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Nashville SC ends disappointing MLS season with 3-0 win over Chicago Fire
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- Nashville SC ends disappointing MLS season with 3-0 win over Chicago Fire
With little besides pride to play for, Nashville SC ended its worst-ever MLS season on a good note.
Nashville (9-16-9, 36 points) beat the Chicago Fire on Saturday 3-0 at Soldier Field in its final game of 2024. Alex Muyl , Sam Surridge and Jacob Shaffelburg all found the net in the second half to lift Nashville to a season sweep of Chicago.
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Nashville had been eliminated from playoff contention two weeks ago and will watch the entire postseason at home for the first time in club history. It finished 25th out of 29 teams in the Supporters' Shield standings and 13th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference — four points behind Atlanta United , which claimed the final playoff spot.
"You can look at it as, there's nothing to play for, or there's a lot to play for," coach B.J. Callaghan said. "We talked about that as a group. The first thing that came out of 'what are we playing for?' was three points. We want to build and continue to build a winning culture, and that was first and foremost."
Alex Muyl finishes season strong
Muyl got Nashville's scoring going in the 54th minute when he dribbled into the penalty box from the left side and uncorked a shot that deflected off a Chicago defender and into the net. It was his fourth goal in the past eight games.
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The midfielder wrapped up his fifth season with Nashville third on the team in goals (five) and goal contributions (seven), trailing Surridge and Hany Muktar in both categories. Muyl was the only Nashville player to appear in all 34 games, doing so for the first time in his career. He also achieved a career high in starts (27) and minutes (2,307) in his ninth MLS season.
"Everything you see is earned and built by Alex," Callaghan said. "It starts with his work ethic. He's a player that's honest on both sides of the ball. He has a tremendous ability to take information in and apply it immediately. He's a player who thrives on his defensive work, and now he's really spent time developing his offense and understanding areas in the box, areas around the box where he can be effective."
Surridge's goal, meanwhile, gave him 15 across all competitions, making him the highest non-Mukhtar scorer in Nashville's five seasons as an MLS club.
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Oct 19, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Nashville SC defender Julian Gaines (29) battles Chicago Fire FC forward Chris Mueller (8) for control of a ball during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Talia Sprague-Imagn Images
Elliot Panicco , Lukas MacNaughton make returns
Goalkeeper Elliot Panicco hadn't appeared for Nashville since giving up two goals and being pulled at halftime of a 3-1 loss to Inter Miami on April 20, with Joe Willis playing every minute since then. Against Chicago (7-18-9, 30 points), Panicco got the start and made six saves to keep the shutout.
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Panicco wasn't the only notable player to feature for Nashville after a six-month absence, as Lukas MacNaughton checked into the game in stoppage time. The defender was a regular starter early in the season but hadn't played since injuring his left leg against Inter Miami.
Nashville heads into first offseason under BJ Callaghan
Callaghan, who went 3-6-2 after officially being introduced as Nashville's coach in July, doesn't plan on getting much rest just because the season is over. He said players will have a week off before resuming training, and also plans on having an "evaluation period" beginning next week.
"We're not happy with the way the whole season went," he said. "We know this is an opportunity for us to improve. We're already going to start doing our work in preparation for 2025."
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Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC ends MLS season with win over Chicago Fire
