FC Cincinnati fell to Nashville SC, 2-0, Saturday on Decision Day at TQL Stadium.
The Orange and Blue (12-12-10, 46 points) end the regular season as the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference while Nashville (23-3-8, 77 points) set an all-time MLS record for most points by a club, breaking Inter Miami’s 74-point mark from 2024.
Sam Surridge led Nashville to victory with a second half brace with goals in the 61st and 86th minutes as the visitors strung together their 17th clean sheet of the season.
No. 9 FC Cincinnati will take No. 8 Orlando City SC in the Eastern Conference Wild Card Match for the right to play No. 1 Nashville SC in Round One of the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs. Dates and times will be announced by Major League Soccer this weekend. For more, including ticketing information, visit FCCincinnati.com/Playoffs.
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati finished the season with a 9-5-3 record at TQL Stadium this season.
- Tom Barlow has become the second player in FC Cincinnati history to appear in all 34 MLS Regular Season matches in a season (Álvaro Barreal, 2023).
- Saturday marked the 14th sellout of TQL Stadium this season.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Nashville SC
Date: November 7, 2026
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 25,513 (sellout)
Kickoff: 4:10 p.m. ET
Weather: 53 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 0-0-0
NSH: 0-2-2
CIN – None
NSH – Sam Surridge (Nájar, Yazbek) 61’, Sam Surridge (Yazbek, Bauer) 86’
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Bryan Ramirez, Samuel Gidi, Teenage Hadebe (Miles Robinson 46’), Kyle Smith (Ayoub Jabbari 81’), David Douděra, Obinna Nwobodo (José Martínez 87’), Pavel Bucha (Ender Echenique 66’), Evander (C), Tom Barlow (Kenji Mboma Dem 66’), Kévin Denkey
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Gerardo Valenzuela, Alvas Powell, Tah Brian Anunga
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
NSH: Brian Schwake, Reed Baker-Whiting, Jack Maher, Maxwell Woledzi, Andy Nájar (Josh Bauer 83’), Elias Saad (Alex Muyl 83’), Matthew Corcoran (Bryan Acosta 74’), Patrick Yazbek, Cristian Espinoza (Shakur Mohammed 74’), Hany Mukhtar (C) (Warren Madrigal 90’), Sam Surridge
Substitutes not used: Joe Willis, Daniel Lovitz, Edvard Tagseth, Thomas Williams
Head Coach: B.J. Callaghan
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/NSH
Shots: 15 / 14
Shots on Goal: 5 / 5
Saves: 3 / 5
Corner Kicks: 6 / 2
Fouls: 12 / 6
Offside: 3 / 2
Possession: 48.7 / 51.3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card) 31’
CIN – Evander (Yellow Card) 41’
CIN – Samuel Gidi (Yellow Card) 45’+3
CIN – Kyle Smith (Yellow Card) 65’
CIN – Pavel Bucha (Yellow Card) 88’
NSH – Alex Muyl (Yellow Card) 90’
NSH – Maxwell Woledzi (Yellow Card) 90’+6
OFFICIALS
Referee: Tori Penso
Ast. Referees: Brooke Mayo, Jeffrey Swartzel
Fourth Official: Carlos Rodriguez
VAR: Michael Radchuk
AVAR: Joshua Patlak
