
Sam Surridge scores his 18th goal and Joe Willis earns 9th clean sheet as Nashville beats Toronto
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sam Surridge scored his 18th goal of the season, Joe Willis earned his ninth clean sheet and Nashville beat Toronto FC 1-0 on Saturday night.
Nashville (14-5-5), which won its ninth home game this season, set a franchise record for wins during the regular season, topping 13 set in 2022 and '23.
Nashville is unbeaten in its last six matches against Toronto (5-12-6), outscoring the Canadian side 8-3. Nashville is also undefeated (3-0-0) against Toronto when Surridge scores.
Surridge scored in the 28th minute. Goalkeeper Sean Johnson made a diving save of Hany Mukhtar's left-footed shot outside of the box but it spilled to Surridge for an easy finish.
Surridge became the 10th player in MLS history to score at least 18 goals in his team's first 24 games of a season and the first to do so since Carlos Vela and Josef Martinez in 2019.
The shutout victory marked Willis' 76th career MLS regular season clean sheet and his 101st career MLS regular season win.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
recommended
Item 1 of 1

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Forbes
18 minutes ago
- Forbes
Was MLS Right To Suspend Lionel Messi For Missing The All-Star Game?
HARRISON, NEW JERSEY - JULY 19: Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami looks on during the second half ... More against the New York Red Bulls at Sports Illustrated Stadium on July 19, 2025 in Harrison, New Jersey. (Photo by) Lionel Messi caused a stir in Major League Soccer this week when he failed to appear for the league's annual All-Star game and was suspended for Inter Miami's next league game as a result. Messi and his Inter Miami teammate Jordi Alba were absent for the event, having originally been selected for the MLS All-Star team for a game to face off against counterparts from Mexico's Liga MX. In a press conference on Friday, Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas said the decision for Messi and Alba not to play in the All-Star exhibition match was made by the club. This forced MLS to enforce its rule that any All-Star player who fails to participate in the game 'without prior approval from the league' will be suspended for their team's next match. A statement from MLS, released on Friday evening, read: 'Inter Miami CF's Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi will be unavailable for the club's match against FC Cincinnati on Saturday, July 26, due to their absence at this week's Major League Soccer All-Star Game. 'Per league rules, any player who does not participate in the All-Star game without prior approval from the league is ineligible to compete in their club's next match.' The press conference from Jorge Mas came shortly after, and further stoked the fires of this debate around the All-Star game and Messi's involvement, or lack of. Was Messi Right To Miss The All-Star Game? All-Star games are an American sporting tradition, but sometimes, in soccer, which brings sporting cultures from around the world to US shores, there is confusion around what the game is actually for, who it benefits, and if it is necessary. This is especially the case now that the number of games players are being asked to play is regularly increasing due to participating in domestic football, international football, and the introduction of new, expanded tournaments like FIFA's Club World Cup and the Leagues Cup in MLS and Liga MX. Messi and Miami naturally prioritised the Club World Cup at that time, and MLS will have wanted him to, as the league hoped for a good showing on the international stage. Inter Miami delivered this by reaching the Club World Cup knockout stages. The Club World Cup is a tournament unlike any other, so you could argue there should be a place for such a diverse, competitive global soccer festival in the calendar. When it comes the the All-Star game, and indeed the Leagues Cup, they can feel like unnecessary additional games in the middle of the season. Inter Miami have now prioritised an MLS regular season game, and everything that comes with that, over an All-Star exhibition. What if Messi played in the All-Star game and got injured? That wouldn't have been good for the league either. Ultimately, you can understand why Inter Miami decided Messi and Alba should skip the game, but you can also understand why others in MLS will question why Miami at times appears to view itself and its players as above the rest of the league. But maybe it is also making some important points. CINCINNATI, OHIO - JULY 16: Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF and teammate Jordi Alba #18 enter the ... More pitch for the second half during the MLS match between FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF at TQL Stadium on July 16, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by) Should MLS Have Suspended Messi? This is an easier one to answer. If the rule is in place, then it should be applied. If anything, it was surprising that the decision to suspend Messi and Alba for the game against FC Cincinnati was made so late, which suggests there might have been some doubt that it would be applied, but eventually the right decision was made. Messi is an obvious star of the league and of the sport in the United States, but shouldn't be above it. You can argue whether the rule should exist in the first place, but if it is there, it should be applied. Messi has already been given special treatment by the league in that he has not been made as accessible to the media as other players are, but it is important that the league treat Messi the same way they would any other player in the interests of consistency and fairness. What Will It Mean For The Supporters' Shield Inter Miami's game against FC Cincinnati is an important game in the race for the 2025 Supporters' Shield, which is awarded to the team that finishes top of the overall MLS standings at the end of the regular season. Cincinnati currently sits top of the standings, and was helped by a recent 3-0 home victory against an Inter Miami team that did feature Messi when the teams met just over a week ago. Inter Miami is playing catch-up following the Club World Cup and has several games in hand, and the schedule threw up an immediate chance to get revenge. Cincinnati's own star player, Evander, who did attend the All-Star event, was the standout player in that previous game and scored two of the goals in the 3-0 win. He'll be present, and Messi won't, which means their stars' no-show at the All-Star match puts Inter Miami at a disadvantage in this important regular-season game. Messi's absence from the All-Star game has certainly caused a stir and brought attention that the league might not otherwise have had at this time. Whether this kind of attention around something fairly trivial and very specific to US sports culture is good or bad for the MLS is up for debate. It could be said that Messi and Miami made the right decision for him to miss the All-Star game, and the league made the right decision to suspend him as a result, but now that all of this has played out, maybe the whole idea of a mid-season All-Star game needs to be revisited.


