Surridge, Mukhtar, Zimmerman lead Nashville past Montreal 4-1

Nashville SC forward Sam Surridge, second from right, moves the ball past CF Montreal defender Gabriele Corbo, left, midfielder Victor Wanyama (2) and midfielder Rida Zouhir, right, during the second half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. Nashville SC won 4-1. (George Walker IV, The Associated Press)

Sam Surridge scored twice in the second half to finish off his first career hat trick, Hany Mukhtar had three assists and defender Walker Zimmerman scored for each team as Nashville SC rolled to a 4-1 victory over CF Montreal on Saturday night, snapping a five-match winless streak.

Surridge staked Nashville (2-3-5) to a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute, using an assist from Dru Yearwood to send a right-footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner of the net. It was the third assist for Yearwood in his first season with the club after spending the previous four campaigns with the New York Red Bulls.

Zimmerman gave Nashville a two-goal lead in the 21st minute when he scored for the first time this season -- with an assist from Mukhtar.

Surridge took passes from Mukhtar and Yearwood two minutes into the second half and scored, pushing Nashville's advantage to 3-0.

An own goal by Zimmerman in the 65th minute was the lone score for Montreal (3-4-3).

Surridge completed his hat trick in the 82nd minute. Mukhtar notched his fifth assist of the season on Surridge's fifth goal. Surridge scored twice in six starts and nine appearances last year as a rookie.

Joe Willis totaled four saves for Nashville. Jonathan Sirois saved three shots for Montreal.

Montreal entered play unbeaten in its last three matches before falling to 0-3-2 all time in Nashville.

Nashville travels to play Charlotte FC on Saturday. Montreal returns home to host Inter Miami on Saturday.

This report by The Associated Press was first published on May 4, 2024.