Nashville Soccer Club Falls 2-0 to Philadelphia Union at GEODIS Park 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 12, 2023)– Nashville Soccer Club (11W-7L-5D, 38 pts.) fell 2-0 to the Philadelphia Union (11W-7L-4D, 37 pts.) on Wednesday night at GEODIS Park in a chippy affair that saw both sides receive at least one red card. Daniel Gazdag converted penalties in the 40^th and 84^th minutes to seal the victory for Philadelphia. Nashville SC outshot the Union 18-9 and owned 57.4% of possession. Tonight’s match marked the fourth consecutive sell-out crowd at GEODIS Park this season. 

Streak Snapped: Wednesday’s loss was Nashville’s first at GEODIS Park since March 25. The loss brought an end to an eight-match home winning streak and 10-match home unbeaten streak in all competitions. Both of Nashville SC’s home losses this season have been to clubs in the top four in the Eastern Conference (also, FC Cincinnati).  

Unlucky Breaks: Nashville SC saw some brilliant efforts catch the wrong side of the goal frame in the second half. In the 52^nd minute, Hany Mukhtar chipped the goalkeeper and hit the crossbar, nearly equalizing. In the 69^th minute, Fafà Picault hit the left post on a chaotic corner kick sequence that saw Nashville earn two to three more opportunities that were blocked by Union defenders. In the 74^th minute, Nashville earned a penalty for a handball in the box, only for it to be called back after a VAR review.  

More McCarty Milestones: With his start tonight, Nashville SC midfielder Dax McCarty became the second player in MLS history to play 20 or more league matches in 15 consecutive seasons. The only other player to accomplish this feat is Kyle Beckerman, who did so for 17 seasons from 2003-19.  

Onto the Next: Nashville SC will wrap up its busy week with a trip up to FC Cincinnati to face the Supporters’ Shield leaders for the second and final time this season. The match will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app. The game will also be broadcast on 104.5 The Zone.

Match Timeline:       

40’ - Daniel Gazdag converts a penalty to the lower right corner for Philadelphia 

84’ - Gazdag converts another penalty to the lower left corner for Philadelphia                

Box Score:          

Nashville SC (11W-7L-5D, 38 pts.) vs. Philadelphia Union (11W-7L-4D, 37 pts)       

July 12, 2023 – GEODIS Park 

Final Score:         

NSH: 0  

PHI: 2  

Scoring Summary:         

PHI: Daniel Gazdag (Penalty) 10’ 

PHI: Daniel Gazdag (Penalty) 84’ 

Discipline:         

NSH: Dan Lovitz (Caution) 39’ 

NSH: Randall Leal (Caution) 43’  

PHI: Kai Wagner (Caution) 45’  

NSH: Teal Bunbury (Caution) 71’  

NSH: Dan Lovitz (Ejection, Second Caution) 81’ 

PHI: Daniel Gazdag (Caution) 84’ 

NSH: Shaq Moore (Ejection) 90’ + 5 

PHI: Julian Carranza (Ejection) 90’ + 5 

Lineups:       
NSH Starters: Joe Willis; Dan Lovitz, Lukas MacNaughton, Shaq Moore, Walker Zimmerman (C); Dax McCarty (Luke Haakenson 90’), Randall Leal (Alex Muyl 63’), Hany Mukhtar, Teal Bunbury (Ján Greguš 86’), Jacob Shaffelburg (Fafà Picault 63’), Sean Davis (Taylor Washington 86’)       

Substitutes: Ethan Zubak, Josh Bauer, Tah Brian Anunga, Elliot Panicco 

PHI Starters: Joe Bendik; Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel (Olivier Mbaizo 72’), Kai Wagner (Matt Real 72’); Daniel Gazdag (Andres Perea 90’+10), Alejandro Bedoya (C) (Jack McGlynn 61’), Jesus Bueno, Leon Flach, Quinn Sullivan (Mikael Uhre 61’); Julian Carranza 

Substitutes:  Holden Trent, Joaquin Torres, Chris Donovan 

Match Officials:   

Referee: Sergil Boiko 

AR1: Corey Rockwell 

AR2: Walt Heatherly  

4TH Official: Joshua Encarnacion   

VAR: Daniel Radford 

AVAR: Eric Weisbrod     

Weather: Clear, 90 degrees