Union earn a crucial point following a scoreless draw against East-leading Nashville SC

The Union had ample opportunities to sink Eastern Conference-leading Nashville SC, but couldn’t a goal in a scoreless draw against a rotated Nashville squad Saturday night at Subaru Park.

The Union (1-7-3, 6 points) outshot Nashville, 16-9, including a 4-2 advantage in shots on target, but were unable to score a decisive goal. The draw keeps the Union at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and puts them one point ahead of Sporting Kansas City for the worst record in Major League Soccer.

Nashville manager and Philly-area native B.J. Callaghan started a rotated lineup, which did not feature injured striker Sam Surridge. Nashville’s other designated players, Hany Mukhtar and Cristian Espinoza, sat on the bench until the 61st minute, neutralizing much of the attacking prowess that has fueled Nashville’s league-leading offense this season.

Nashville (7-1-2, 23 points) was playing its third match in eight days and will travel to Mexico for the second leg of its Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal against Tigres UANL on Tuesday.

Bradley Carnell was forced to make an early change to his lineup, as Japhet Sery Larsen was injured while defending Nashville’s Woobens Pacius down the right wing. Geiner Martínez replaced Sery Larsen at center back in the 15th minute.

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The Union took five shots in the first half, two of which were on target. Jovan Lukic had the Union’s best first half chance in the 11th minute after going through on goal, but his shot was off-target and went over the crossbar.

Cavan Sullivan, who made his second consecutive start in attacking midfield on Saturday, forced Brian Schwake to make his first save of the night off a Union set piece in the 29th minute. Ezekiel Alladoh also forced a first-half save from Schwake in the 38th minute.

Nashville and the Union traded near misses early in the second half. Pacius hit the left post of Andre Blake’s net with a shot in the 52nd minute, and Indiana Vassliev hit the right post with a left-footed blast from outside the 18-yard box on a counter attack in the 53rd.

Callaghan dipped into his bench in the 61st minute, bringing on Mukhtar for Pacius, Espinoza for Shakur Mohammed and Andy Nájar for Josh Bauer. Shortly after, Martínez earned a yellow card for putting his shoulder into Ahmed Qasem in the 64th minute.

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Carnell made another pair of changes in the 69th minute, swapping Sullivan and Vassilev for Agustín Anello and Bruno Damiani.

Anello nearly broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute with a shot from the left side of the 18-yard box, but it hit the right post of Schwake’s net.

Blake saved a Qasem shot off the line in the 74th minute to keep the Union level. Blake finished with two saves to secure his second clean sheet of the season.

The Union had a pair of late chances from Alladoh and Damiani, but both went wayward. Alladoh was unable to launch a shot from a Frankie Westfield cross just outside the six-yard box in the 80th minute, and Damiani had a shot from inside the penalty area soar over the bar in the 85th.

The Union have earned two points from five home matches this season, with both points coming from scoreless draws. Their final opportunity to earn a home win before the MLS schedule breaks for the FIFA World Cup will be against the Columbus Crew on May 16.

The Union will travel to Gillette Stadium to face the New England Revolution on Saturday (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).

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