The collective sigh of relief over the weekend at Geodis Park might have been enough to power a few windmills.
The question now: Can Nashville SC build on Saturday’s 4-1 victory over CF Montreal, the team’s first Major League Soccer win in about six weeks?
Nashville’s next opportunity comes Saturday, when it travels to Charlotte FC for a game against an opponent the Boys in Gold defeated 2-1 at home earlier this season.
“Not only did we win [against Montreal], but we did it in a way that I felt was taking us back to who we are — and that aggressive mentality, the passion, the communication, the passing, the ability that we’re going to fight for each other,” Nashville defender Walker Zimmerman said. “You just felt it out there. It’s exciting for us and hopefully it’s a steppingstone for more wins in the future.”
There were indeed so many things to like about Nashville’s triumph, which snapped a five-game winless streak and allowed the Boys in Gold (2-3-5, 11 points) to move within three points of the playoff line in the Eastern Conference.
• It was Nashville’s highest goals output since Aug. 31, 2022, and the Boys in Gold also posted their highest shot total (19), highest shots on goal total (seven) and highest expected goal total (3.93) of the 2024 regular season.
• All three of Nashville’s designated players — Zimmerman, midfielder Hany Mukhtar and forward Sam Surridge — made significant offensive contributions. Surridge recorded the second hat trick in Nashville history, Mukhtar added a pair of assists and Zimmerman — making his first regular-season start since March 2 — scored as well.
• The game marked the first time this season that all three of Nashville SC's designated players had started a match together. In addition, forward Tyler Boyd, Nashville’s pricey trade acquisition last offseason, played 22 minutes as he continues to return to full strength following a hip injury.
• After surrendering a lead in each of its previous four games, Nashville kept its foot on the gas throughout most of the Montreal contest. The Boys in Gold got a brief scare when Montreal trimmed Nashville’s lead to 3-1 with 25 minutes left in the contest, but the hosts looked much more composed in closing out the game.
“I think we’ve touched on it a few times, when we’ve been going ahead and then we end up either drawing the game or losing the game,” Surridge said. “Having that confidence we can now [close] out games, I think the sky is the limit for us. If you look at the points we could have got from the draws and losses where we should have gone on and done a lot better, but we didn’t, maybe … We’ve just got to carry that confidence through the rest of the season.”
It was no surprise that Nashville’s most complete game of the regular season coincided with the return of Zimmerman to the starting lineup.
His header, which came off a Mukhtar corner kick, put Nashville up 2-0 in the first half. Zimmerman even delivered a light-saber celebration in keeping with the May 4 Star Wars theme. The presence of the two-time MLS defender of the year also helped Nashville hold Montreal to a 0.9 expected goals total. Zimmerman’s only mistake was an own goal, scored as he tried to clear a crossed ball out of danger.
“I thought Walker was imperious in the back line,” Nashville coach Gary Smith said. “The other guys came out of their shell, looked a little more dominant and decisive in the way that they played. That’s the type of guy he is. He offers that type of support to them.”
The next step is to produce the season’s first winning streak when Nashville travels to sixth-place Charlotte (4-5-2).
“[The Montreal win was] the first step in a long journey for us, to get back to some rhythm, some success, put ourselves back in a position where there’s some belief here again that we can get results,” Smith said. “We’ve seen we can score goals. I think that belief that we can win games again, this is the first step on that road.”