Nashville SC Advances to Concacaf Champions Cup Semifinals
MLS Nashville SC

Nashville SC Advances to Concacaf Champions Cup Semifinals

Published on April 15, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Nashville SC News Release


MEXICO CITY - Nashville Soccer Club will play in the Concacaf Champions Cup Semifinals for the first time in team history after defeating Club América 1-0 in Mexico City Tuesday night. The Boys in Gold eliminated the LIGA MX side on aggregate via Hany Mukhtar's series-winning goal in the 51st minute assisted by Cristian Espinoza.

Nashville SC's Concacaf Champions Cup post-match media availability footage can be found here

History in Mexico City: With tonight's win Nashville SC became the first ever MLS side to defeat Club América at Estadio Banorte. The Boys in Gold have now recorded wins in four different countries: Canada, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the United States.

Schwake's squeaky clean: Goalkeeper Brian Schwake remains undefeated in tournament play for Nashville SC at 8W-0L-3D (CCC, Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup), with five clean sheets in six Concacaf Champions Cup matches in 2026 and eight across all competitions. Schwake recorded a Nashville SC career-high nine saves at Estadio Banorte.

Road warriors: The Boys in Gold are unbeaten in CCC this season at 3W-0L-3D (2W-0L-1D on the road), outscoring opponents 9-1. Nashville SC is 4W-1L-2D away from GEODIS Park across all competitions with a plus-four away goal differential in 2026.

Next up: First-place Nashville SC will conclude a stretch of three-straight MLS road matches when it visits Atlanta United FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, April 18 at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Notes:

Nashville SC:

advanced to the Concacaf Champions Cup Semifinals for the first time in club history

became the first MLS club to defeat Club América at Estadio Banorte

is the first MLS team to maintain clean sheets against Club América in consecutive Champions Cup matches

is 5W-1L-4D all-time in the Champions Cup

is outscoring opponents 9-1 in Champions Cup and 24-5 across all competitions this season

recorded its fifth shutout in six Champions Cup matches this season

is unbeaten in 12 of its first 13 matches this season across all competitions

is 8W-1L-4D across all competitions this season (MLS, Concacaf Champions Cup)

is 4W-1L-2D on the road across all competitions this season

Cristian Espinoza

recorded his second CCC assist of the season

is tied for team lead with eight goal contributions across all competitions (also, Sam Surridge)

Hany Mukhtar

scored his first CCC goal of the season

earned Concacaf Champions Cup Player of the Match honors

Andy Najar led Nashville SC with 96.7% passing accuracy (minimum 29 passes)

Brian Schwake

is 8W-0L-3D in tournament play (CCC, U.S. Open Cup) for Nashville SC

recorded his fifth shutout in six CCC matches this season

made a Nashville SC career-high nine saves

Box score:

Nashville SC (3W-0L-3D in Concacaf Champions Cup) vs. Club América (2W-1L-3D in Concacaf Champions Cup)

April 14, 2026 - Estadio Banorte

Final score:

NSH: 1

AME: 0

Scoring Summary:

NSH: Hany Mukhtar (A: Cristian Espinoza) 51'

Discipline:

NSH: Patrick Yazbek (Caution) 63'

NSH: Brian Schwake (Caution) 90' + 2

Lineups:

NSH starters: Brian Schwake; Reed Baker-Whiting (Dan Lovitz 57'), Maxwell Woledzi, Jeisson Palacios (Jack Maher 77'), Andy Najar; Patrick Yazbek (Bryan Acosta 71'), Alex Muyl (Matthew Corcoran 70'), Eddi Tagseth; Cristian Espinoza, Hany Mukhtar (C), Warren Madrigal (Ahmed Qasem 71')

Substitutes: Joe Willis, Xavier Valdez, Shak Mohammed, Woobens Pacius, Thomas Williams, Josh Bauer

AME starters: Rodolfo Cota; Israel Reyes, Sebastian Caceres, Cristian Borja, Ramón Juárez (Isaias Violante 54'); Jonathan Dos Santos (C) (Alan Cervantes 68'), Brian Rodriguez, Raphael Veiga; Alex Zendejas (Miguel Vazquez 80'), Erick Sánchez (Vinicius Lima 69'), Patricio Salas (Raul Zuniga 69')

Substitutes: Fernando Tapia, Kevin Alvarez, Nestor Araujo, Aaron Mejia, Alexis Gutierrez, Thiago Espinosa, Diego Arriaga

Match officials:

Referee: Walter Lopez

AR1: Keytzel Corrales

AR2: Raymundo Feliz

4TH: Cristhofer Corado

VAR: Tatiana Guzman

AVAR: Selvin Brown

Weather: 67 degrees and partly cloudy

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Major League Soccer Stories from April 15, 2026


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