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Preview: Nashville SC Hosts Charleston Battery in First-Ever Home Playoff Match

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


NASHVILLE - The postseason is upon us.

Nashville Soccer Club begins its 2019 USL Championship Playoffs run on Saturday night with a Conference Quarterfinal matchup against the Charleston Battery. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT, presented by Nissan. It will be the first home playoff match in club history as the Boys in Gold seek their first-ever playoff win.

How to Follow

Local Television: MyTV30 with John Freeman, Ronnie Woodard and Kelly Glendenning Digital Stream: ESPN+ English Radio: ESPN 94.9 Game 2 with Wes Boling and Eddie Carvacho Spanish Radio: El Jefe 96.7 with Alexis Martinez and Manfred Villalobos Social Media: @NashvilleSC on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Last Time Out

Nashville SC closed out the regular season on a high note with a 3-0 win over Atlanta United 2 last Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Forrest Lasso got the scoring started with a rising header off of a corner kick, and Daniel Ríos tacked on a pair of goals to pad the lead before halftime. Those goals gave Ríos 20 goals for the season, making him the only player in USL Championship history to score at least 20 goals in back-to-back seasons. With the clean sheet, goalkeeper Matt Pickens earned the USL Championship Golden Glove for the 2019 season.

Scouting Charleston Battery

Charleston Battery finished as the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference. In the Play-In Round, the Battery went to Ottawa to take on Fury FC and won on penalties, earning a trip to Nashville after Birmingham Legion FC upset North Carolina FC. Charleston has been a strong home side this season, but has struggled on the road in league play with a 3-7-7 record. This year, Charleston won twice against Nashville across all competitions before Nashville SC claimed a win at First Tennessee Park thanks to a last-second Bolu Akinyode goal in August.

Storylines to Watch

First Tennessee Fortress

Nashville SC has finished this season with a strong run at home, earning a 10-3-4 home record on the season. Since the middle of May, Nashville has lost just once at home in a 2-1 loss to a New York Red Bulls II side in August that claimed first place with the win. In all, Charleston has never won a match at First Tennessee Park after drawing 1-1 last season and falling to Nashville 2-1 earlier this season.

Pickens Picking It Up

Matt Pickens and his backline have been a force to be reckoned with down the stretch this season. Dating back to the beginning of September, Pickens has allowed just two goals, and only one of those goals came at home at First Tennessee Park. The netminder has also come up big on numerous occasions to preserve wins, including a late save in stoppage time to deny Louisville City FC an equalizer before the final whistle on October 8.

Battery Worn Down

The Battery will come into this match having played a lot of soccer over the last few weeks. Dating back to Sunday, October 13, Saturday's playoff match will be the club's fifth match in 13 days and will come off the back of a midweek road match in Ottawa. Meanwhile, Nashville has played just three matches in the month of October so far and will come into this match on a week's rest. .

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