COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Hany Mukhtar scored four minutes into second-half stoppage time and Brian Schwake earned his second clean sheet in his fourth MLS start as Nashville SC beat the Columbus Crew 1-0 on Saturday night.
Mukhtar subbed in to begin the second half for Nashville (3-0-1) before scoring for the second time this season. It was his 84th goal in 183 career appearances with the club.
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The 34-year-old Schwake saved two shots for the shutout.
Cristian Espinoza collected his second assist of the season on Mukhtar’s goal and defender Andy Nájar notched his first. Espinoza, in his first season with Nashville, had 70 assists in 218 appearances for the San Jose Earthquakes dating to 2019. Nájar had a career-high 10 assists with Nashville last season, his first with the club.
Patrick Schulte totaled three saves in goal for the Crew (0-2-2), who were also shut out at home last week in a scoreless draw with the Chicago Fire.
Nashville had three players receive first-half yellow cards — Jack Maher, Ahmed Qasem and Woobens Pacius. Sam Surridge and Mukhtar replaced Qasem and Pacius after halftime.
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Twenty-year-old Taha Habroune had his first goal of the season and the second of his career waived off for Nashville in the 18th minute when Max Arfsten was caught offside after a video review.
Nashville played to a 2-2 draw in Columbus last season and beat the Crew 3-0 at home.
The all-time series is tied 4-4-4.
Up next
Nashville: Hosts Orlando City on Saturday.
Columbus: Visits Toronto FC on Saturday.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
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