Nashville SC earned one of the most impressive wins of MLS is Back weekend, defeating Seattle Sounders FC, 1-0, at Lumen Field courtesy of a late Anibal Godoy winner.
It's one match in late February, but was the road win against a Supporters’ Shield contender a sign that Nashville are set to challenge for that trophy? Or was it a one-off statement performance?
The Extratime crew discussed those very questions on Monday's show.
“I don’t think so. I still don’t think they have enough punch,” Matt Doyle said. “They don’t have enough ways to hurt you going forward and I’m not convinced their set-piece woes defensively are a thing of the past. If they address one of those two, then they are. One game is not enough to convince me one way or the other.”
As the finishing touches get put on their sparkling new soccer-specific stadium, the Coyotes start the 2022 season as road warriors, playing their first eight games away from the Music City before their highly-anticipated opener May 1 vs. the Philadelphia Union. They're also new to the Western Conference in 2022, presenting a new-look series of challenges to head coach Gary Smith's team.
While David Gass said other presumed Shield contenders like NYCFC, the New England Revolution and the Sounders could be hurt by also competing in the Concacaf Champions League, he thinks the unbalanced schedule will prove too difficult for Nashville.
“While Nashville have the quality to be in a conversation with all those teams, I just think this year is going to be a little bit too tough of a layout to push and challenge for that,” Gass said.
Consider Calen Carr the most optimistic. He lauded the addition of free-agent signing Sean Davis, who combined well with Godoy and Dax McCarty in the center of the park in the opener.
"I really like the way this Nashville team is set up,” Carr said. “I think they can go on the road and do what they do, which is get draws and take the wins if there’s even more than that. I was concerned about their transition to the West, but I’m actually feeling more and more good about the fact they’re going to go on this road trip and they’re one of the best teams in MLS to be prepared for this type of start to the season.”
Nashville have made the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs last two years upon being an expansion team, and return a roster led by US men's national team center back Walker Zimmerman and midfielder/forward Hany Mukhtar, a Landon Donovan MLS MVP finalist in 2021. A year ago, NSC tied the MLS record for the most draws (18) and the fewest losses (4) in a 34-game campaign.
For more on this topic and from MLS is Back weekend, watch Extratime presented by AT&T 5G here
