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USL Nashville SC

Smith Being Proven Right by Nashville SC's Balance

June 19, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Nashville SC News Release


NASHVILLE - Almost halfway through the 2019 USL Championship season, Nashville Soccer Club Head Coach Gary Smith has been proven right.

Before a ball was kicked and before a goal was scored or saved this season, Smith was asked about his style of coaching. Many critics had labeled Smith a "defensive coach" after Nashville SC allowed the second-fewest goals in the league in 2018 but struggled to score at times. Smith, a veteran coach who has an MLS Cup title on his résumé, balked at the notion.

"Balance has always been a big part of how I can construct a team," he said at the time.

Now, with Nashville SC riding a six-match unbeaten streak and sitting just two points out of first place in the Eastern Conference, Smith's words seem prophetic. Out of the entire 36-team USL Championship, Nashville SC is the only team that ranks in the top seven of both goals scored and goals allowed, ranking seventh in each category. It's a huge difference from the final rankings last season that put Nashville SC second in defense but 23rd in scoring.

The obvious shift for Smith and his squad has been in the goalscoring department. At this point last season, Nashville SC had scored 17 goals in 15 matches, averaging just 1.13 per match. Nashville has 10 more goals through the same amount of matches this season, 27, and is averaging nearly two a match at 1.80. Nashville is on pace to score 61 goals this season, 18 more than last season.

In Sunday's win over Hartford, Nashville SC took 32 shots, finding the back of the net three times. It was a club record in shots and was the second-most shots any USL team had taken in a match in the history of the league. Before that 32-shot outburst, Nashville SC was averaging 12.85 shots a match, only marginally more than the 12.76 it averaged a match last season.

So, Nashville SC isn't taking more shots than last season (Sunday's atypical performance notwithstanding). However, NSC is making its shots count more with a more than .5 goal a match improvement.

While Nashville is much improved offensively, scoring the second-most goals of any team in the Eastern Conference, the defense has actually gotten better as well. It is on pace to allow just 29 goals this season, two fewer than the 31 Nashville SC allowed in 2018. Despite the improvements on offense, the defense hasn't suffered, actually improving alongside the scoring.

Smith will be the first to say that playing defense isn't just about the back line or the keeper; it is about all 11 players on the pitch working as a unit. So while the whole team has shown a tendency to be more threatening in attack, it's also staying sound defensively throughout the 90 minutes.

Finding that balance can be challenging for any coach - the more a team pushes forward, the more exposed it becomes at the back. Or, a team can be difficult to break down, but struggle to generate chances up front.

There is no doubt that Nashville SC is a good team. One look at the standings will verify that. But it's the balance that Gary Smith predicted at the start of the season that makes Nashville SC so impressive.



United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 19, 2019


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