Nashville SC arrived in Mexico City the day before the second leg of its CONCACAF Champions Cup series vs. Club América. It beat América 1-0 on April 14, overcoming the challenges of playing 7,200 feet above sea level to become the first MLS side to ever win at the historic Estadio Azteca.

At 7 a.m., the team flew back to Nashville.As difficult as it is to reach the semifinals of North America's premier club competition, navigating the MLS season at the same time is not for the faint of heart. With an off-day and two days of training after getting back from Mexico, Nashville (6-1-1, 19 points) turned around and beat Atlanta United 2-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on April 18.It had the makings of a trap game — a tired team coming off an emotional, milestone victory could have easily overlooked Atlanta, which came in 12th in the Eastern Conference. Yet Nashville coach B.J.

Callaghan fielded mostly the same players that got the win at Azteca and watched them take apart their Southern rivals in methodical fashion.MORE: Nashville SC vs Tigres UANL dates, times announced for CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals"It took us a little while to get our footing," Callaghan said. "It's been a real grind for the whole team over the last week and 10 days, but credit to the mentality of the group to find a way to win."Atlanta (1-6-1, four points) created a few mildly threatening chances over the first half-hour before Nashville found its flow. It ended up with six shots on goal, holding Atlanta without one, and attacked relentlessly in transition when it found space to do so.Cristian Espinoza got Nashville on the board in the 61st minute, burying his shot into the far corner of the net after Hany Mukhtar shuttled him the ball on the counterattack.

Nashville scored in similar fashion in stoppage time. Mukhtar received the ball after a long clearance from Espinoza, dribbled in space down the middle and passed to Shak Mohammed, who beat Atlanta goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos to seal the win."First, it's how well we're defending the penalty box," Callaghan said. "A lot of those interceptions and turnovers and transitions start with the back line and (goalkeeper Brian Schwake) and the two center midfielders just really digging deep and winning tackles, intercepting, winning duels.

And when there's space out on the field, I think that's one of the areas where we're really strong."Shak Mohammed scores first MLS goalMohammed's goal was his first MLS goal, and it came in his first regular-season appearance for Nashville. The 22-year-old winger from Ghana was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 SuperDraft by Orlando City, and played in four games for the Lions in three seasons before being traded to Nashville in January.Mohammed had an assist in Nashville's 5-0 win over Atletico Ottawa in the Champions Cup first round in February, and scored three goals in his first three games for MLS Next Pro affiliate Huntsville City."Shak's just an incredible person and incredible teammate," Callaghan said.

"He's been training at a really high level. The training ground is where you get your opportunities to play, and when you get your opportunity to play, you gotta make the most of it. That's the story for him."Nashville just finished a run of five matches in 15 days, its second such stretch of the season.

Contributions from players like Mohammed are among the biggest reasons it has gotten through those stretches with only one loss.And NSC soon will begin a third stretch of five in 15, hosting Charlotte FC on April 25 before the first leg of its CCC semifinal series against Tigres UANL three days later."This is a cultural thing that the whole organization has built," Mohammed said. " . . . Our culture is based on winning, and everyone has bought into it."Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on X/Twitter @Jacob_Shames.This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Nashville SC has navigated MLS and CONCACAF Champions Cup