At just past the halfway point in the season, Nashville SC showcased its championship bona fides this past weekend delivering a resounding performance against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami squad.
What Nashville SC may lack in internationally recognized stars, as compared to their counterparts, was more than made up for with tenacity. The Coyotes suffocated the Herons throughout the night closing down passing lanes and winning second balls. Nashville buzzed around the pitch for 90 minutes despite the heat index reaching over 90 degrees at kickoff.
The statement win pushed Nashville five points clear of Inter Miami and a resounding eight points ahead of the Western Conference leading Houston Dynamo. With more than half of the season and the rest of the pack in Nashville’s rear view mirror, the question is now whether Nashville can keep the pace and capture the Supporters’ Shield, a second trophy in as many years for the club.
Past history at this stage
Despite the five-point advantage, the Supporters' Shield race still appears wide open.
However, based on prior MLS history, it would take a once-in-a-generation collapse for Nashville SC to squander their lead. This is evident when looking back at where the Shield race stood at similar points in past seasons.
For context, Nashville currently have 43 points from 19 matches. With an average of 2.26 points per game, they are on pace to finish with 76.95 points. That would suffice to break the all-time single-season points record set by Inter Miami in 2024.
2025 winners: Philadelphia Union
Total points: 66 (1.94 ppg)
Points through 19 games: 40 (2.11 ppg)
Philadelphia accumulated 40 points through its first 19 games. They ended up edging out FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami for the Shield by a single point
2024 winners: Inter Miami
Total points: 74 points (2.14 ppg)
Points through 19 games: 38 (2.00 ppg)
Inter Miami collected 38 points through 19 games. By the end of the campaign, the Herons sped away with the Supporters’ Shield, setting the single-season points record with 74 points. Over their final 15 matches, Miami averaged a blistering 2.4 points per game, with Lionel Messi going electric.
2023 winners: FC Cincinnati
Total points: 69 points (2.03 ppg)
Points through 19 games: 43 (2.26 ppg)
FC Cincinnati sat in the same position that Nashville sit in today: 43 points through their first 19 matches. The Garys were seven points clear of second place and maintained that comfortable distance, finishing with 69 points, six clear of second-place Orlando City.
2022 winners: Los Angeles FC
Total points: 67 points (1.97 ppg)
Points through 19 games: 39 points (2.05 ppg)
LAFC managed 39 points through 19 matches. Lurking in the background were the Philadelphia Union on 33 points. LAFC survived the Union’s summer surge, capturing the Supporters' Shield on tiebreakers. Both sides finished on 67 points in one of the best races to date.
2021 winners: New England Revolution
Total points: 73 points (2.15 ppg)
Points through 19 games: 40 points (2.11 ppg)
The New England Revolution raced out to a six-point lead in the Supporters' Shield standings, sitting on 40 points through their first 19 matches. They ran away with the title with a 12-point lead, and eclipsed the single-season points record at the time.
*2020 winners: Philadelphia Union
Total points: 47 points (2.04 ppg)
During the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season, only 23 matches were played. Through 13 games, Columbus accumulated 30 points, but managed just 11 points from their final 10 matches. The Philadelphia Union came away with the Shield, or at least a version of it. The Crew’s collapse, like the rest of the season, comes with an asterisk given the brevity. So does the shield the Union lifted – read the below for a core piece of MLS lore.
Jonathan Sigal
2019 winners: Los Angeles FC
Total points: 72 points (2.12 ppg)
Points through 19 games: 43 points (2.26 ppg)
In just their second season, LAFC ran away with the Supporters' Shield. The Black & Gold amassed 43 points – the same amount as Nashville SC have today – through 19 matches. LAFC never broke a sweat, finishing the year on 72 points, eight points clear of NYCFC and a staggering 14 points ahead of third-place Atlanta.
2018 winners: Red Bull New York
Total points: 71 points (2.09 ppg)
Points through 19 games: 38 points (2.00 ppg)
The COVID-19 season aside, the last time that a team relinquished a Supporters' Shield after leading through their first 19 matches was 2018 Atlanta United. They sat on 37 points through 19 games (1.95 ppg).
Ok, fine, it's not entirely fair to say that the Five Stripes even held the lead at that point. While they had played 19 matches, the New York Red Bulls had only played 16, but were already on a 2.0 ppg pace. The Red Bulls, unsurprisingly, won the Shield by two points over Atlanta.
2017 winners: Toronto FC
Total points: 69 points (2.03 ppg)
Points through 19 games: 38 points (2.00 ppg)
Toronto FC and the Chicago Fire were even on 38 points through 19 matches. A dead heat at the halfway point, it didn't stay close for much longer. Toronto stepped on the gas and raced out to 69 points, 12 ahead of NYCFC and 14 clear of Chicago, and completing one prong of their historic treble-winning campaign. Many still consider Toronto's 2017 season the best-ever from an MLS side.
2016 winners: FC Dallas
Total points: 60 points (1.76 ppg)
Points through 19 games: 34 points (1.79 ppg)
Through their first 19 matches, FC Dallas sat atop the standings with 34 points. However, the Colorado Rapids had two games in hand and a superior 1.94 points-per-game pace. The Rapids never managed to catch up, though, and FC Dallas won the Shield by two points.
2015 winners: Red Bull New York
Total points: 60 points (1.76 ppg)
Points through 19 games: 33 points (1.74 ppg)
DC United reached 19 matches played before the rest of the league and topped the table with 34 points. At that time, though, the rest of the league held multiple games in hand. When they eventually reached 19 matches, FC Dallas sat just a point behind with 33 points, while the New York Red Bulls managed 29 points.
However, it was the two aforementioned clubs that finished the season ahead in the standings, tied on 60 points apiece. New York claimed the Shield on goal differential.
2014 winners: Seattle Sounders
Total points: 64 points (1.88 ppg)
Points through 19 games: 38 points (2.00 ppg)
Seattle ran ahead of the pack after their first 19 matches with two games in hand on Sporting Kansas City. The Sounders maintained their advantage and captured their only Supporters' Shield to date.
2013 winners: Red Bull New York
Total points: 59 points (1.74 ppg)
Points through 19 games:
This is how far back we had to go to find the last true, full-season squandering of a Supporters’ Shield lead. After 19 matches, Real Salt Lake sat on top of the table with 34 points (1.79 ppg). They had a four-point lead over Sporting Kansas City, and were six points ahead of the New York Red Bulls.
RSL fully collapsed down the stretch, managing just 1.47 points per game the rest of the way. The Red Bulls – powered by legends like Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill, Bradley Wright-Phillips, and former 'Yotes captain Dax McCarty – caught up and captured the club’s first trophy.
Who are Nashville’s biggest Shield threats?
History is one thing. But prior MLS history does not account for the clubs still looking to pass Nashville. Those past champions – aside from Philadelphia last season – did not have to fend off a motivated Lionel Messi and his friends trailing in their rearview.
