Nashville SC hasn’t had the most convincing start to the second half of the season.
Part of why it has been so unconvincing, though, is just how high the club has set its standard in 2026.
Nashville (12-1-3, 39 points) beat CF Montreal 1-0 at Geodis Park on July 22, its second straight victory by that score. Sam Surridge drew a penalty and scored it himself in the 68th minute for his team-leading 11th goal in all competitions.
The win over Montreal (4-9-3, 15 points) followed a 1-0 win over Atlanta United in Nashville’s first game back from the World Cup break, a similarly lackluster performance against a team outside playoff position. Still, Nashville is now on a five-game winning streak in MLS play for the first time ever, and it also ran its league unbeaten streak to 10 matches.
Nashville won five straight matches — four MLS games and one in the U.S. Open Cup — in summer 2025, and it had a 10-match MLS unbeaten streak in 2023. Its game July 25 at Orlando City will give it a chance to set two more club records and continue building its lead in the race for the Supporters’ Shield.
Nashville is on pace to finish the season with 83 points, which would smash the single-season record of 74 set by Inter Miami in 2024.
“We talked about this being a second season,” coach B.J. Callaghan said. “We’re looking to continue to build on that momentum, but at the same time, making sure that we always keep our identity.”
Even though Nashville failed to score from open play, Callaghan thought the team took strides. Key players Cristian Espinoza, Patrick Yazbek, Warren Madrigal and Reed Baker-Whiting all missed the match, while All-Star right back Andy Najar was limited to a reserve role. But Nashville took more shots than Montreal (8 to 4) and held the lion’s share (64%) of possession, two things it failed to do against Atlanta.
“It’s always about getting the result,” Callaghan said. “I thought we were able to go out and press the team a little bit more. We obviously had a lot more of the ball. Each game’s going to give us opportunities to grow and get a little bit better and learn from different things.”
While Nashville’s attack isn’t quite firing on all cylinders coming out of a six-week break, it hasn’t lost a step on defense. The win over Montreal was its eighth shutout in 16 league games and 13th in 24 games, including the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Goalkeeper Brian Schwake made two saves to preserve the shutout and is allowing just 0.69 goals per start, the lowest average in the league.
“It says a lot about the quality of players we have in the dressing room,” Schwake said. “It’s a testament to all the work that everyone in the club does day in, day out, that we can chop and change sometimes and still get results.”
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on X/Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC still searching for rhythm despite franchise record MLS winning streak
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