 7.0
On as a halftime substitute, Hany Mukhtar scored the game winner and generally did his thing in transition, even when it didn’t pay off. It wasn't Mukhtar’s cleanest performance by any means, but a late winner is a late winner. Salutes all around.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.9
Sam Surridge - 6.5
Sam Surridge came on to start the second half along with Mukhtar, and was involved early, though it’s evident some chemistry still needs to be built along the entire front three of Surridge, Mukhtar, and Espinoza.
That being said, when you ”need more chemistry” and still get 10 points from a possible 12 to start the year, you really have nothing to complain about.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.5
Patrick Yazbek - 7.5
Patrick Yazbek just looks better and better each game. Even on days like this, where you don’t get an A++, 10/10, man-of-the-match type performance, the Australian is just so clearly one of the most important players Nashville has.
Stock: Up
Sofascore Rating: 7.0
Cristian Espinoza - 8.0
Cristian Espinoza did some things to Rudy Camacho that are illegal in most states before setting up Hany Mukhtar for the game-winner. It was the kind of moment that reminds you why his signing was as lauded as it was.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 7.1
Cristian Espinoza stole a man's soul here. pic.twitter.com/7MVGarqQIf
— Ben Wright (@benwright) March 15, 2026
Andy Nájar - 7.0
Andy Nájar picked out the pass to Cristian Espinoza that led to Nashville’s winner, so we’ll give the Honduran a boost to go with his secondary assist, even though he didn’t have the time to have a huge impact outside that crucial moment.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.8
Manager
BJ Callaghan - 8.5
BJ Callaghan rolled out a largely rotated lineup with eyes on Concacaf Champions Cup, but was very willing to trot the thoroughbreds out onto the race track. Those adjustments came earlier than normal, and the manager’s bravery in this respect was repaid with a goal and all three points.
Road wins are incredibly valuable in MLS, and Callaghan found a way to engineer one where it would’ve been very easy to have his team retreat into their shell to protect the one point they were already hanging onto.
