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Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar (10) celebrates scoring the first goal against Austin FC during the first half at Q2 Stadium. Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Nashville SC makes Tennessee sports history with U.S. Open Cup win

By Alyssa Clang | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 10:35 PM ET

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is something special. It's the most historic tournament in American soccer, but it's more than that: It's one of the most historic tournaments in world soccer, period. The Cup has a 110-year history stretching back to the days of pre-World War I factory teams. Only England's FA Cup and Scotland's Scottish Cup can truly challenge it for longevity and consistency.

When a tournament reaches its 110th anniversary, it tends to run out of firsts. But Wednesday, it managed to deliver a few big ones.

Nashville SC beat Austin FC, 2-1, to win the 2025 edition of the U.S. Open Cup. It's Nashville's first-ever championship, and it's the state of Tennessee's first-ever professional sports championship, too — the NFL's Tennessee Titans, the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies nor the NHL's Nashville Predators have ever managed to bring a major trophy home.

The game was an even affair, with Austin and Nashville trading periods of dominance. Austin owned the opening 15 minutes but was unable to capitalize on its success; Nashville grew into the game and scored a gorgeous team goal to open the scoring a few minutes later.

MLS Golden Boot candidate Sam Surridge laid a curving ball out to Canadian international Jacob Shaffelburg, who chested it into the path of former MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar. Mukhtar steadied himself, struck the ball on the volley and sent it flying past Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver.

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From there, though, Austin struck back. Forward Myrto Uzuni latched onto a careless Nashville pass and sprinted behind its defensive line, forcing goalkeeper Brian Schwake to challenge him directly in the box. Uzuni went sprawling, and the decision from referee Tori Penso was immediate: a penalty.

Nashville coach B. J. Callaghan had ruffled some feathers by starting Schwake in the first place. He's the club's second-best goalkeeper by some distance, and while he started every game in Nashville's Cup campaign this year, he only did so to protect lead goalkeeper Joe Willis from fixture congestion. When Nashville made the final, fans clamored for Callaghan to drop Schwake for Willis — but Callaghan stuck by his man. As Uzuni readied himself to take his penalty, that decision was thrown into question.

Not for long, though. Schwake read Uzuni's kick perfectly and pulled off an accomplished save to keep the score at 1-0.

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Uzuni did eventually break through Schwake, scoring Austin's equalizer on the stroke of halftime, but Schwake held firm in the second half to keep his team in the game. A late penalty in Nashville's favor restored its advantage; Austin pushed, but it couldn't find the equalizer it needed to get back in the game.

From new faces like Schwake to beloved club legends like Surridge and Mukhtar, Nashville's victory was a true team effort.

"I think the Open Cup has shone a light on how we are a real team from top to bottom," Callaghan said. "We have a lot of players who contributed to this run, big moments in this run. And that’s the beauty of the tournament, it’s that you’re going to call on everybody."

Nashville — and the state of Tennessee — finally has the professional sports championship it deserves, but there may be more to come. The club has secured qualification for the 2025 MLS Playoffs and is expected to challenge for the MLS Cup. It currently sits in sixth place in the hyper-competitive Eastern Conference.

Nashville will continue its MLS journey on Saturday at CF Montreal. It will close out its regular season on Oct. 18 at home against Inter Miami.

Alyssa Clang

Alyssa is a Boston-born Californian with a passion for global sport. She can yell about misplaced soccer passes in five languages and rattle off the turns of Silverstone in her sleep. You can find her dormant Twitter account at @alyssaclang, but honestly, you’re probably better off finding her here

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