USL Nashville SC

Nashville SC Set for Another Rematch with Louisville City FC

Published on August 16, 2018 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Nashville SC News Release


NASHVILLE - After Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. CST, Nashville will have played 27 games that mattered so far in 2018, 23 in USL play and 4 in the U.S. Open Cup. A whopping 17 pct. of those will have come against Louisville City FC.

Saturday night will mark the fourth time the teams have met already this season and a playoff matchup would make it five, but let's start with what Saturday could bring.

Louisville Breakdown

Since Nashville saw Louisville last, the defending champs have a new head coach. After former coach James O'Conner left LouCity for Orlando City SC of MLS, Louisville has spent the better part of two months getting by with three player/coaches, George Davis IV, Paolo del Piccolo and Luke Spencer. Now the club will be led by John Hackworth, a former U.S. Men's National Team assistant and most recently the head coach of the U.S. U17 team. Hackworth's coaching debut in Louisville will occur on Saturday, and it will be interesting to see what changes on the field, if any, are made.

On the field, Louisville looks as strong as ever, and in the friendly confines of Slugger Field, Louisville is nothing short of dominant. The champs showed that strength against Nashville to open up the 2018 season when Nashville fell 2-0. Overall, Louisville has lost just twice at Slugger Field this year. Louisville is coming off a six-goal road performance against New York Red Bulls II when it came back from a 2-0 hole to win 6-4.

Nashville Narratives

With a 2-0 win against Ottawa Fury FC last Friday night, Nashville got its first win against an opponent other than Atlanta United 2 since June 16. It was an important three points earned to keep pace in a tightly-bunched Eastern Conference. Now with two big results in a row, including a draw at FC Cincinnati before the win last week, Nashville SC seems poised for a big run to end the season. To earn a third consecutive positive result, SC will need to buck the trend of the home team winning. In each of the three prior Nashville v Louisville games, the home team has come away victorious.

This game will mark the two-thirds mark in the USL season, and Nashville SC's schedule is extremely favorable down the stretch. In the final 12 games, Nashville will be at home seven times and will have home games against FC Cincinnati, Charleston Battery and Red Bulls II, all teams currently ahead of Nashville in the standings, a perfect chance to make up some ground. Those three, combined with Louisville on Saturday are Nashville's only games remaining against "playoff teams." That means the game against Louisville is the only remaining road game against a team currently in the playoffs. All of this plays heavy in Nashville's favor down the stretch.

Watching the East

With wins from Indy Eleven and Ottawa in the midweek, Nashville has fallen back to 8th in the Eastern Conference. A win on Saturday against Louisville could vault them back into 6th or higher, however, based on other results around the league.

How To Watch

The game will be broadcast locally on MyTV30 with John Freeman and Ronnie Woodard on the call. There will also be a radio broadcast of the game on ESPN 94.9 Game2. As always, fans can follow on social media @NashvilleSC for highlights and updates.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 16, 2018


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