Nashville SC continued its run in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup last night against Orlando City SC in the round of 16 with a surprising win. The Boys in Gold snapped a five-match losing streak to Orlando, in which Orlando shut them out all five times. Nashville also ended Orlando’s 12-match unbeaten streak, while extending its own unbeaten stretch to seven games (5W-0L-2D). They now move on to host DC United in the quarterfinals of the East bracket.
The Boys in Gold played the match without several of its big stars on the pitch. Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge weren’t even on the bench, replaced in the starting XI by Teal Bunbury and Brian Acosta. The remainder of the lineup consisted mostly of backups and MLS Next Pro stars called up from Huntsville City FC. Orlando, on the other hand, brought their usual lineup of star-caliber players that had helped them go undefeated in their last 12 matches. On paper, it looked like Orlando might have the upper hand before this one even kicked off.
Orlando opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a cracker of a shot from Marco Pašalić. Against the early run of play, Pašalić cut inside on his left foot and no one in gold stepped up to close him down. The blast from outside the box put Nashville behind early on the road.
The Boys in Gold struck back quickly, equalizing in the 23rd minute with an Orlando own goal from Rodrigo Schlegel. Ahmed Qasem weaved his way through the box, sending in a centering pass near the endline intended for Bunbury that bounced off Schlegel’s leg and into the net instead.
Nashville wasn’t done. Just 17 minutes later, Qasem struck from the top of the box with a well-placed shot just inside of Orlando’s left post. Much like Orlando’s first goal, no one stepped forward to close Qasem down in space, allowing him a good look at the goal for his third goal of the season in all competitions.
The second half saw both sides add more goals in an effort to reach the quarterfinals of the Cup. Orlando struck back first, evening the score in the 58th minute off a good finish from Ramiro Enrique. Nashville’s Chris Applewhite stepped up to put pressure on the ball, and youngster Matthew Corcoran was too late to fill the space. Enrique slid behind the defense and blasted a shot past on rushing goalkeeper Brian Schwake.
Nashville responded through possibly the least likely candidate. In the 79th minute, left back and MLS Next Pro Wyatt Meyer took a nice back pass from Patrick Yazbeck at the top of the key and slotted it home in the corner. This was Meyer’s second straight Cup start for the Boys in Gold, and his biggest contribution yet.
Both teams brought on subs over the remainder of the game, with Nashville adding Jack Maher and adjusting to five across the backline. After seven minutes of stoppage time, Nashville escaped Orlando with a huge win and a trip back home to protect The Castle in the quarterfinals.
Nashville SC’s gritty 3-2 triumph over Orlando in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup proves this team can defy expectations, even without stars like Mukhtar and Surridge. With unheralded players like Meyer stepping up, the Boys in Gold are building momentum. As they prepare to host DC United in the quarterfinals, fans at GEODIS Park dare to dream of a deep Cup run. Can Nashville keep surprising, or will the pressure of the spotlight finally crack their resolve? Only time will tell.
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