Marking its first Lamar Hunt US Open Cup appearance as a Major League Soccer club, Nashville SC scored three unanswered goals to erase a 2-0 second half deficit to eliminate Atlanta United, 3-2, at GEODIS Park in extra time on Wednesday night.
Second half goals from Nashville midfielder Hany Muhktar and second half substitute CJ Sapong provided the team much-needed offensive momentum, which carried into extra time.
After a goal from former LA Galaxy II forward Ethan Zubak in the 94th minute, Nashville claimed its first lead of the game and, later, came away victorious to maintain its undefeated record in all competitions at their new home stadium. In fact, with the comeback win, Nashville remains undefeated at home in the team’s Open Cup history (5-0-1, 0-1 PKs).
The squad started off slow as Atlanta’s Thiago Almada and Luiz Araújo each executed off shaky defense from centerback Walker Zimmerman, giving Atlanta a commanding 2-0 lead at half.
Nashville, however, regrouped in the second half as Atlanta’s Alan Franco was yellow carded off a foul on Aké Arnaud Loba allowing Muhktar to convert on a right corner penalty kick to slice Atlanta’s lead, 2-1, in the 50th minute.
Throughout the game, both sides found themselves in a frenzy as missed calls resulted in game changing opportunities.
Seeking to tie in the 78th minute, Muhktar passed to Zimmerman, who found the net off a header. The goal, however, was called back due to a controversial offside call on Zimmerman.
The tying goal did come in stoppage time, though, as Sapong provided a header to the top right corner.
After a 2-2 score at the end of regulation, the game continued with two 15-minute extra time sessions.
Not wasting any time, Nashville scored in the 93rd minute with a through ball from Muhktar to Zubak, who avoided the recovering defenders and fired a left footed shot into the far post to take the lead.
From there, Atlanta was provided several opportunities to score but due to impressive play from Nashville SC goalkeeper Joe Willis, Nashville successfully held on to defeat the reigning US Open Cup champions, ending the club’s six-game winning streak in the tournament dating back to 2019.
Overall, Muhktar stood out as the player of the game as he came away with one goal, one assist, three shots and seven duels won in his 112 minutes.
After the thrilling comeback, Nashville SC will now advance to the Round of 16 in its first US Open Cup run since joining the MLS in February of 2020. Advancing to Round 5 matches the club’s deepest run in the tournament after reaching that same round in it’s augural cup run in 2018 as a member of the USL.
The game marked just the 18th time in the tournament’s Modern Era that a team came back to win (in regulation or in extra time) after trailing by two goals. In fact, combined with Tuesday’s comeback win by Sporting Kansas City over FC Dallas, it is the first time in the Modern Era that two teams from the same round won games after overcoming a two-goal deficit.
Nashville’s next opponent will be announce on Thursday night when the USSF conducts the draw for the Round of 16 which is scheduled to take place the week of May 24-25.
