Nashville SC scored two second-half goals to beat Atletico Ottawa 2-0 on Tuesday in Hamilton, Ontario, during the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup opening round.
The two teams will meet again for the second leg on February 24 in Nashville. The winner will face Inter Miami, the reigning MLS Cup champion, in the round of 16 next month.
Woobens Pacius opened the scoring in the 66th minute, finishing a well-coordinated Nashville SC move down the left side. Josh Bauer, Warren Madrigal, and Alex Muyl played key roles, with Matthew Corcoran delivering the final pass into the box. Pacius found space and struck a 14-yard right-footed shot into the bottom left corner.
The match was sealed in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time when Nashville launched a counterattack. With Ottawa’s goalkeeper out of position, Cristian Espinoza passed the ball across the box to Sam Surridge, who easily tapped it into the empty net.