Nashville SC loses fifth game at home, 2-1, to Houston Dynamo FC

Nashville SC dropped its final regular-season home game against a weaker foe on Sunday, losing to the Houston Dynamo, 2-1, at Geodis Park.

Coming into the game, Nashville had clinched its third consecutive MLS Cup Playoff berth, but that celebratory theme subsided midway through the first half. Houston's Sebastian Ferreira scored from the penalty spot, following a controversial no-call being reversed in the 26th minute. The center forward doubled his tally in the 30th minute. Nashville and U.S. men's national team center back Walker Zimmerman scored his career-high fourth goal of the season in the 96th minute.

Nashville (12-10-11, 47 points) fell in its home finale against the third-worst team in the league, allowing control over its own destiny for home-field advantage in the playoffs to slip through its hands, given the LA Galaxy (13-12-8, 47 points) tied its game, making way for Nashville to take sole possession of fourth place in the Western Conference playoff picture. Sunday was deflating, but with one game left against No. 1 overall seed Los Angeles FC next week, Nashville's hopes of returning to Geodis Park in the postseason still has a pinch of favor.

"This one stings a lot," left back Dan Lovitz said. "We understand what it means to be in control of our own destiny, how we dropped the ball tonight, what there is left to play for, certainly. But more than anything, we know what playoffs represent in this league and we know that there's a lot to play for and a lot to be positive about."

Here are a few takeaways from Nashville's 2-1 loss to Houston:

More: How Nashville SC turned Geodis Park summer woes into winning ways in Year 1.

Questionable penalty call

Nashville's bad graces Sunday can be narrowed down to a penalty kick called in the 26th minute against Zimmerman for contradicting reasons.

When Houston lobbed the ball to forward Corey Baird inside the penalty box, Zimmerman clipped Baird ever so slightly when clearing the ball out of danger. Initially, play went on. But when the ball went out of bounds, VAR official Alex Chilowicz virtually signaled from the review booth to main referee Guido Gonzales Jr. to whistle for a penalty kick.

According to the MLS Video Review Twitter account, Zimmerman tripped Baird inside the box. However, the league's game feed on mlssoccer.com said Zimmerman, "conceded a handball in the penalty area."

"The penalty I felt was very, very soft," said Nashville coach Gary Smith. "I'd have to look at a clear, concise reply. But up until that point, I'm not even sure they had an effort a goal or an effort in general."

Houston had neither.

Bad play vs. bad teams

Nashville has just one win against the bottom three teams in the West, a 2-1 victory against Sporting Kansas City on April 9. Houston, Sporting Kansas City and the San Jose Earthquakes are the three worst teams in the West. Together, they've outscored Nashville, 9-5.

Playing for home field

Despite Nashville clinching a playoff berth before the game started, when LAFC beat the Portland Timbers, it squandered the leverage on the LA Galaxy to secure a guaranteed home-field advantage in the postseason next week, the final game of the regular season.

But home-field advantage is still in the cards for Nashville, who must beat LAFC next Sunday. Nashville will then need the Galaxy to lose or draw its final game at Houston.

For stories about Nashville SC or Soccer in Tennessee, contact Drake Hills at DHills@gannett.com. Follow Drake on Twitter at @LiveLifeDrake. Connect with Drake on Instagram at @drakehillssoccer and on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC loses 2-1 to Houston Dynamo FC ta Geodis Park