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USL Nashville SC

Nashville SC Looking to Avoid Lapse against Two-Time Defending Champions in Louisville

July 5, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Nashville SC News Release


NASHVILLE - So far this season, Nashville Soccer Club has outscored Saturday's opponent, Louisville City FC, by five goals. What has made the difference in Nashville's scoring this year?

"Cameron Lancaster," Head Coach Gary Smith said jokingly of his forward that left Louisville for Nashville this offseason.

"No, but I think if you look at the players that we've added to an already very productive group. When I say productive, we've been a very competitive and well-versed group. I think we are starting to see the likes of Cameron [Lancaster], Daniel [Ríos], Ropapa Mensah and Lebo [Moloto], Alan [Winn] when he's been on the field. We've got some very very exciting players. When they're in form, they're really tough to play against. We've had three or four occasions where we've scored multiple goals this year, which is a real move in the right direction from last year where maybe games were a little bit tighter when we were able to win. In general, the players feel, I believe, that there are goals in the game. Maybe last year, they felt slightly differently, and we might have to keep more clean sheets. But what I would say is, that mindset needs to be brought back to the team: clean sheets and being tough and being hard to play against. Otherwise, those become a little bit too tight."

Lancaster spent four seasons with Louisville City FC, winning the USL Cup twice and earning the USL Golden Boot last season with a league-record 25 goals. This will be his first time returning to Louisville since joining Nashville SC, and he's prepared for an emotional return to a place where he had so much success.

"It's exciting," Lancaster said. "It's going to be a new experience for me obviously, but they're a good team. They had a bit of a rocky start to the start of the season, but they're looking good now and it should be a good game."

On Saturday, Nashville will be looking to respond after a tough outing last weekend that saw them fall 1-0 to North Carolina FC. The opening 30 minutes of the match saw North Carolina dominate possession and ultimately score the only goal of the match. Despite Nashville SC's efforts at responding for the rest of the match, the Boys in Gold couldn't find the back of the net.

In order to put together a strong performance in response to last weekend's loss, Smith hopes his side finds the mental toughness that has allowed it to succeed so far this season.

"There's all sorts of different ways of looking at it," Smith said. "Are you mentally tough enough to stick with a really difficult season and a tight season where probably the difference between being in the playoffs and silverware is going to be very slim. I think we've shown a lot of qualities. We've come from behind now when we haven't in the past. We've gone on the road and if I'm right still, we've got the best, if not one of the best records on the road. That's something to be proud of. That shows a lot of internal fiber and constitution in individuals. I think the weekend's game showed a thirty-minute period where for whatever reason, and the guys are fully aware of it, and they're disappointed about it and keep high standards; they showed a thirty-minute period that lost us the game. I'd be surprised if we see that again too often."

Last season, Nashville SC played against Louisville four times across all competitions, winning one, drawing one and losing twice. Given the two squads' geographic proximity and close matches last season, these players are fully invested in what should be another rivalry showdown.

"Always," defender Taylor Washington said. "I mean back-to-back champs for Louisville. It's always a great matchup. They have something that we want, and they've been very successful the last two years. It's close by. They're a good team and those points are always crucial at the end of the year."

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