The MLS Supporters' Shield has been packed up ahead of a trip to Canada after Nashville SC failed to emerge with all three points facing the San Jose Earthquakes on Oct. 17.
First-place NSC tied the Earthquakes 1-1 at PayPal Park, extending its wait to be crowned the league's regular-season champion at least another week, when it faces CF Montréal in its next match on Oct. 24. Nashville SC has met San Jose (13-9-8, 48 points) five times dating to 2022, with each match ultimately finishing in a one-all draw.
"There's a level of disappointment that we didn't reach our objective, but I think San Jose was really good tonight and challenged us in a lot of different ways," coach B.J. Callaghan said. "We're going to learn and we'll get better. Get rested,
recovered and look to turn it around next week."
Nashville (20-7-3, 67 points) did clinch first in the Eastern Conference for the first time in club history, sitting 12 points above second-place Inter Miami, which is tied on points in the Supporters' Shield standings with the Vancouver Whitecaps. NSC has also collected the most points through 30 games in MLS history.
Captain Hany Mukhtar continued to put the heat on Miami's Lionel Messi in the race for MLS MVP, scoring for a fifth consecutive match to put Nashville SC ahead in the first half. Mukhtar has recorded 16 goals and eight assists for the league leaders in MLS play, with seven goal contributions throughout Nashville's now six-game winning streak.
"It's really good to play and to be around such talented players like Sam (Surridge) and like Hany," said NSC's Cristian Espinoza, who played for the Earthquakes from 2019 to 2025. "But I always say it's not just Sam and Hany, it's all the team . . . It's the whole team which is shining right now and that's why this team is really special. That's why we are in the position that we are right now."
After heading into halftime with the advantage, Nashville fielded waves of pressure from San Jose, which ultimately mounted to an equalizing goal from Preston Judd in the 70th minute. Nashville SC pushed for a late winner, but a promising trio of chances from substitute Elias Saad each failed to find the net.
"I thought you had to give a lot of credit to San Jose for coming out and putting more pressure on us," Callaghan said of the second half. "But I also thought there were some moments we exploited opportunities, so for us I think (it was) pretty balanced. We had a couple chances to score and it'll be a good opportunity to take a couple of days to look at it and improve it and get ready for Montréal."
After three games in an eight-day span, two of which came on the road, Nashville has a week-long break before traveling north to face Montréal (6-7-17, 25 points), which sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Harrison Campbell can be reached at hcampbell@usatodayco.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @hccamp.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC's wait for MLS Supporters' Shield extended with draw at San Jose
