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USL Nashville SC

Nashville SC Returns Home to Get the Train Back on Track

July 24, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Nashville SC News Release


NASHVILLE - Seeking its first win in the month of July, Nashville SC returns to the friendly confines of First Tennessee Park for a rematch against Southern brethren Atlanta United 2. It will be the first home match for Nashville since the club's July 7 0-0 draw with FC Cincinnati and the first match at First Tennessee Park since Nashville beat ATL UTD 2 3-0.

Atlanta Breakdown

Since Atlanta was shut out at Nashville on June 30, it's been a mixed bag of results for the team. They have gone 1-1-1 in their three matches in July, including a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of New York Red Bulls II on July 6. Atlanta bounced back quickly with a 2-1 win over Bethlehem Steel. Brandon Vazquez and Oliver Shannon tallied in that one to lead ATL UTD 2 to victory. A second-half goal from Jon Gallagher gave Atlanta a 1-1 draw with the Richmond Kickers, sending the club into this matchup riding a two-match point streak, the team's longest since the opening four matches of the season.

Despite going 1-1-1 in July, Atlanta has managed to score at least once in all three matches, so the team does have some offensive bite. However, the club has scored more than one goal on the road just twice all season, so if Nashville can regain a scoring touch, Atlanta may have a tough time improving on its 3-0 loss on June 30.

Nashville Narratives

This has been a challenging month for Nashville SC. Nashville has failed to score in each of its last three matches, a first for the team's inaugural season, and has lost two consecutive USL matches for the first time all season. The club has also lost a player to suspension for the first time this year long with London Woodberry being shown a red card at the end of Saturday's match at Ottawa.

However, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic going into Wednesday's match. Nashville has lost just one match at home all season and have not played at First Tennessee Park in almost a month. Also, facing the last club that Nashville beat and scored against will certainly help the cause. In that match, Brandon Allen, Alan Winn and Lebo Moloto all found the back of the net. Those are three players Gary Smith will need to contribute on the offensive end to break out of the current skid.

Quotable

Head Coach Gary Smith

"There is no doubt that looking at these two games on paper (Atlanta United 2 and Toronto FC II), that we are really hopeful that this can be a decent week. It will be a good opportunity to get ourselves back into a positive mindset."

Watching the East

Nashville and Atlanta will be the only Eastern Conference teams in action on Wednesday, which means Nashville could end up as high as sixth place in the standings with a victory. However, the result of Indy Eleven's showdown with Bethlehem Steel FC on Thursday could change the standings again going into Nashville's matchup with Toronto FC II on Saturday.

How to Watch

The game will be broadcast live on MyTV30 locally and streamed live nationally on ESPN+. You can also listen to ESPN's radio coverage of the game on 94.9 Game2 with Nashville Predators play-by-play announcer Pete Weber filling in on the headset. Be sure to follow Nashville SC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for complete coverage.



United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 24, 2018


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