San Francisco Chronicle
38 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Verstappen overtakes Piastri to win sprint race at Belgian GP at start of new Red Bull era in F1
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — Max Verstappen overtook Oscar Piastri and drove '15 qualifying laps' to win the Formula 1 sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday as Red Bull begins a new era without fired team principal Christian Horner. Verstappen surged past Piastri on the straight on the first lap. The Australian was close behind Verstappen for the rest of the 15-lap sprint race but couldn't find a way past the four-time champion. Lando Norris, in the other McLaren, was third after retaking the place from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and catching up to Piastri. Verstappen races 'over the limit' 'You're keeping faster cars behind, so you have to drive over the limit of what you think is possible,' Verstappen said. 'Tire management is out of the window, so that's what's making it really difficult. I'm just doing 15 qualifying laps to try and keep them behind on a track where tire management is important.' It was Verstappen's first race win of any sort since the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in May, and his first in a sprint since the United States Grand Prix last October. Piastri extends his lead over Norris in the standings to nine points from eight. Verstappen is third, 68 points off the lead. Leclerc held on to fourth and it was an impressive result for Haas, with Esteban Ocon fifth and Oliver Bearman seventh. Carlos Sainz, Jr. was sixth for Williams and Isack Hadjar took the final point for Racing Bulls in eighth. McLaren's dilemma Qualifying takes place later Saturday for Sunday's Grand Prix race, and McLaren has a decision to make after losing out to Verstappen and Red Bull in the sprint. Verstappen couldn't match the McLarens for overall pace but he was fastest where it mattered. He opted for a lower-downforce rear wing to maximize top speed at the cost of grip. That helped Verstappen with his first-lap pass for the lead and then helped ensure Piastri was too far back on the straights to line up an overtake of his own into the following corners. 'I didn't have enough straight-line speed,' Piastri admitted, but said the risk of rain on Sunday would make it a gamble to follow Verstappen's example. 'The weather is looking pretty bad for tomorrow, which obviously means you probably don't want to take off too much wing, but I don't really want to repeat the sprint we've just had,' he said. 'We'll have a look, see what we can do.'


Fox Sports
38 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Verstappen overtakes Piastri to win sprint race at Belgian GP at start of new Red Bull era in F1
Associated Press SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — Max Verstappen overtook Oscar Piastri to win the Formula 1 sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday as Red Bull begins a new era without fired team principal Christian Horner. Verstappen surged past Piastri on the straight on the first lap. The Australian was close behind Verstappen for the rest of the 15-lap sprint race but couldn't find a way past the four-time champion. Lando Norris, in the other McLaren, was third after retaking the place from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Piastri extends his lead over Norris in the standings to nine points from eight. Qualifying takes place later Saturday for Sunday's Grand Prix race. ___ AP auto racing: recommended Item 1 of 3