NASHVILLE – Nashville Soccer Club finally gets to kick off against another team for the first time in 2021 on Saturday afternoon.
The Boys in Gold will face USL Championship side Louisville City FC on Saturday, March 20 at 3:30 p.m. CT at the club’s training facility at Currey Ingram Academy. It’s the club’s first friendly of the 2021 preseason, pres. by Vanderbilt Health. Due to COVID-19 regulations, the match will be closed to the public and media.
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Friendly Info
Opponent: Louisville City FC
Date: Saturday, March 20
Time: 3:30 p.m. CT
Venue: Currey Ingram Academy (closed to public/media)
Format
Nashville SC will play three 30-minute sessions, allowing them to maximize the number of players getting minutes.
What To Watch For
Rotation, Rotation, Rotation
Thanks to the modified match format, Head Coach Gary Smith will be able to see as many players as possible on the pitch. It’ll be a perfect first opportunity for players to get just a taste of match action after a few weeks of preseason.
“We'll have the majority of the guys play for just 30 minutes as part of their progress, and there'll be a sprinkling of individuals that probably take on 45 minutes,” Smith said. “And that’s to really try and compensate for where certain physical and aerobic levels are at and for a lot of guys to just dip their toe in the competition again.”
Coach Smith’s Goals
What would be considered a successful outing for this Nashville squad? According to Smith, it’s less about the results and more about getting the team back into the competitive spirit and back into game shape.
“My big hope this weekend is that it offers the opportunity for all the guys to get good competition and to get some good minutes under their belt,” Smith said. “Hopefully we see some encouraging signs. Are we going to see the finished product? Not at all. But I think at this point, whilst we want to compete and we should be competing, the old adage that ‘there never is a friendly game’ could not be more true against a team like Louisville. But, being healthy and getting ourselves on the plane to Florida in good shape and ready for some good games down there would be a big box for me to tick.”
Matchup History
These two clubs faced off during the 2020 preseason at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The Boys in Gold came away with a 4-1 victory.
Smith says he knows the quality of this Louisville team having faced it last year, and after it took down FC Cincinnati in a preseason friendly last week.
“There's been plenty of good work that goes on in training, but nothing replicates playing against another team, and especially a good one,” Smith said. “I'm certain it will be a tough thing. The result against Cincinnati tells us that they're in a good place, Louisville. We had a really good game against them last preseason. And I would expect nothing less.”
