NASHVILLE - After earning its first Major League Soccer home win on Sunday night, Nashville Soccer Club (2-4-1) faces yet another home test against Orlando City SC (4-2-2) on Wednesday night at Nissan Stadium.
This will be Nashville’s second clash with Orlando in a week as the Boys in Gold fell 3-1 to the Lions in Florida last Wednesday night.
Here’s everything you need to know about the match:
Date: Wednesday, September 2
Time: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: Nissan Stadium (NOTE: Wednesday’s match will be played without fans. Read more here.)
TV: MyTV30
In-Market Stream: YouTube TV, AT&T TV, nashvillesc.com
Out-Of-Market Stream: ESPN+ (Blackout restrictions apply)
English Radio: ESPN 94.9
Spanish Radio: El Jefe 96.7
Broadcast FAQs
Rematch - Nashville SC’s loss to Orlando last Wednesday night is still fresh in the minds of the players. Since that match, both Nashville and Orlando have enjoyed confidence-boosting wins over Inter Miami CF and Atlanta United FC, respectively.
Head Coach Gary Smith knows his players must be prepared to face one of the hottest teams in MLS.
“We’re going to run into one of the in-form teams again on Wednesday,” Smith said. “I watched their performance against Atlanta, and they certainly look as though the tournament in Orlando has given them a tremendous foundation to put them in a very sharp and strong physical position and given them confidence. They have some talented players in their group, and they look very fluid; there’s some nice connections. They’ll come here thinking they can earn all three points again. My hope is the guys go out there with a shot in the arm from [Sunday]’s result, and we’ll certainly put our best foot forward and make it a result we can turn around from [last week].”
Squad Goals - Nashville SC rotated its squad during the match on Sunday against Inter Miami. Midfielder Brian Anunga made his MLS debut, while winger Alex Muyl made his first Nashville SC start.
With two matches coming up once again this week, Smith could once again roll out a new-look lineup. If he calls on Anunga again to step up, he’ll have a confident player ready to do what it takes to win.
“As a player, you need confidence and belief from the coach,” Anunga said. “When the coach believes in you, everything just flows. I’m really happy that he was happy with the performance and happy I was able to help the team get a win.”
Home Field Advantage - This will be Nashville SC’s second home match since the season restart and will once again be played without fans. After experiencing the sights and sounds of an empty Nissan Stadium on Sunday for the first time, Smith thinks his players could be better prepared to create their own atmosphere and energy.
“It’s very difficult for all teams that are playing without fans and maybe we realized as coaches and players that fans are important of course, but never before have we realized just how important those fans are to the game,” Smith said. “You feel it, the energy that the players have to create pretty much on their own and then of course the excitement and the passion when you win a game. Unfortunately we’ll have to wait a bit longer before we see them.”
