The Boys in Gold Face Atlanta United FC at The Castle as Part of Major League Soccer Rivalry Week Presented by Continental Tire
Saturday’s Matinee Will Serve as Active-Duty and Veterans Appreciation Day Presented by Renasant
Following the Match, Nashville SC’s Special Olympics Unified Team Will Play Atlanta United’s Unified Team on the GEODIS Park Pitch
The Match Will Air Live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, FOX, FOX Deportes, and on 104.5 the Zone
Nashville SC will play its second match in four days Saturday afternoon presented by Renasant when Atlanta United FC visits GEODIS Park at 12:30 p.m. CT as part of Major League Soccer Rivalry Week presented by Continental Tire. The conclusion of the two-match homestand, which began Wednesday with a 2-0 Nashville win over Toronto FC, will cap a stretch of five matches in 21 days for the Boys in Gold. Tickets for Saturday’s match, which serves as Active-Duty and Veterans Appreciation Day, are available here.
Here are five things to know for Saturday’s match, available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, FOX, FOX Deportes, and on Nashville SC’s flagship station 104.5 the Zone.
- Current Nashville SC Player Development Coach Rumba Munthali will make his debut as Interim Head Coach Saturday following the departure of Head Coach Gary Smith and Assistant Coach Steve Guppy. More information regarding the coaching change is available here.
- Separated by just 250 miles and one goal in Major League Soccer series history (Nashville 16, Atlanta 17), Nashville SC and Atlanta United FC are dead-even across league play with three wins, three losses, and three draws apiece. The rivalry started when the Boys in Gold played their first-ever MLS match against Atlanta at Nissan Stadium on February 29, 2020, breaking the record for the largest soccer crowd in the state of Tennessee with 59,069 fans in attendance. Nashville owns a record of 2W-1L-2D against its border state rival at home, with the club last hosting the Peach State side at GEODIS Park on April 29, 2023 for a 3-1 victory.
- Adding to the rivalry are two Atlanta United FC players with historic Nashville SC pasts. Atlanta forward Daniel Ríos was Nashville SC’s first MLS signing in 2018, registering 30 regular season games played (13 starts), five goals, and one assist as a Boy in Gold. Prior to joining Nashville SC’s MLS side, Ríos played for NSC in the USL Championship, logging 33 games, 31 starts, and 21 goals. Atlanta midfielder Dax McCarty called Music City home from 2020-23, serving as Nashville SC’s inaugural captain and registering 105 regular season and seven playoff appearances for the club.
- Following a stretch of five fixtures in 21 days, the Boys in Gold will play three times over a seven-day span beginning Saturday, May 25 at CF Montréal. After its trip north, the club plays at FC Cincinnati on May 29 before returning home to host the New England Revolution at GEODIS Park on June 1.
- At the conclusion of Saturday’s match, Nashville SC’s Special Olympics Unified Team will play host to Atlanta United FC’s Unified Team on the GEODIS Park pitch. The sides will play two twenty-minute halves with a five-minute halftime period. The 2024 Unified Team marks the third-straight season Nashville SC has partnered with Special Olympics Tennessee on this initiative. In 2022, Nashville SC formed its inaugural squad. In 2023, Unified Team Boy in Gold Carl Ramey was named to the All-Star Team and was awarded co-MVP of the Special Olympics Unified Team All-Star match in Washington, DC.
Nashville SC joined Major League Soccer on Feb. 29, 2020 in front of the largest attendance ever recorded for a soccer match in the State of Tennessee. In its inaugural MLS season, Nashville SC defied expectations by becoming the second MLS expansion side to win and advance to the Conference Semifinals in the 2020 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. Nashville SC returned to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in its sophomore season after becoming just the seventh team in MLS history to go unbeaten at home in a season. The Boys in Gold again qualified for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in both 2022 and 2023, becoming just the third team in league history to reach the postseason during the team’s first four years in existence. Nashville SC inaugurated GEODIS Park, the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and Canada, in front of a sellout crowd of 30,109 on May 1, 2022. For more information, visit NashvilleSC.com and follow the club at @NashvilleSC on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and Spotify.
