USL Nashville SC

The Playoff DNA: Experienced Boys in Gold Ready to Lead the Charge in USL Championship Playoffs

October 22, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Nashville SC News Release


NASHVILLE - In 2017, Kharlton Belmar and Cameron Lancaster suited up and took the pitch in the USL Cup Final. At that time, Belmar was part of an upstart Swope Park Rangers team coming off of a title run in 2016, and Lancaster anchored a strong Louisville City FC side. Lancaster scored an 88' minute winner to give Louisville City its first title on a cold night on the banks of the Ohio River.

Two years later, Belmar and Lancaster are part of a Nashville SC squad that is entering the USL Championship Playoffs as the No. 2 seed in its final year in the league. They've seen what it takes to win silverware at this level, and they see some of those qualities in this Nashville squad.

"I think a lot of it is down to mentality and how you sort of approach the game," Lancaster said. "You need to go in there with a clear head, give maximum effort. Each game gives its different challenges, so as long as you nullify their strengths and really focus on your own strengths as well, then you've got a good chance of winning games."

The Swope Park club that Belmar was a part of battled through all kinds of adversity to make its run to the Final. Coming in as the No. 4 seed, the club dispatched Phoenix Rising FC in penalties in the first round, squeaked by Sacramento Republic FC 1-0 thanks to a second-half Belmar goal, and beat OKC Energy FC in a lengthy penalty shootout to reach the Final.

That team needed resilience and a little bit of magic to get to the Final, and Belmar sees a lot of those things in this year's Nashville SC team.

"You've seen it in games at First Tennessee where we've gotten 90th-minute winners," Belmar said. "This team never quits, and that's something that we're going to have to take into the playoffs."

Nashville SC Head Coach Gary Smith also has a championship pedigree, having won the MLS Cup with the Colorado Rapids in 2010. He has noticed attributes on his team that bode well for playoff success.

"I think what you see in any team that has performed as well as we have throughout 34 games is you see the same sort of characteristics, and some of those are a great team spirit, they're a very determined group," Smith said. "When the going gets tough, you see a lot of the guys digging in, rolling their sleeves up, whatever terminology you want to use, and they get through some tough times in a game. But they've also got enough quality in the group, and you can look towards the likes of Daniel [Ríos] and Lebo [Moloto], they're easy ones to point out. The wide players, Alan [Winn] and Ropapa [Mensah] have been terrific. And you can see the dimensions that are needed to win games. I said at the very outset of the season that you need a balanced team to do well, and I think we've shown enough qualities. We're very well-balanced, I think our goal difference is better than anyone in the Eastern Conference, we've conceded less goals than anyone, and we've also found a good strike rate."

Nashville's 2019 playoff journey begins this Saturday night at First Tennessee Park against one of a potential three teams after this week's Play-In Round. The players will be looking to take on each match one at a time and give maximum effort each time, because as Belmar can attest, you never know when you might get another chance.

"I think it's all about being ruthless and making sure that you're ready to put it all out there, because you might not get another one," Belmar said.



United Soccer League Championship Stories from October 22, 2019


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