There wasn’t much of a Supporters’ Shield race in Major League Soccer in 2026: Nashville SC was always going to win, given the Tennessee side's dominance throughout the season.
On Saturday, the Coyotes clinched the title in historic fashion with a 2-0 win over CF Montréal, leaning on goals from Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar to bring them to 70 points after 31 regular-season games.
With the win and the title clinch, Nashville secures the title with three games left in the regular season and can rest its top talents as it prepares for a hopeful long run in the 2026 MLS Cup playoffs.
Beyond the feat, Nashville has another within reach—Inter Miami’s all-time regular-season points record. Nashville are averaging 2.26 points per game, and are on pace to eclipse Miami’s 2024 campaign of 74 points and 2.18 points per game. They could yet reach 79 overall.
Should they break the single-season points record, it would mark the third time in six years that a team has done so, with Miami’s 2024 season surpassing the 2021 New England Revolution.
Nashville Adds to Trophy Collection
Nashville SC’s rise under former U.S. men’s national team interim manager B.J. Callaghan has been swift. Last season, they became the first professional team in Tennessee history to win a trophy by lifting the U.S. Open Cup, led by star scorers Mukhtar and Surridge.
This season, after picking up Cristian Espinoza from the San Jose Earthquakes in the offseason and getting improved performances from Brian Schwake between the sticks, they’ve taken massive steps forward—including earning Schwake his first USMNT call in the recent September-October international window.
Now that they've secured the Supporters’ Shield, alongside last year’s U.S. Open Cup, Nashville can turn their attention to the holy grail of domestic soccer, MLS Cup later this fall, where they will hold home advantage all the way through as the highest-ranked team.
The win also clinched Nashville a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup for next season, and they become the second MLS team after St. Louis CITY SC did so through a U.S. Open Cup win. CF Montréal were denied a berth following surprise Canadian Championship loss to CPL side Forge FC.
Can Nashville do the Double?
Nashville’s dominance will now be tested in the MLS Cup playoffs. While Callaghan’s men have cruised through much of the campaign, the intensity and fragility of the playoffs could be more fickle than their regular season success.
No MLS team has won the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup since Toronto FC did so in their treble-winning year of 2017, when they also lifted the Canadian Championship’s Voyageurs’ Cup. While the Tennessee side won’t have a triple in sight, securing a double would be a historic mark and would come just one year after winning the U.S. Open Cup.
The MLS Cup playoffs begin Nov. 18 with the Wild Card matches, which will determine Nashville’s opponent for the first-round best-of-three series, leading up to MLS Cup on Dec. 15, hosted by the highest-remaining seed in the Supporters’ Shield standings.
MLS Supporters’ Shield: Every Winner in MLS History
- 1996 – Tampa Bay Mutiny
- 1997 – D.C. United
- 1998 – Los Angeles Galaxy
- 1999 – D.C. United
- 2000 – Kansas City Wizards
- 2001 – Miami Fusion
- 2002 – Los Angeles Galaxy
- 2003 – Chicago Fire
- 2004 – Columbus Crew
- 2005 – San Jose Earthquakes
- 2006 – D.C. United
- 2007 – D.C. United
- 2008 – Columbus Crew
- 2009 – Columbus Crew
- 2010 – Los Angeles Galaxy
- 2011 – Los Angeles Galaxy
- 2012 – San Jose Earthquakes
- 2013 – New York Red Bulls
- 2014 – Seattle Sounders FC
- 2015 – New York Red Bulls
- 2016 – FC Dallas
- 2017 – Toronto FC
- 2018 – New York Red Bulls
- 2019 – Los Angeles FC
- 2020 – Philadelphia Union
- 2021 – New England Revolution
- 2022 – Los Angeles FC
- 2023 – FC Cincinnati
- 2024 – Inter Miami CF
- 2025 – Philadelphia Union
- 2026 – Nashville SC
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