NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sam Surridge scored two goals off the bench, Hany Mukhtar and Ahmed Qasem each added a goal, and Nashville SC beat Charlotte FC 4-2 on Saturday night.
Surridge has nine goals this season, tied with Dallas’ Petar Musa for most in MLS.
Charlotte FC defender and U.S. Men’s National Team player Tim Ream missed his second-straight game for the club.
Nashville (7-1-1), which won 2-1 at Charlotte on April 11, remains atop the Eastern Conference with 22 points.
Mukhtar finished from the center of the box off assists from Ahmed Qasem and Warren Madrigal in the 19th minute. Qasem added a goal of his own in the 25th minute, scoring from the right side of the box off assists from Cristian Espinoza and Andy Najar to give Nashville a 2-0 lead.
Morrison Agyemang scored with a header off a cross from Ashley Westwood, his second goal in as many matches, in the 42nd minute to make it 2-1 at halftime.
Surridge, making his first appearance since April 11, entered at halftime and extended Nashville’s lead in the 60th minute with a shot from outside the box off assists from Andy Najar and Jeisson Palacios. Charlotte responded in the 68th minute as Pep Biel scored from distance off assists from Kerwin Vargas and David Schnegg to pull within one.
Surridge sealed the match in the 74th minute, finishing from the center of the box off assists from Mukhtar and Maxwell Woledzi.
Nashville controlled the match throughout, finishing with a 14-7 advantage in shots and a 7-2 edge in shots on goal while holding 59.3% possession.
Kristijan Kahlina made three saves for Charlotte (4-4-2).
