Nashville SC is the best team in MLS this season and now it has the trophy to prove it. A 2-0 win at CF Montréal on Saturday clinched the 2026 Supporters' Shield, the first in club history.

The Shield goes to the team with the most points over the regular season. Nashville has 70 points from 31 games, 15 more than Vancouver and Inter Miami with only three games left on its schedule.

The two club leaders scored the goals. Sam Surridge put Nashville ahead in the 51st minute when he followed up after his first header was saved. Captain Hany Mukhtar made it 2-0 in the 76th minute, pouncing on a Montréal giveaway and sliding the ball low into the net.

A record within reach

Nashville can still pass the MLS points record of 74 that Inter Miami set in 2024.

The club leads the league in wins with 21, fewest goals allowed with 23 and goal difference at plus-43. Surridge has 18 goals, Mukhtar has 17 and offseason signing Cristian Espinoza has 14 assists.

Nashville is also the only MLS team still unbeaten at home this year. It tied the league records for home wins with 14 and for consecutive home wins with 10.

A big step for the club

"It's a huge step forward for the club and for the city and the connection that we have with the supporters," head coach BJ Callaghan said. "That's the name of the trophy."

Nashville joined MLS in 2020 and won its first trophy with the U.S. Open Cup in 2025. Callaghan is the first coach since Oscar Pareja in 2016 to win the Open Cup and the Supporters' Shield within two years.

The Shield brings home-field advantage throughout the MLS Cup playoffs and a place in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup. The loss knocked Montréal out of playoff contention.

"We know that we've got more work to do," Callaghan said.