NASHVILLE - Nashville SC (6W-6L-7D, 25 pts) will play one of the most important matches of the season on Tuesday night at Montreal Impact (7W-11L-2D, 23 pts). Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the match will be played at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.
The two teams are separated by just two points in the standings, so the result could have big implications in the race for the Audi Major League Soccer Cup Playoffs.
Here’s everything you need to know about the match:
Date: Tuesday, October 27
Time: 6:00 p.m. CT
Location: Red Bull Arena (Harrison, N.J.)
TV: MyTV30
In-Market Stream: YouTubeTV, AT&T TV, NashvilleSC.com/stream
Out-of-Market Stream: ESPN+
English Radio: ESPN 94.9
Spanish Radio: El Jefe 96.7
Broadcast FAQs
Playoff Implications - Tuesday’s match could be a pivotal moment in the race for the playoffs.
Nashville currently sits in eighth in the Eastern Conference with 25 points, while Montreal is right behind it in ninth place with 23 points having played one more match than Nashville. The result of this match could dictate the complexion of the Eastern Conference playoff race with less than two weeks to go until MLS Decision Day 2020 presented by AT&T.
“This is a big game on Tuesday,” defender Walker Zimmerman said. “Montreal is a side that is very close to us on the table. They are a team that is under a new coach in Thierry [Henry], and they now have had about 20 games to figure out how they want to play. It’s important for us because three points for us also means zero points for them. It’s a chance for big movement in the standings. Ultimately for us to get where we want to go, we need to make sure we’re the team that gets three points.”
Familiar Faces - Tuesday’s match will mark defender Dan Lovitz’s first time playing against his old club. Lovitz spent three seasons with the Impact before being traded to Nashville on the night of the Expansion Draft in November 2019.
“It’ll be a great match,” Lovitz said. “It’s always interesting to be on the other side when you’re playing against a former team. It’s always a bit special. I’m very happy to be here to say the least, and I can’t wait to go up against those guys and try to get three points for Nashville.”
Captain Dax McCarty will see a familiar face on the opposing bench as well in Montreal’s manager. McCarty and Henry played together at New York Red Bulls from 2012 to 2014. Based on his experience with Henry as a player, McCarty says he expects a battle with Montreal in the stadium they both called home.
“I learned from his habits, but for me the thing I took most from him was just his constant will to win in anything that he did,” McCarty said. “Whether it was in a game or on the training field, he always wanted to win and that competitive nature and competitive desire was always apparent. I think he’s probably taken that with him into his coaching ranks, so I’m expecting a very difficult game.”
Maintaining Momentum - The Boys in Gold enter this match having gone unbeaten in seven of its last eight matches with a 3W-1L-4D record. In its last four matches, Nashville has scored a total of eight goals and multiple goals in two of those four matches, all while only conceding four goals.
With a tight race for the playoffs nearing its conclusion, Lovitz says the focus has to be inward in order to keep the momentum going.
“I think the most important thing is we focus on ourselves,” Lovitz said. “There’s a lot of movement in the table right now, and we can only control what we can get our hands on. Right now, that’s the remaining games that we have. It’s nice to have a good chunk of those at home, but we know that tomorrow night we’re going to have a good opportunity to go to play away in a good venue and play a team we’re close to in the standings. We need to get three points, so it’s important we go out there with the right attitude.”
Stay tuned to NashvilleSC.com and our social media channels for continued coverage of our push for the playoffs.
