10-man D.C. United can't hold off Nashville SC comeback in 2-2 draw: Match report

D.C. United are on a five-match unbeaten run in MLS, but there wasn't much celebrating Saturday night after a 2-2 draw at Nashville SC.

Louis Munteanu made it four goals in three matches, and Lucas Bartlett followed up shortly thereafter to double United's edge. However, a second-half red card for Silvan Hefti opened the door to a late Nashville comeback, with Warren Madrigal's brace sending D.C. home with just a single point.

Hoping to build on two straight wins, United nearly got a very early gift from one of the club's most popular ex-players, Andy Nájar, but Jackson Hopkins' choice to shoot rather than find the open Munteanu was compounded by the effort going right at goalkeeper Brian Schwake.

The visitors went closer in the 10th minute, with Kye Rowles getting a free header at the near post from João Peglow's corner, only to direct a good chance over the bar.

An energetic start from both sides saw an unconventional look at one end for Alex Muyl followed by a long-range hit from Matti Peltola that drew a sharp save from Schwake. More notably, Jack Maher's 22nd-minute lunging challenge on Hopkins inside the box seemed to be a potential penalty for United, but referee Joshua Encarnación — after a check from VAR — was not sent to the monitor.

The no-call left the Black-and-Red frustrated, but they wouldn't have to wait long for a vibe shift. Play moved from left to right in the 25th minute, with the ball coming to Silvan Hefti in plenty of space. The Swiss fullback had time to measure his back-post cross, and delivered a dime for Munteanu to head into the bottom corner.

Six days after turning set piece situations into a goal and a penalty kick, United repeated the trick, doubling their lead just four minutes later.

Keisuke Kurokawa's inswinging corner found Bartlett ghosting away from his marker in the goalmouth, powering a header down past Schwake. Encarnación initially waved the goal off as the near-side assistant referee flagged Jared Stroud for being offside, but after a minute at the VAR monitor overturned the decision.

Nashville responded by pinning D.C. back for long spells, and Sean Johnson had to stand strong to deny good chances from Cristian Espinoza and Alex Muyl in the final minutes of the half.

Hefti was booked in first-half stoppage time, with Encarnación deeming Ahmed Qasem's robust shoulder-to-shoulder challenge fair and doling out a yellow card as Hefti's fall tripped the Swedish winger. From the resulting free kick, Mukhtar's curling effort went beyond Johnson's reach only to bounce off the crossbar.

United started the second half comfortably enough, but seemed to have conceded a first on the hour mark. Espinoza's curling set piece was inch-perfect for the sliding Jeisson Palacios to guide over the line, but VAR intervened as the center back was caught on replay clearly stepping offside.

It was an alarm bell for United, and Madrigal's entry as Encarnación's announcement of that call would eventually spark the kind of late drama that has happened nearly every time the Black-and-Red have visited Music City.

Nashville were suddenly upping the pace, and Madrigal's first major action ended with the visitors going down to 10 men in the 74th minute. The Costa Rica forward's attempted flick towards Qasem came a split-second too early for Hefti, who could only barge into Madrigal and pick up his second yellow card.

Within two minutes, Nashville had taken advantage. Nájar's lob into the box found Matthew Corcoran, whose volley after juggling lacked power but did contain the element of surprise. Johnson seemed in two minds about whether the effort was a shot or cross, eventually only tipping the ball into Madrigal's path for an easy tap-in.

United got a boost in the form of Tai Baribo returning to action, with the club's leading scorer subbing on late, but the win still slipped away before full time.

A squandered chance to get clear a minute earlier came with a steep cost, as Nashville's ability to possess and flood United's defensive third with yellow shirts produced an equalizer. Nájar, capping off a superb second half, finished the move with an exquisite curling ball to Madrigal, whose half-volley found the bottom corner.

Nashville made a concerted push to take the full three points, and were inches from doing so as Espinoza's venomous shot deflected off Kurokawa before looping against the bar in the game's final seconds.

United (4-4-4) will have little time to shake off a frustrating ending, as they host the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, May 13. Kickoff at Audi Field is scheduled for 7:30 ET.

Box score — MLS regular season (game 12)
5/9/2026

Nashville SC 2 (Madrigal 76, 89_
D.C. United 2 (Munteanu 25, Bartlett 29)

Lineups:
Nashville (433): Brian Schwake; Andy Nájar, Jeisson Palacios (Maxwell Woledzi 79), Jack Maher, Daniel Lovitz (Reed Baker-Whiting 88); Matthew Corcoran, Bryan Acosta (Charles-Emile Brunet 62), Alex Muyl (Warren Madrigal 62); Cristian Espinoza, Hany Mukhtar (C), Ahmed Qasem (Woobens Pacius 88)

DCU (442): Sean Johnson; Silvan Hefti, Lucas Bartlett (C), Kye Rowles, Keisuke Kurokawa; Jared Stroud (Aaron Herrera 67), Matti Peltola, Brandon Servania, João Peglow; Jackson Hopkins (Nikola Markovic 77), Louis Munteanu (Tai Baribo 84)

Bookings:
Nashville - Mukhtar 32, Acosta 55, Palacios 72
DCU - Hefti 48+, Hefti 74 (sent off)

Referee: Joshua Encarnación
Weather: Clear, 66°
Attendance: 28,384