NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 1, 2023) – Nashville Soccer Club (11W-5L-5D, 38 pts.) secured its sixth consecutive home victory on Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of 30,109 fans at GEODIS Park. The Boys in Gold fought to a 2-0 win over D.C. United after winger Randall Leal scored his first brace of the season.
Leal opened the scoreboard in the 18th minute after Hany Mukhtar delivered a perfect ball over the top of the D.C. United backline. Leal corralled the pass and was left one-on-one with the D.C. United keeper. The Costa Rican flicked the ball around the keeper and collected his own pass to score the first goal [WATCH HERE].
The second goal from Leal came in a forceful way in the 37th minute as Leal forcefully regained possession outside the box and after a couple of dribbles delivered a rocket in the back of the net to secure the insurance goal [WATCH HERE].
The Castle Is Rocking: Nashville SC tied its club record for home wins in a season, registering its eighth regular season victory at GEODIS Park. The Boys in Gold will have six more opportunities to break the record this season and are now unbeaten in its last eight home matches (6W-0L-2D).
Lovely From Leal: With his brace, Randall Leal tied his career-high for goals scored in a match (also on Oct. 27, 2021 at CIN). Ten of Leal’s 17 career MLS goals have come in Music City.
Dominating D.C. United: With the victory, Nashville SC remains unbeaten against D.C. United all-time improving its record to 4W-0L-2D and out-scoring D.C. 12-4.
Off To The Windy City: Nashville SC will hit the road next week to take on Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field on Saturday, July 8. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT and can be seen on MLS Season Pass in the Apple TV app and heard on 104.5 The Zone.
Match Timeline:
NSH 18’: Randall Leal receives a ball from Hany Mukhtar near the box and gets past D.C. United’s backline and goalkeeper
NSH 37’: Randall Leal collects a deflected ball to rocket the ball in to the back of the net
Notes:
- Nashville SC:
- is 9W-0L-2D when scoring first this season, 39W-4L-16D all-time
- has outscored opponents 21-6 (+15 goal-differential) at GEODIS Park this season across all competitions and has not lost a match at The Castle since March 25
- has recorded 100 goals at home in MLS regular season play in club history
- is 7W-0L-1D when leading at the half this season and 28W-1L-10D all-time when leading at half
- is 7W-0L-0D this season when scoring two goals and 12W-0L-8D all-time
- has recorded six consecutive wins at home, a club record, and unbeaten in last eight matches at home
- Teal Bunbury made his 356th career regular season appearance
- Randall Leal
- recorded his first goal at GEODIS Park since he scored the first-ever Nashville SC goal at The Castle on May 1, 2022
- surpassed his goal total from last season (2) with his brace, bringing him up to three
- Dan Lovitz
- appeared in his 100th match for Nashville SC
- led the team with 48 accurate passes
- Lukas MacNaughton led the team with eight clearances
- Shaq Moore led the team with 10 duels won and three successful dribbles
- Hany Mukhtar
- appeared in his 100th match for Nashville SC
- has contributed to at least one goal in the last seven matches at GEODIS Park (6 goals, 5 assists)
- has contributed to 91 of Nashville SC’s 161 goals in club history (56 goals, 35 assists)
- Joe Willis
- recorded his seventh shutout of the season, 38th with Nashville SC
- ended the night first in the league with a save percentage of 80 (minimum seven matches played) ended the night first in the league with a save percentage of 80.3% (minimum seven matches played)
Box Score:
Nashville SC (11W-5L-5D, 38 pts.) vs. D.C. United (7W-9L-5D, 26 pts.)
July 1, 2023 – GEODIS Park
Final Score:
NSH: 2
DCU: 0
Scoring Summary:
NSH: Randall Leal (A: Hany Mukhtar) 18’
NSH: Randall Leal (unassisted) 37’
Discipline:
NSH: Walker Zimmerman (Caution) 20’
NSH: Randall Leal (Caution) 34’
DCU: Christian Benteke (Caution) 38’
NSH: Walker Zimmerman (Ejection, Second Caution) 64’
NSH: Teal Bunbury (Caution) 66’
Lineups:
NSH Starters: Joe Willis; Dan Lovitz, Jack Maher, Shaq Moore, Walker Zimmerman (C); Dax McCarty, Randall Leal (Lukas MacNaughton 67’), Hany Mukhtar (Taylor Washington 90’+2), Teal Bunbury (Ethan Zubak 67’), Alex Muyl, Sean Davis
Substitutes: Laurence Wyke, Josh Bauer, Ján Greguš, Luke Haakenson, Tah Brian Anunga, Elliot Panicco
DCU Starters: Tyler Miller; Derrick Williams, Brendan Hines-Ike, Pedro Santon, Andy Najar, Donovan Pines (Taxiarchis Fountas 45’); Chris Durkin (Yamil Asad 84’), Lewis O’Brien, Mateusz Kilch; Cristian Dajome (Kristian Fletcher 74’), Christina Benteke (C)
Substitutes: Ruan, Russell Canouse, Erik Hurtado, Steven Birnbaum, Alex Bono, Gaoussou Samake
Match Officials:
Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.
AR1: Adam Garner
AR2: Diego Blas
4TH Official: Elvis Osmanovic
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr
AVAR: Rene Parra
Weather: Clear, 87 degrees
