Nashville SC moved into the Round of 16 in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup after defeating Chattanooga Red Wolves SC 1-0 at GEODIS Park. The lone goal, by Josh Bauer, was enough to qualify and keep the MLS team unbeaten at home in the competition's history. The match also featured the first career start of goalkeeper Brian Schwake, who notched the shutout, and historic first career start of Chris Applewhite, the club's first homegrown player to start an official game — at age 17 years and 256 days.
Good win, no panache, but with intent
Nashville showed command from the early minutes despite the narrow margin. The first real chance was as early as the seventh minute, when Teal Bunbury hit the crossbar. The goal came in the 18th minute, when Jonathan Pérez ran into the box down the right flank. It looked at first as if the chance had passed when the winger lost his footing when cutting inside, but the ball still came to the edge of the box and found Bauer, who was in a run. The right back stepped forward and took a firm, precise shot across the face of goal into the bottom right corner.
"I attempted to cut and shoot but slipped," Pérez stated. "Fortunately, the ball came out well for Josh. It was a fantastic shot by Josh. It was just the ideal shot."
Chattanooga tried to take revenge, but was held back by a sound defense. Except for sporadic pressure, the visiting team was unable to threaten menacingly until the second period. Nashville, though, had chances to extend the lead but missed in the passing of the final ball. Head coach BJ Callaghan graded the performance as even: "I thought, overall, we saw good individual performances from a lot of players that fit into what I considered a really good collective performance."
Chattanooga can't rewrite the script
The Red Wolves made it to the fourth round of the US Open Cup after three penalty kick wins, starting their streak all the way back in the first round.
But the trip to GEODIS Park proved to be a tougher test. It was the first official match between the sides, and Nashville asserted its technical advantage early on. Alhassan Alhassan attempted the visitors' first shot in the 64th minute but was right down the middle and lacked the power, and thus, it was an easy save for Schwake.
Even with that single moment of response, Chattanooga was not having very productive plays. In the 81st minute, Alhassan was sent off after he received his second yellow card for a rough foul, ending the possibility of yet another penalty shootout. The team was playing the rest of the match with ten men and was not much of a threat thereafter.
Callaghan also acknowledged the opponent's effort: "In knockout cup games, you have to give Chattanooga credit, the way they were organized, the way they came at the game was great. That made it extremely difficult for us to play and get rhythm. But I think what we took away from tonight is that the depth and the versatility of our team were an asset."
Strong at home
Nashville's home mark in the US Open Cup is solid. The team has won all four home games in the tournament since coming into the tournament. In all, including prior games, the club now sits at nine consecutive wins at GEODIS Park in the US Open Cup, regulation and overtime included.
"I didn't know that," Callaghan laughed when told after the game. "But notice, I've always said this, weeks ago, we're taking the US Open Cup very seriously. It is a chance for this club to be able to bring a trophy home and also a pathway for us to be able to compete against the best in North America."
This current campaign reinforces that commitment. Nashville has seven goals from defenders this season across all competitions, which highlights the team’s collective involvement and use of set pieces. Callaghan also spoke about the group’s mindset: “I think it shows the professionalism, the performances, and the approach that, first, as a club, we’ve adopted and second, the guys on the squad, how seriously they take it.”