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USL Nashville SC

A Group Effort: Pickens, R?os Attribute Success to Team-Centered Mentality

October 24, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Nashville SC News Release


NASHVILLE - Nashville SC players Matt Pickens and Daniel Ríos had more than just a win to celebrate on Saturday night. Each earned regular season recognition for their 2019 performances; Pickens clinched the Golden Glove award for the first time in his professional career while Ríos became the first player in the league to have back-to-back 20-goal seasons. Both Pickens and Ríos put in an exceptional amount of individual effort into their 2019 performances, but they along with head coach Gary Smith made it clear that a team-centered approach and mentality is what makes the difference.

"I think when we discuss what a back line or a group looks like that has conceded such few goals, the best group in the league, you forget about the work that goes on in front of the back line," Smith explained. "You can have the best defenders in the world, but if you haven't got good screens and a real disciplined approach when they get in front, you are screwed."

Like Smith, Pickens says the team's defensive strategy starts from the top with offensive players such as Ríos and Ropapa Mensah and Lebo Moloto putting in extra effort to win and keep the ball in the attacking third. During the season, Nashville SC conceded less than a quarter of shots it faced at 23%. For reference, Western Conference leader Phoenix Rising FC has conceded 25.7% of shots faced.

Pickens was in goal for 14 of Nashville's 16 total clean sheets. Only two teams faced fewer shots than Nashville during the regular season, and the Boys in Gold allowed the fewest number of goals this year. The team's defensive talent was highly regarded with ten of the team's 15 USL Championship Team of the Week performances coming from Nashville's defenders and goalkeeper. Pickens was a clear standout between the posts during the regular season, but was quick to give credit to the other 10 players in front of him on the pitch each match.

"For me, it means more for the team collectively. It's not an award for me," Pickens said while sitting next to Ríos in the team's post-match press conference last Saturday. He then pointed to his teammate and continued. "This guy [Daniel Ríos] works his tail off defensively as well. So it's not just me, it's these guys. It's a team award and that's how I look at it. Congrats to us on having a very good regular season, but we're in it for trophies. That's where our mentality is at. We're happy where we're at. We want to keep this thing going. Everybody's on board; everybody's doing their part and that's really nice to see."

For a player with unmatched goal-scoring ability, Ríos is frequently praised for the work he does off of the ball. The forward echoed Pickens' sentiment, noting that what he did defensively wasn't a conditional part of the role, but instead was his responsibility while on the field as a striker.

"I know that the last three games, I had at least one chance to score a goal," explained Ríos. "But at the end of the game when I walked into the locker room, I felt great because I have other jobs. It's not only my job to score goals. The team needs me to defend or whatever else I need to do."

Nashville SC begins its journey to the USL Championship title this Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. CT at First Tennessee Park, presented by Nissan. The team's first-round opponent will be determined in the playoff round on Wednesday, Oct. 23.

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