NASHVILLE, TN – On Saturday night, it was mission accomplished for Nashville SC, as the 'Yotes defeated New York City FC 2-1.
Ben Wright
Nashville SC won't play another match for 55 days. This left an imperative on the team to leave a good taste in the mouths of everyone involved with the club, from fan to staff to player. The win keeps Nashville atop the Supporters' Shield standings and puts them into elite company with 33 points through 14 games.
This one is for @benwright.bsky.social & my B.J. believers: List of clubs w/ 33 points through opening 14 games, the other five won Supporters' Shield that season: 35 – 01 Miami Fusion 34 – 98 Galaxy 33 – 26 Nashville 33 – 23 Cincinnati 33 – 10 Galaxy 33 – 00 KC Wizards (Won MLS Cup)
— Michele Giannone (@mgiannone.bsky.social) May 23, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Let's see how each player performed.
• 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, as it turns out, will not be heading to the World Cup this summer with the United States. That doesn't mean his performances have dipped whatsoever. The primary reason this game stayed 2-1 was because of an excellent reaction save Schwake made on the advancing Nicolás Fernández Mercau just into second-half stoppage time.
Stock: Up
Sofascore Rating: 7.5
Reed Baker-Whiting - 7.0
Reed Baker-Whiting again started on the right-hand side with Andy Nájar still injured, and the youngster had some very dangerous runs forward in the first half. Defensively, he could have been better at defending New York's Malachi Jones.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.6
SixOneFive Soccer Staff
Jeisson Palacios - 8.5
Jeisson Palacios thought he'd scored his first goal of the season against DC United off a set piece, only for it to be ruled out for an offside on the Colombian. There was no flag denying Palacios this time, opening his account on a set piece that he headed more or less directly at the face of New York's Matt Freese.
If the vote were today, there's a very good chance Palacios would be among the frontrunners for Defender of the Year. He's been simply excellent this season.
Stock: Up
Sofascore Rating: 8.2
Maxwell Woledzi - 8.0
Maxwell Woledzi joined his defensive companion in scoring his first goal of the season, and immediately let the entirety of Geodis Park know about it in a celebration that is a perfect encapsulation of the kind of showman and club ambassador Woledzi is.
More impressive than that? His goal was scored because of his willingness to recycle a run in the box! How often do you see that out of a centerback?
Stock: Up
Sofascore Rating: 7.8
🇬🇭 Maxwell Woledzi says he’s still hopeful to get the call to represent Ghana at the World Cup this summer 🏆 pic.twitter.com/n4bFYHskxc
— SixOneFive Soccer (@615Soccer) May 24, 2026
Dan Lovitz - 6.5
Dan Lovitz again had a very up-and-down game. He was involved in good spots in the attacking half at times, but all too often, Lovitz gave too much real estate to Agustín Ojeda on New York's right-hand side.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.2
Matt Corcoran - 7.5
Matt Corcoran had one of the quieter good games you'll see from him. The 20-year-old did log a key pass and was a great facilitator for Nashville's ball movement again. That's been exactly what he has been for the last couple of weeks consistently since the dual injuries to Patrick Yazbek and Eddi Tagseth. It was a very calm, composed, 7.5-rated performance. Exactly what you want out of a deeper-lying midfielder.
Stock: Up
Sofascore Rating: 7.7
Bryan Acosta - 7.5
Bryan Acosta had a start to the game that one could describe as decidedly less than ideal. It was Acosta, after all, who gave away the penalty that was scored by Fernández Mercau to level the game for New York.
Then, early in the second half, he only made up for it by assisting Woledzi's winning header with a perfect cross. Prior to the injuries in midfield mentioned earlier, Acosta wasn't seeing a ton of the field. But, as has been said before, injuries are opportunities, and Acosta has made a great case to see a bigger share of the field, even after the returns of Yazbek and Tagseth.
Stock: Up
Sofascore Rating: 7.1
Ahmed Qasem - 6.0
Ahmed Qasem had a very pedestrian game, and that sounds worse than it actually was. The Iraqi just wasn't very involved at all in Nashville's attack, nor did he find many bright spots off the ball. The slightly different role he's taken up since the injury to Sam Surridge may have something to do with his drop in performance level the past couple of weeks, but now he turns his attention to the World Cup.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.0
Valair Shabilla
Cristian Espinoza - 7.0
Cristian Espinoza assisted his eighth league goal of the campaign on Saturday, with a brilliantly whipped in corner kick to the far post that was met by Palacios. He also had a couple of acrobatic plays to keep balls in play inside New York's box, and some other really nice link-up play moments. The chop on the ball is becoming a hallmark of Espinoza's game, akin to the stepover for Hany Mukhtar.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.5
Hany Mukhtar - 6.5
Hany Mukhtar could not possibly have played any better than he did against LAFC. On Saturday, he didn't.
Where last weekend Mukhtar was at his absolute sharpest and most threatening, there weren't nearly as many opportunities for Mukhtar to run at the backline in the final third against NYCFC, which limited his end product.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.7
Warren Madrigal - 6.0
Warren Madrigal, much like his teammate Bryan Acosta, has made the most of the opportunities that injuries have afforded him. Not so much in this game, however. He's got a killer mentality that's really fun to see come out, but it just wasn't there for him on Saturday.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.2
Substitutes
Alex Muyl - N/A
Alex Muyl was the first call to the bench, and his job for the final 19 minutes plus stoppage time was essentially to run around and be Alex Muyl out of possession. Anything north of that would be a bonus. He accomplished this duty.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.6
Sam Surridge - 6.0
Sam Surridge, welcome back. Unfortunately, the party was put on hold, because when the Englishman entered the game to a roar from the crowd in the 72nd minute, New York had already claimed the initiative and would maintain it for the vast majority of the time that was left. There wasn't much for Surridge to do offensively, but he did get to do plenty of off-the-ball dirty work. Getting him in form and scoring again over the break is a priority.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: 6.5
Josh Bauer - N/A
Josh Bauer was again the final change in the game, and was at least partially responsible for the stoppage time save that Brian Schwake was forced to make. It was mere seconds into Bauer's time on the field, and those things happen, but you'd like to see a bit more sharpness.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: N/A
Charles-Emile Brunet - N/A
Charles-Emile Brunet, much like Surridge and Muyl, was forced into a primarily defensive role due to the game state when he entered the field. Brunet got to attempt just four passes, completing half of them.
Stock: Unchanged
Sofascore Rating: N/A
Manager
BJ Callaghan - 8.5
BJ Callaghan was dealt an incredibly rough hand coming into the month of May, with all the injuries to key players and a very congested schedule. He and his staff have guided Nashville to becoming just the sixth team in league history to record at least 33 points from their opening 14 games in an MLS season. The other five teams to reach this mark all won the Supporters Shield. On its own, this is wildly impressive. Doing it alongside a run to the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals is unprecedented.
Plaudits also need to go to the front office here. It was a hard decision to make a head coaching change when they did in 2024, and it was a big swing to make on hiring Callaghan and co. Not only did they hit it out of the park on that decision, they've nailed nearly every single signing since Callaghan's appointment as well.
Ben Wright
In the span of about 18 months, Nashville has gone from finishing 13th in the Eastern Conference to completely revitalizing the club and sitting atop the Supporters Shield table heading into the World Cup break. Pat yourselves on the back, everyone. You deserve it.
