Nashville rallies past Orlando 3-2 on MLS Decision Day
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jhonder Cadiz scored in stoppage time and Nashville SC rallied for a 3-2 victory over Orlando City to wrap up the regular season on Sunday.
Orlando had already secured its first MLS playoff appearance, with just one loss in its previous 16 matches. But the Decision Day result landed Orlando (11-4-8) in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Lions will face fifth-place finisher NYCFC in the opening round.
Nashville (8-7-8) will face fellow expansion team Inter Miami in a play-in match.
The Lions went ahead early on Daryl Dike's goal in the fourth minute. It was his eighth goal of the season, and fourth goal in four games.
Nashville tied it up on Dabiel Lovitz's first goal of the season in the 20th minute.
Nani put Orlando back in front with a free kick in the 61st minute. His goal came after MLS rescinded a red card handed to him on Wednesday during a match against Columbus that would have kept him out of Sunday's match.
Nashville rallied late, tying the game with Hany Mukhtar's goal in the 88th minute before Cadiz's game-winner.
Nashville, which played well at home in the shortened regular season, was unable to participate in the MLS is Back tournament this summer in Florida because of positive COVID-19 cases.
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