A Sam Surridge hat-trick led Nashville SC to a thumping 5-0 win over Orlando City SC, which moved them three points clear at the top of the Eastern Conference in MLS.

Cristian Espinoza got the scoring started within five minutes, but Surridge soon stole the headlines.

He got his first from the penalty spot, before adding two more in the space of 13 minutes in the second half to put Nashville in complete control.

Substitute Warren Madrigal then rounded off the scoring in the 80th minute, with Nashville making it four wins from five to open the 2026 season.

Best start in Club history (6W, 3D)
No. 1 in the Eastern Conference
Outscoring opponents 21-3 in all comps

WE ARE ROLLING IN 2026 pic.twitter.com/1IQOQjtrjg

— Nashville SC (@NashvilleSC) March 22, 2026

Meanwhile, Charlotte FC blew the New York Red Bulls away with a five-star second-half performance as they stormed to a 6-1 win on Saturday.

Dean Smith’s side were already 2-0 up thanks to Idan Toklomati and Kerwin Vargas by the time Gustav Berggren was shown a straight red card for a last-man foul on the opening goalscorer.

Pep Biel scored from the resulting free-kick, with Wilfried Zaha and Archie Goodwin adding to their total before Julian Hall pulled one back, but Goodwin got his second off the bench to complete the rout for Charlotte.

In the West, the Vancouver Whitecaps were knocked out of top spot after a 1-0 defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes.

Having won all four of their matches so far, the Whitecaps struggled to break down the Earthquakes, who got their winner through Beau Leroux on the stroke of half-time.

That opened the door for Los Angeles FC to go top as they continued their unbeaten start with a 0-0 draw against Austin FC. And Hugo Lloris made history, recording a fifth straight shutout to start the season.

And there was major drama in a Texas derby as FC Dallas came from behind to earn a late 4-3 victory over the Houston Dynamo.

After Logan Farrington had fired Dallas into an early 2-0 lead, the Dynamo hit back with three goals in four first-half minutes to turn the tide.

However, an Erik Sviatchenko own goal pulled Dallas level, setting up Petar Musa to snatch the win in the 86th minute.

Data Debrief: Surridge leads the charge

Nashville were on top from the first whistle, and put Orlando under real pressure with 19 shots in total, nine of which were on target.

And Surridge was the leading light for the hosts as he contributed 1.38 expected goals (xG) to Nashville’s total of 3.21, while he created more than double what Orlando managed as a team (0.58 xG from nine attempts).