Nashville SC advanced to their first appearance in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final on the back of a three-goal performance from Sam Surridge in their 3-1 Semifinal victory over the Philadelphia Union. Nashville is the first Tennessee-based team in the tournament’s 110-year history to reach the Final. Surridge now leads all players in the tournament with five goals.
“Tonight, we brought the intensity,” Surridge said. “It was probably too much for them in the end, and yeah, I think that’s our benchmark for the rest of the season.”
The match was a slow-paced defensive battle in the first half, featuring various offensive miscues from Nashville and a nearly silent showing from Philadelphia’s offense.
Nashville squandered opportunities in the first, 10th and 12th minutes, primarily due to mishandled passes on the interior of Philadelphia’s defense.
Philadelphia on the other hand was completely shut out, not just on the scoreboard but in the box score. They were unable to muster even a single shot attempt in the first half.
“In the first half, our compactness was really, really good,” said head coach BJ Callaghan. “I thought the ability to win second balls and back press with Eddie and Patrick and the two forwards, it was hard for them to get a lot of the combinations they were going for.”
Nashville defender Jeisson Palacios played a huge role on the home team’s defense in the first half. His first notable play came in the 15th minute when he was able to hinder one of Philadelphia’s few promising attacks.
“A huge performance,” Callaghan said about Palacios’ match. “At the same time, this is the kind of performances that we expect out of him now. It’s just a great job.”
Despite not getting a single shot off in the first half, Philadelphia finished the game with nine total shots, five of which were on target. They also commanded possession, controlling the ball for 72% of the second half. Still, they were unable to score again.
Surridge finished his spectacular night soaring through the air and tapping in a long pass from Daniel Lovitz, capping off the hat trick in the 84th minute.With that third goal, he became just the second player in the tournament’s Modern Era (1995-present) to score a hat trick in the Semifinals. Surridge joins Diego Rossi and his TheCup.us Player of the Round performance with Los Angeles FC in 2018.
Philadelphia unsuccessfully attempted to score as the home crowd rose to its feet in the final minutes and ultimately celebrated Nashville’s 3-1 victory.
“We want to lift up a major trophy, and the US Open Cup is one of them,” said Surridge. “I think it’s special to win any trophy when you’ve got the teammates around you, hopefully we just get the job done.”
Nashville is headed to their first US Open Cup Final. They won’t know whether their opponent will be Minnesota or Austin until they finish their match on Wednesday night. The winner of that match will host the Final on Oct. 1.