The Boys in Gold are on the road for a midweek matchup against Canadian opposition.
After an electrifying 3-1 victory over St. Louis that saw Nashville SC keep pace at the top of the East and Hany Mukhtar further his claim for a consecutive MVP award, Nashville travels to Canada to face off against CF Montréal Wednesday night. Nashville SC, who has never lost to Montréal in six meetings, is currently on a club-record 10 match unbeaten streak in league play (7W-0L-3D). Montréal is on an impressive run of their own, winning its last five matches at home and keeping clean sheets in those victories.
Date: Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
Location: Saputo Stadium (Montreal, Quebec)
Radio: 104.5 The Zone and the 104.5 The Zone App
10 Matches Unbeaten – Nashville SC broke its own unbeaten record in style with a 3-1 win over St. Louis on Saturday. While an unbeaten run helps with team morale and confidence, it’s not the end goal for any team.
“We don’t speak about it, I think we’re all aware of it,” said defender Dan Lovitz. “Obviously we’re incredibly proud of it. I think that’s an incredible feat in any sport, let alone ours when there is a lot of parity in this league. I think any of us would trade an unbeaten streak for an MLS Cup or a Supporters Shield. Good things happen when you’re not getting beaten for sure, but we’re in the business of winning games, not just surviving. I think there’s a real distinction between those two mindsets. I think it’s important to stay focused on winning games versus not losing them.”
International Callups and Opportunities to Go Around – Whether it’s injuries or an international competition that impacts a coach’s ability to utilize their whole squad, depth is key for sustaining a run of form. With the Gold Cup just around the corner, head coach Gary Smith is going to lean on everyone in his squad.
“I honestly think it opens up a bit of a door for the likes for Luke Haakenson, Ethan [Zubak] that you saw come on in the second half of the game [against St. Louis],” Smith said.” Those guys in particular should be looking at this period of time with multiple games and players away and thinking to themselves ‘This could be my opportunity to make a bit more of a claim for more minutes in the team,’ certainly from an attacking standpoint anyway.”
Away Days in MLS – Away matches in Major League Soccer have several challenges that are unique to the league. Extremely long flights, wide-ranging climates, and other factors can make the small margins between teams large margins. With two matches on the road in the span of just four days, the team will look back at last its run of eight matches to open the 2022 season to help navigate a difficult stretch.
“I think the experience that we can draw on is last year how we started so many games away from home and how we had a pretty good points yield from that experience and that stretch,” Lovitz said. “I think it’s about focusing on ourselves. I know that’s pretty obvious, but I think you can get caught up trying to tailor your game to different environments and different teams, especially when you’re on the road. For a team in ourselves that’s in a good vein of form right now, I think it’s really important just to focus on ourselves.”
