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USL Nashville SC

Preview: Nashville SC Take Show Back on Road to North Carolina FC

June 27, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Nashville SC News Release


NASHVILLE - After a midweek match that eventually wasn't, Nashville Soccer Club turns the page to a critical weekend road match with North Carolina FC on Saturday night. The matchup will pit two of the top five teams in the USL Championship Eastern Conference standings against each other as Nashville will attempt to extend its unbeaten streak in league play to eight matches and its road unbeaten streak to seven.

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Local TV Broadcast: MyTV30 with John Freeman and Kelly Glendenning

Digital Stream: ESPN+

Social Media: @NashvilleSC

Last Time Out

It was a long and unique night at First Tennessee Park on Wednesday night against New York Red Bulls II. In a meeting of the top two offenses in the league, Mother Nature brought the firepower, delaying the match three hours because of lightning, pushing kickoff all the way to 10:04 p.m. local time. The teams did finally kick off, and the first half played out like many expected, as New York and Nashville both found the scoreboard. A Cameron Lancaster goal gave Nashville SC a 2-1 lead at the halftime whistle, and it appeared Nashville was on its way to a big home victory. Again, Mother Nature had other plans.

More lightning and heavy rain led to the match being postponed. A relatively new league rule instituted prior to the 2018 season says that a league match must be played 70 minutes for it to be an official match. Because the teams were only able to get in 45 minutes on Wednesday, the match will be played in its entirety at a later date. Unfortunately for Nashville SC, Lancaster and Lebo Moloto's first half goals will be wiped off the board and the match will begin anew at 0-0 with 90 full minutes.

Scouting North Carolina FC

North Carolina FC, under former interim U.S. Men's National Team head coach Dave Sarachan, has turned a huge corner in 2019. After narrowly missing the playoffs last season, North Carolina FC sees itself firmly in playoff position, 11 points above the playoff line. Like Nashville SC, North Carolina is on an unbeaten streak of its own, with six consecutive results. NCFC is unbeaten at home with a 3-0-3 record.

While leading scorer Marios Lomis has six goals this season, eight different North Carolina players have scored multiple goals. Defensively, North Carolina is stout, allowing fewer than a goal a match. Keeper Alex Tambakis is one of the best in the Championship, with four clean sheets and the sixth-most saves in the league.

Storylines to Watch

Prepare for Dramatics

Nashville SC and North Carolina FC played twice last season, and the matches were two of Nashville's most dramatic results of the season. The teams first met in June of 2018 at First Tennessee Park when North Carolina found itself on the wrong end of the "Mensah City Miracle." On the final kick of the match, Ropapa Mensah scored a walk-off goal to lead Nashville to a 1-0 win in front of its home fans. Then in early September, Nashville stormed back to earn a 3-3 draw in Cary, NC. Down 3-1 entering the final 10 minutes of the match, Nashville scored twice in a match that ultimately was the difference in Nashville making the playoffs and North Carolina missing them.

Another long road trip

The postponement of the match on Wednesday means that Nashville will have a stretch of seven out of eight matches on the road. Nashville has been the USL Championship East's best road team with a 5-1-3 record away from home including a 4-0-2 record in its last six road matches. That's a good sign for a team about to head back out on a three-match road trip to North Carolina, Louisville City and Memphis 901 FC.

Goals Keep Coming

Nashville SC has proven it can score with the best teams in the USL Championship. Even after a three-hour delay, Nashville found the net twice in the first half against New York Red Bulls II. Although they won't count, it doesn't erase the fact that it happened. Daniel Ríos, Cameron Lancaster, Lebo Moloto and Ropapa Mensah have provided a combined 22 goals and 10 assists in all competitions. In fact, one of those four players has been involved in 27 of the team's 34 total goals this season, either by scoring or assisting.



United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 27, 2019


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