Hany Mukhtar scored the lone goal late in the first half and Nashville SC held on for 1-0 win over the visiting Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night.

Goalkeeper Joe Willis had two saves for Nashville SC while posting his fifth shutout of the campaign.

It marked the second time this season that Nashville registered a 1-0 win over the Sounders. The other occasion was the season-opening match in Seattle on Feb. 27.

Nashville (8-6-6, 30 points), which improved to 3-1-4 at home this season, bounced back from Saturday’s horrific 4-1 road loss to Charlotte FC.

Seattle (8-9-2, 26 points) played without All-Star Raul Ruidiaz (hamstring) for the fifth time in the past six matches.

Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei also was out due to health and safety protocols, so Stefan Cleveland received the start and made three saves.

Nashville had a 12-9 edge in shots and put five on target to Seattle’s two.

The sequence for Nashville’s goal began when Randall Leal stole the ball deep in the Seattle end and booted a long pass upfield.

C.J. Sapong won the race for the ball and then sent a centering pass to Mukhtar, and the All-Star sent a right-footed shot into the left corner for his 11th goal of the season.

Seattle had three solid opportunities to tie the match in a 17-minute span of the second half.

In the 58th minute, Danny Leyva was open, but his hard right-footed shot sailed wide left of the net.

Ten minutes later, Nouhou Tolo fired a left-footed shot that hit a defender, and Willis stuck up his right hand to slightly deflect it. The ball caromed off the post and back into the field of play.

Tolo delivered a stellar pass to a breaking Will Bruin in the 75th minute, but the latter’s right-footed shot was just left of the net.

Nashville had a chance for a goal in the 26th minute when Sean Davis booted a left-footed shot to the left of Cleveland. But Cristian Roldan was standing at the goal line and prevented the ball from going in, and Sapong’s rebound attempt was also stymied.

–Field Level Media