Nashville SC pulled off one of its wildest wins of the season Saturday night at GEODIS Park, scoring twice in stoppage time to complete a 3-2 comeback over the Columbus Crew.
For most of the night, Nashville looked like it might finally see its unbeaten home record come to an end. Instead, the Boys in Gold found another way to win.
Nashville opened the scoring in the 27th minute through Hany Mukhtar. Dan Lovitz delivered a ball into the box that Mukhtar controlled before firing a half volley into the upper corner. It was another impressive finish from the former MLS MVP and gave Nashville a 1-0 advantage heading toward halftime.
The first half largely belonged to Nashville. Columbus was able to control stretches of possession through its midfield, but the Crew struggled to turn that possession into dangerous opportunities. Nashville’s defense kept the visitors relatively quiet and protected the lead through the opening 45 minutes.
That changed after the break.
Despite entering the match without several of its biggest attacking threats, Columbus found an equalizer through Mohamed Farsi. Malte Amundsen played the ball into Farsi on the right side of the penalty area, where he finished past Nashville goalkeeper Brian Schwake to make it 1-1.
Ten minutes later, Columbus completed the turnaround.
Andre Gomes scored from a free kick to put the Crew ahead 2-1 and suddenly Nashville was chasing the game at home.
The deficit put Nashville in an unfamiliar position at GEODIS Park. The club had not trailed at home since May, and as the match moved into stoppage time, its unbeaten home run appeared to be only minutes away from ending.
Then everything changed.
In the third minute of stoppage time, Nashville earned a corner and Mukhtar sent the ball into the box. Reed Baker-Whiting rose above the defense and headed it home, tying the match at 2-2 and sending GEODIS Park into a frenzy.
At that point, escaping with a draw would have been impressive enough.
Nashville wanted all three points.
Moments after the equalizer, the Boys in Gold broke forward again. Andy Najar found himself with space and finished into the bottom corner to complete the comeback.
The stadium erupted as Nashville’s players raced across the field celebrating and yellow smoke filled the stands. In a matter of minutes, Nashville had gone from the brink of its first home loss of the season to another victory.
The result continued what has become a historic season for Nashville SC. Through 21 matches, the club has collected 49 points, the best total through that stage of a season in MLS history. Nashville also remains the league’s only unbeaten team at home and now holds a nine point advantage in the Supporters’ Shield race.
Saturday also marked an important return for Patrick Yazbek, who made his first start since May after missing nearly four months.
Before the injury, Yazbek had established himself as one of Nashville’s most important midfielders. His ability to cover ground, carry the ball forward and connect Nashville’s attack and defense had become a major part of the club’s success.
Against Columbus, he quickly looked comfortable again.
Yazbek covered plenty of ground in midfield, stayed involved throughout the match and helped Nashville regain another piece of the midfield combination that had been so effective earlier in the season alongside Eddi Tagseth and Matthew Corcoran.
It was another memorable night in a season that continues to produce them.
Nashville will now have a week away from MLS action before returning to GEODIS Park on August 29 for a rivalry matchup against FC Cincinnati.
