NEW YORK (Monday, May 18, 2026) – Nashville SC forward Hany Mukhtar was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob ULTRA for Matchday 14 of the 2026 MLS season.
Mukhtar scored all three of Nashville SC’s goals in the club’s 3-2 victory against LAFC on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire (Watch Highlights From His Performance Here). The hat trick was the fifth of Mukhtar’s regular-season career, becoming the seventh player in league history to accomplish this feat. All five of Mukhtar’s hat tricks have come at home, joining Josef MartÃnez as the only players in MLS history with five or more hat tricks in home games. With his three goals, Mukhtar eclipsed 100 goals for Nashville SC across all competitions. Two of his goals in the match came from direct free kicks, making him just the eighth player since MLS began tracking the statistic in 2003 to accomplish this feat.
Thanks to Mukhtar’s performance, Nashville now sits first in the Supporters’ Shield standings with 30 points through 13 matches (9-1-3 record). Nashville currently ranks second in goal differential (plus-19), tied for first in goals allowed (10), and tied for first in wins (nine). With their win over LAFC, Nashville is the only club in the 2026 regular season not to lose a game at home, sporting a 5-0-1 record at GEODIS Park.
Just 13 minutes into the match, Mukhtar opened the scoring through a terrific passing combination with Warren Madrigal that saw the 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP find the bottom corner from close range (Watch Here). Eight minutes later, Nashville doubled the advantage as Mukhtar lifted a direct free kick up and over the wall and into the back of the net from 24.9 yards out (Watch Here). After LAFC pulled a goal back in the first half, Mukhtar completed his hat trick with another direct free kick – this time from 24.7 yards away in the 59th minute (Watch Here).
This is the ninth time that Mukhtar has been named MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob ULTRA and it is his first honor since Matchday 19 of 2023. His nine honors are tied for the eighth-most in MLS history and are the second-most among active players (Lionel Messi, 14).
Mukhtar and Nashville SC will play their final game before the FIFA World Cup 2026 break on Saturday, May 23 when they host New York City FC at GEODIS Park (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS on Apple TV).
The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob ULTRA is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an Instagram fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
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