SOCCER: Sam Surridge scores brace as Nashville SC handles Charlotte FC

Sam Surridge came off the bench to score a brace in the second half of Nashville SC's 4-2 win over visiting Charlotte FC on Saturday.

Nashville (7-1-1, 22 points) is on a three-match winning streak in MLS play and sits in first place in the Eastern Conference.

Between the MLS regular season and their run to the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-finals, Nashville SC has lost only one of 15 matches (10-1-4) in all competitions this season.

Morrison and Pep Biel scored for Charlotte FC (4-4-2, 14 points), who are 1-3-0 in their last four regular-season matches. Two of those losses were to Nashville SC, who also earned a 2-1 victory in Charlotte on April 11.

Surridge missed Nashville's previous match due to a hamstring injury and only entered Saturday's action as a halftime substitute. The forward looked to be fully fit in scoring his eighth and ninth goals of the season to move into a tie atop the MLS scoring leaderboard.

Hany Mukhtar and Ahmed Qasem each scored within the opening 25 minutes of a dominant first half for Nashville SC. The home side held 61% of the possession, a 9-2 edge in total shots and a 5-1 edge in shots on target in the opening 45 minutes.

Charlotte FC's first shot on target salvaged an otherwise miserable first half for the visitors. In the 42nd minute, Ashley Westwood's free kick found Morrison at the near post, who dove forward with a header to knock the ball home.

After replacing Warren Madrigal at halftime, it took Surridge only 15 minutes to strike. Mukhtar intentionally avoided an Andy Najar pass to let the ball get to Surridge, who buried the shot.

Biel's team-leading fifth goal narrowed Charlotte's deficit in the 68th minute. Nashville's defenders left Biel with too much space outside the box, and the midfielder capitalized by firing a terrific shot under the bar.

Before Charlotte could gather more momentum, Surridge scored again in the 74th minute. A corner kick bounced back to Mukhtar in the box, and Mukhtar's shot was redirected by Surridge into the net.

Charlotte FC defender Harry Toffolo left in the 35th minute with an apparent hamstring injury.

-Field Level Media/Reuters