Nashville clinches spot in postseason before finishing off 3-1 victory over Dynamo

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Hany Mukhtar scored early in the first half, Sam Surridge scored early in the second and Nashville SC clinched a postseason berths before finishing off a 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday.

Nashville (16-11-5) earned a spot in the postseason for the fifth time in six seasons when New York City FC beat the New York Red Bulls 3-2 before Nashville's match concluded.

Mukhtar scored unassisted in the 2nd minute to give Nashville the lead. It was the 16th goal of the season for the 2022 Golden Boot Award winner.

Houston (9-14-9) was forced to play a man down from the 9th minute on after Erik Sviatchenko received a red card for a foul on Mukhtar. Júnior Urso scored his first goal of the season — unassisted in the 40th minute to pull the Dynamo even at halftime.

Surridge found the net for the 22nd time just three minutes into the second half for a 2-1 lead. Defender Daniel Lovitz collected his career-high seventh assist and rookie midfielder Edvard Tagseth notched his fourth.

Defender Andy Nájar scored his second goal of the campaign — unassisted two minutes later for a two-goal advantage.

Joe Willis stopped two shots in goal for Nashville.

Jonathan Bond saved three shots for the Dynamo, who trail FC Dallas by a point for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Nashville travels to play CF Montreal on Saturday. The Dynamo host San Diego FC on Saturday.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer