AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Nashville SC got goals from four different players to back rookie Brian Schwake, ending Austin FC’s eight-match unbeaten streak with a 4-1 victory on Saturday night.
Reed Baker-Whiting was in the right place in the 31st minute to knock in a Patrick Yazbek shot that hit the post and Nashville (19-3-6) took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
Elias Saad scored in the 67th minute after Brad Stuver saved but couldn’t corral a shot by Cristian Espinoza for a two-goal advantage.
Brandon Vazquez used assists from Facundo Torres and Guilherme Biro in the 76th minute to score his second goal and cut it to 2-1.
But Abdul Shakur Mohammed found the net unassisted in the 88th minute and then assisted on a goal by Hany Mukhtar in the first minute of stoppage time.
Mukhtar’s goal was his 14th of the season. All four of Mohammed’s netters have come in 18 appearances this season. Saad added his first goal in his 11th league appearances and Baker-Whiting notched his second in his first season with the club after failing to score in 61 matches with the Seattle Sounders.
Schwake totaled five saves and the 25-year-old has allowed only 22 goals through his first 27 MLS starts.
Stuver saved seven shots for Austin (7-11-10).
Nashville has already clinched a playoff spot and entered with a 14-point lead in the Eastern Conference and a 10-point advantage in the race for the Supporters’ Shield.
Austin falls to 4-4-6 at home, while Nashville ups its road record to 6-3-5.
Nashville has gone 7-1-3 since the start of August and was coming off 3-0 and 2-0 home wins over the Chicago Fire and Toronto FC, respectively.
Austin went 3-0-5 during its unbeaten run.
Up next
Nashville: Hosts Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday.
Austin: At Los Angeles FC on Wednesday.
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