I failed to really keep up with Nashville Soccer Club’s inaugural season, but from what I’ve seen, they had a very impressive showing in their first year.
The newest professional sports team to grace the city of Nashville had to being their tenure in the most unusual of circumstances. Oddly, in a state where the NHL’s Nashville Predators and NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies all play in their respective western conferences, Nashville SC was forced to make the switch to the MLS’ Eastern Conference.
This conference housed some heavyweights, including the 14-win Philadelphia Union, the winningest MLS team in the league this season, as well as the the 13-win Toronto FC and 12-win Columbus Crew. Despite the jump in competition and being an expansion team, Nashville strung together an 8-8-7 record en route to the playoffs.
Nashville advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Toronto 1-0 on Nov. 24. Nashville ran out of gas against their next opponent, Columbus, in the semis, falling 2-0 in extra time and coming only two rounds away from the MLS Cup Final.
In addition to the team’s overall success, eight-year MLS veteran Walker Zimmerman earned the MLS 2020 Defender of the Year award. Zimmerman was acquired in a trade with Los Angeles FC, where he was named an All-Star and to the Best IX in 2019. Under Zimmerman’s defensive prowess, Nashville allowed 0.96 goals per game this season and only 22 goals against, the third-fewest in the MLS.
While Nashville struggled in goal-scoring, they were carried by an elite defensive unit, much like their in-city NHL neighbors.
As a fan of the club, you really can’t ask for a much better season. As a soccer player for most of my life, I struggled to really enjoy watching soccer. However, Nashville’s new soccer club has piqued my interest and I’m eager to see what they can do in 2021.
