Nashville SC beats Austin FC 2-1 to win 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title

AUSTIN, Texas – Deep in the heart of Texas, a Tennessee team has captured the state’s first-ever professional sports title. With a 2-1 win Wednesday night, Nashville SC of MLS were crowned Champions of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the 110th edition of U.S. Soccer’s Club Championship.

The achievement marks the first trophy in club, city, and state history for a professional sports franchise from Tennessee. The hard-fought victory over fellow MLS side Austin FC – in front of their boisterous crowd of 20,738 at Q2 Stadium – was the first win for an away team in the Open Cup Final since 2023.

Led by goal scorers Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge, Wednesday night’s emphatic performance concludes a remarkable run for a balanced and focused Nashville side. Head coach B.J. Callaghan’s group stacked wins against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, Orlando City SC, D.C. United in the Quarterfinals, and Philadelphia Union in the Semis en route to the club’s second appearance in a tournament Final.

Though Austin FC fell short, the club’s tournament run was a testament to a young squad that displayed grit and resilience throughout. The team, led by first-year head coach Nico Estévez, scored five goals in the tournament while trailing — including one in tonight’s Final — and made history with two of the latest goals ever scored for the club.

As champions of the U.S. Open Cup, Nashville SC also secures a berth in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup. The MLS Eastern Conference club becomes the seventh team confirmed to compete in the region’s premier men’s club competition, which runs from February to May 2026.

2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final Recap
Wednesday, October 1
Austin FC (MLS) 1-2 Nashville SC (MLS)

The start of this intense, highly anticipated Final halted soon after kickoff once Nashville SC defender Andy Najar hit the pitch in the second minute of action. Though he returned three minutes later, Najar and the rest of the Nashville defense had their hands full early locking down the flanks where Austin FC sent ambitious long balls over the top looking for wingers Owen Wolff and Osman Bukari.

Early, the Nashville attack ran through captain Hany Mukhtar, and moments after he nearly connected with center back Jack Maher on a direct free kick, the 2023 Landon Donovan MLS MVP opened the scoring in the 17th minute. The play began with Sam Surridge who, with poise and space, lofted a ball with his right foot into the box. Midfielder Jacob Shaffelburg brought the ball down expertly with his chest and played it first time into the path of Mukhtar. From about 10 yards out, Mukhtar fired a volley off the bounce and drove it into the far corner of the net past Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver’s desperate dive.

Moments later, Austin FC created a golden chance to equalize. Nashville goalkeeper Brian Schwake was called for a foul inside the box on a 1v1 situation, and the home side was awarded a penalty kick. Forward Myrto Uzuni took the foul on the play and also took the kick for Austin in the 21st minute. The Albanian delivered a low, right-footed strike heading toward the right corner, but Schwake read the attempt beautifully. The goalkeeper’s decisive dive amended the foul and preserved his team’s 1-0 lead.

Resilient as ever, the Austin attack gave the Boys in Gold a handful with 10 first-half shots, five on target. The Verde & Black forced the visitors to make back-to-back stops in the 33rd and 35th minutes. First, Schwake came up with a reactive save on a confident shot on target from Wolff. With help from his teammates, Schwake extended his leg to stop Bukari from finding a window just two minutes later. Austin nearly got there again with a long cross in the 39th minute. Defender Guilherme Biro ran toward the far post to connect with a long cross, but he knocked his header wide.

Reminiscent of their semifinal contest against Minnesota United, Austin would score in the closing moments of the first half. Midfielder Ilie Sánchez pushed a tough through ball to Uzuni making a run, and after being denied on the PK earlier in the half he slotted the ball home with a left-footed finish inside the box. It was the third goal of the tournament for Uzuni and leveled the match 1-1 heading into the second half.

The tie was short-lived, and Nashville SC pulled ahead in the 60th minute. After a foul called in the penalty area on Austin, the visitors were awarded a penalty kick on the same end of the pitch as Schwake’s massive PK save in the first half. Surridge stepped up to take the kick for Nashville, and the tournament’s Golden Boot leader delivered a low right-footed strike down the middle. The finish brought the English striker’s Open Cup total to six, the first time six goals have been scored by a player in the tournament since 2019.

Knowing how Austin reached this moment the match felt far from over, even with the home team trailing. While the Verde & Black looked to recreate some of the late magic they found in the final moments of their Semifinal win, Austin’s magic eventually ran out. It was Nashville SC that would secure a historic result that sparked a jubilant celebration with hundreds of fans that made the trek to support their Music City side.

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Match Report
Match: Austin FC vs, Nashville SC
Date: October 1, 2025
Competition: U.S. Open Cup Final
Venue: Q2 Stadium; Austin, Texas 
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET 
Weather: 93 degrees, sunny 

Scoring Summary:               1          2          F            
NSH                                        1          1          2
ATX                                         1          0          1

NSH – Hany Mukhtar (Jacob Shaffelburg) 17^th minute
ATX – Myrto Uzuni (Ilie Sánchez) 45+1
NSH – Sam Surridge (penalty) 60

Lineups:  

NSH: 99- Brian Schwake; 2- Daniel Lovitz, 5-Jack Maher, 4-Jeison Palacios (25-Walker Zimmerman, 68), 31-Andy Najar (22-Josh Bauer, 68); 8-Patrick Yazbek (7-Gastón Brugman, 80), 19-Alex Muyl, 20-Edvard Tagseth; 14-Jacob Shaffelburg (6-Bryan Acosta, 80), 10-Hany Mukhtar (Capt.) (12-Teal Bunbury, 90+5), 9-Sam Surridge

Substitutes not used: 11-Tyler Boyd, 13-Xavier Valdez
Head coach: B.J. Callaghan

ATX: 1-Brad Stuver; 3-Mikkel Desler (17-Jon Gallagher, 84), 18-Julio Cascante, 4-Brendan Hines-Ike, 29-Guilherme Biro; 11-Osman Bukari, 6-Ilie Sanchez (Capt.) (7-Jáder Obrian, 85), 8-Dani Pereira, 33-Owen Wolff; 21-Diego Rubio (19-CJ Fodrey, 77), 10-Myrto Uzuni

Substitutes not used: 5-Oleksandr Svatok, 14-Besard Sabovic, 20-Nicolás Dubersarsky, 30-Stefan Cleveland
Head coach: Nico Estévez

Stats Summary:        ATX     NSH 
Shots:                         16        7
Shots on Goal:            8          2
Saves:                         0          7
Corner Kicks:              6          4
Fouls:                         10        15
Offside:                       1          2

Misconduct Summary:   
ATX — Dani Pereira (Caution) 30^th minute
ATX — Ilie Sanchez (Caution) 52
ATX – Nico Estevez (Caution) 60
ATX — Julio Cascante (Caution) 61
NSH — Jack Maher (Caution) 66
NSH — Josh Bauer (Caution) 85
ATX — Owen Wolff (Caution) 90+3
NSH — Sam Surridge (Caution) 90+3
NSH — Sam Surridge (Ejection, Second Caution) 90+6