Sam Surridge Hat Trick Keeps Nashville SC Unbeaten in 5-0 Rout of Orlando City

Nashville SC handed out Sam Surridge bobbleheads on Saturday, and then Surridge spent the evening making the souvenir look like a bargain. Three goals, one penalty, two counterattack finishes and a lot of very happy people heading home from GEODIS Park with a little plastic striker under their arm.

Nashville SC beat Orlando City SC 5-0, with Surridge's hat trick sandwiched between goals from Cristian Espinoza and Warren Madrigal. Nashville improved to 4-1-0 with 13 points and stayed unbeaten, while Orlando dropped to 1-0-4 with three points.

Espinoza Sets the Tone

Orlando had about five minutes of peace. Then Andy Nájar fed Espinoza on the right, and from a difficult angle and long range, Espinoza struck a shot into the top right corner. The AP said it came down off the underside of the crossbar on its way in, which is the kind of goal that makes a goalkeeper stare at the sky. Nashville said it was Espinoza's 125th career MLS goal contribution, counting the regular season and playoffs.

Orlando's best moment of the half came in the 14th minute, when Duncan McGuire ran onto a Martín Ojeda through ball and forced a save from Brian Schwake. It turned out to be Orlando's only shot on target all night.

In the 26th minute, Jeisson Palacios was fouled in the box by Nolan Miller, who was booked. Surridge stepped up two minutes later and buried the penalty into the top left corner. Nashville said it was the club's first penalty kick of the season. Maxime Crépeau then had to stop a Surridge header and a Patrick Yazbek shot in a two-minute span, and it was 2-0 at the break.

Surridge Goes Full Bobblehead

Orlando showed a flicker early in the second half, with Iago Teodoro shooting wide off a corner in the 52nd minute. Three minutes later, Nashville broke the other way and Surridge finished with his left foot into the bottom left corner to make it 3-0. Griffin Dorsey hit the left post for Orlando in the 58th minute, which summed up the visitors' luck.

The hat trick came in the 67th. On another fast break, Espinoza found Surridge on the left side of the box, and Surridge drilled his right-footed shot high into the middle of the goal. Three goals, three different finishes. Head coach B.J. Callaghan gave him the rest of the night off in the 78th minute, sending on Woobens Pacius.

Orlando's attack never found a rhythm. Captain Martín Ojeda tried a direct free kick from long range on the right in the 65th minute and a shot from distance in the 88th, and both missed. Nashville also had a scare when Reed Baker-Whiting, making his first MLS start for the club per Nashville, went off injured in the 78th minute.

Madrigal, who had come on for Espinoza in the 68th, added the fifth in the 80th minute after two of his shots were blocked a moment earlier. Third time lucky: he found the top left corner with his left foot. Nashville said it was his second goal of the season.

Who Ran the Show

Sam Surridge scored three times on five shots, four of them on target. The AP and the club both said it was his third multi-goal game this season, and his seven goals lead MLS. Nashville said the hat trick drew him level with Hany Mukhtar for the most in club regular-season history. "We want that relentless mindset," Surridge said, per MLSsoccer.com. "We want to give teams no hope when we go ahead."

Cristian Espinoza scored and set up the hat-trick goal. According to the club, he now has a goal contribution in three straight matches.

Brian Schwake made one save and, per Nashville, has 11 wins and three draws without a loss in his first 14 starts in goal for the club. The AP said it was his third shutout of the season.

Andy Nájar set up the opener and, per the club, has assists in back-to-back MLS matches.

Daniel Lovitz came off the bench in the 78th minute for what Nashville said was his 300th career MLS regular-season appearance.

The Turning Point

Honestly, the 5th minute. Espinoza's opener came so early that Orlando never got to play the game they planned, and the penalty 23 minutes later put the hosts in complete control. If there was a second swing, it was Surridge's goal in the 55th minute. Orlando had started the second half with a bit of energy, and that goal ended the debate.

Stats That Matter

• Shots on target: Nashville 8, Orlando 1.
• Shots: Nashville took 19, Orlando 9.
• Possession: Nashville held 56.6 percent.
• Saves: Crépeau made 3, Schwake 1.
• Clearances: Nashville made 29, which tells you Orlando did get the ball into dangerous areas. They just never did anything with it.

What It Means

The history book got a few new entries. Nashville said this was the first time in club history it has sat at four wins, no losses and one draw in MLS play, and the first time it has gone unbeaten through its first nine matches across all competitions. The club also said it tied its largest margin of victory, and listed itself first in the Eastern Conference. MLSsoccer.com noted it was Nashville's third straight league win, coming three days after the club knocked Inter Miami out of the Concacaf Champions Cup.

"Every guy in this team is important. Every role that is played is important," Callaghan said. "I can't be more proud of those guys stepping on the field and continuing to push."

For Orlando, this is getting ugly. Counting from the season's results, it was their second 5-0 defeat in three matches, after a loss by the same score at New York City FC on March 7. They have now lost four of five and visit LAFC on April 4. Nashville visit Chicago Fire FC the same day.

The Last Word

Surridge summed up the evening better than any of us can. "It's amazing for everyone to come and obviously support the bobblehead and support me and the team," he said. "I just want more nights like this." At this rate, Nashville might need to order more bobbleheads.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by MLSsoccer.com; additional details from the AP and NashvilleSC.com.