| Nashville SC 5-0 Atlético Ottawa (7-0 agg.) 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup Round 1 (Leg 2) GEODIS Park |
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Atlético Ottawa were left singing the blues in Music City after a 5-0 loss to Nashville SC ended their inaugural Concacaf Champions Cup campaign.
Down 2-0 on aggregate heading into the second leg, Atleti Ottawa knew they would need to do something special in order to advance at GEODIS Park.
But instead, Canadians once again haunted the capital club on Tuesday night. Mississauga's Jordan Knight scored his first professional goal, while former Forge FC striker Woobens Pacius tallied for a second consecutive game against Atleti. Alex Muyl, Jack Maher and Ahmed Qasem also scored for the Coyotes.
"I'm never gonna put excuses, I think it's a good learning for us," said Atlético Ottawa manager Diego Mejía. "My players give us the opportunity to live this incredible experience as a staff, as a club. It's our first match outside Canada. So it's incredible to have the opportunity to compete in this kind of tournaments."
Atlético Ottawa made three changes to their leg one starting lineup, handing full debuts to Erling Myklebust up top and Emiliano Garcia at wing-back -- while slotting Loïc Cloutier into the back three. The hosts, meanwhile, made just one change, giving 20-year-old Reed Baker-Whiting his club debut.
Myklebust went to work early, winning a corner kick in the sixth minute, following a promising rush forward down the left flank. Atleti, however, tried to be a little too clever, going short and wasting the chance.
In the inverse of the first leg, it was Nashville who dictated the play for most of the start of the match, holding onto the ball well and moving it between the lines.
In the 22nd minute, the man who opened the scoring in the first leg, Pacius, nearly did so again, hit the post on a headed effort. But Alex Muyl was on hand to tap home the rebound, and give Nashville a 1-0 lead on the night, and 3-0 on aggregate.
Atleti looked to respond, creating a couple of decent chances down the flanks, including when Ballou Tabla found Myklebust in the box after a clever run in the 35th minute. The Norwegian striker's contested shot, however, was well over the net.
A minute later, having pressed high up the pitch, Atleti were undone by a ball over the top. Matthew Concoran spun in midfield and played Knight in down the right flank. Latching onto the ball, the Mississauga, Ont. native smashed it through the hands of Garissone Innocent to give Nashville a 2-0 lead.
Atlético Ottawa broke into the box a few times toward the end of the half, including a clever passing sequence down the right in stoppage time. But they failed to test Brian Schwake in the Nashville goal.
The visitors made one change at the half, bringing on Daniel Aguilar in exchange for Gabriel Antinoro.
The Coyotes, however, stayed on the hunt -- and in the 55th minute, they had a third. Qasem's initial shot from the left flank was spilled into the path of Pacius by Innocent, who this time made no mistake against his Haiti national teammate.
Three minutes later, Diego Mejía made two more changes, bringing in Sergei Kozlovskiy and Kamron Habibullah. But it couldn't stop the bleeding, as Nashville captain Josh Maher headed a free-kick across goal, nestling in the bottom corner to make it 4-0.
Following the goal, another young Canadian saw their professional debut for Nashville, as 22-year-old MLS SuperDraft pick Charles-Emile Brunet of Montréal, Québec, checked into the game. Atleti then handed a debut of their own to Marko Stojadinovic. Tim Arnaud, at just 18, would then make his Atleti debut in the 86th minute.
Not before Nashville added insult to injury, however, with a fifth goal in the 83rd minute. A pair of clever backheels played Qasem into the box, who rounded Innocent before tapping the ball into the gaping net.
Nashville advance to take on old foe Inter Miami in the round of 16, while for Atlético Ottawa, they have left with plenty of different lessons to learn before they begin their title defence as the CPL season kicks off on April 4.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Nashville SC: Schwake; Bauer, Williams, Maher, Baker-Whiting (Najar 77'); Corcoran (Brunet 64'), Acosta (Yazbek 78'), Muyl; Qasem, Pacius, Knight (Mohammed 64')
Atlético Ottawa: Innocent; Duhaney-Walker, Abatneh, Cloutier (Kozlovskiy 58'); Antinoro (Aguilar 46'), Castro, Aparicio, Garcia (Arnaud 86'); Tabla, Villal (Habibullah 59'); Myklebust (Stojadinovic 72')
Goals
21' — Alex Muyl (Nashville SC)
36' -- Jordan Knight (Nashville SC)
55' -- Woobens Pacius (Nashville SC)
63' -- Jack Maher (Nashville SC)
83' -- Ahmed Qasem (Nashville SC)
Discipline
None
CPLSoccer.com Player of the Match
Bryan Acosta, Nashville SC
The Honduran international was excellent in the centre of the park for Nashville, picking up an assist on their fourth goal on one of three key passes. He completed 60 of 65 passes, pulling the strings in midfield.
What’s next?
Nashville advance to the round of 16, where they take on Inter Miami. Atlético Ottawa now look ahead to the CPL season's opening fixture, meeting Forge FC at Hamilton Stadium on Saturday, April 4.
Watch all 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup and CPL matches live in Canada on OneSoccer.