Early mistake costs Nashville SC 1-0 loss to Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field

The Nashville SC defense has made the pass 1,000 times. But on a breezy night in Chicago at Soldier Field where its attack drove minimal pressure towards goal, one mistake costed Nashville the game.

Center back Jack Maher's passing error in the 34th minute led to Chicago Fire FC's Fabian Herbers scoring the lone goal Saturday, enough for the Fire (6-7-8, 26 points) to get their first win against Nashville (11-6-5, 38 points) in five tries since 2020.

As the second-best team in MLS and chasing the Supporters' Shield, a loss to 13th-place Chicago felt like favorable points squandered, even on the road.

How the goal happened

Hebers spied Maher as the defender scanned the field in his defensive third to ignite a build-out. Once Maher locked in on teammate Sean Davis to dish the ball to, Hebers sat on Davis' hip and jumped the pass, played a give-and-go to midfielder Maren Haile-Selassie on his way into the penalty box and slipped a shot past Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis to give the Fire the lead.

The score was Herbers' fourth goal of the season and Chicago's first against Nashville since August 8, 2021.

"I thought it was in keeping with the way a number of players went about the game in the first period," Nashville coach Gary Smith said of Maher's pass. "There were some uncharacteristic giveaways … that one (was just) the most notable because it won the game."

Nashville's harmless attack

Hebers gave Chicago its only shot on goal in the match. Meanwhile, despite recording 18 total shots, Nashville didn't have any on target in the first period and just two on target at the final whistle.

Reigning MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar began the game on the bench after tweaking his ankle in training on Thursday. Winger Fafa Picault returned to the starting lineup, following a monthlong call-up to the Haitian National Team for the Concacaf Gold Cup. Picault started in Mukhtar's place as a second striker next to Teal Bunbury.

But Mukhtar prevented Nashville from ending up with a goose egg in the shots-on-goal category.

Mukhtar entered the game at the start of the second half. He took aim at goal in the 56th and 72nd minute. The first was Mukhtar's free kick towards the top left corner, which Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady stretched and punched out of danger. The second pinged off the post. Nashville would muster just two shots after that.

"We got ourselves in some really nice areas and squandered some really good opportunities to build some more pressure. It looked like everything that we did was just forced," Smith said. "There was no confidence and composure in our play today, which I've just said to the guys, 'I don't quite understand.'

"We've been in a good place, we've trained terrifically well. There's never a problem with the way the guys go about their workload in the game and that wasn't a problem. But in terms of actually making a difference to get on the scoresheet or even to get ourselves in a position to build a winning game, we were a long way off of what we're capable of."

The Supporters' Shield race

Fortunately for Nashville, the New England Revolution (10-4-7, 37 points) also lost on Saturday, falling 2-1 to the New York Red Bulls, meaning Nashville has retained possession of second place in the Eastern Conference.

However, top Western Conference seed and 2023 expansion team St. Louis City FC (12-7-2, 38 points) tied Nashville for second in the Supporters' Shield standings with a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC.

For stories about Nashville SC or Soccer in Tennessee, contact Drake Hills at DHills@gannett.com. Follow Drake on Twitter at @LiveLifeDrake. Connect with Drake on Instagram at @drakehillssoccer and on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC loses 1-0 to Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field on July 8