Nashville SC Shifts Focus to 2023 Leagues Cup Competition, Will Face Colorado Rapids First on Sunday, July 23 

Godoy and Panama Face Mexico in Gold Cup Final at 6:30 p.m. CT Tomorrow on FOX 

Mukhtar and Zimmerman Travel to Washington, D.C. for the 2023 MLS All-Star Garme Festivities 

Nashville Soccer Club (11W-8L-5D, 38 pts.) fell 3-1 to FC Cincinnati in a dramatic match that saw the visitors finish down to nine men for the second consecutive match.

Captain Walker Zimmerman scored the lone goal for the Boys in Gold in the 32nd minute when he half-volleyed home a deflection from Cincinnati’s goalkeeper Roman Celentano, following a well-aimed attempt by Randall Leal. The goal marked Zimmerman’s second tally of the season, and his first since the opener at GEODIS Park on Feb. 25.

Cincinnati responded ten minutes later as Luciano Acosta converted a penalty kick after Alex Muyl was penalized for a handball in the 42nd minute.

Coming into the second half, Nashville SC went down two men in a span of two minutes after Taylor Washington and Fafà Picault received their second yellow cards in the 68th and 70th minutes, respectively. Just four minutes later, Cincinnati capitalized by scoring its second goal of the evening.

Nashville continued to push in search of the equalizer through injury time, but Cincinnati buried the final goal in injury time for the decisive 3-1 result.

Gold Cup Finalist: Aníbal Godoy will compete in the 2023 Gold Cup Final when Panama faces Mexico at 6:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, July 16 on FOX. Godoy advanced to the Final with a win in penalties against the United States on Wednesday night. Godoy captained the side in the match, playing 102 minutes.

2023 MLS All Stars: Zimmerman and reigning 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar will be joining the best players in the league in the All-Star Game festivities taking place in Washington, D.C. this coming week. This participation will mark Zimmerman’s fourth consecutive appearance and Mukhtar’s second consecutive appearance.

Onto the Next – 2023 Leagues Cup: Nashville SC will now shift gears to the 2023 Leagues Cup, the most anticipated summer soccer tournament for which all MLS and Liga MX clubs will pause their seasons to compete in a clash for the continent that could bring Nashville its first trophy as well as a berth in the Concacaf Champions League. Nashville SC will face Colorado Rapids and Liga MX’s Toluca at GEODIS Park in the Leagues Cup group stage on July 23 and 27, respectively. Tickets can be purchased here.

Match Timeline:

NSH 32’: Randall Leal sends the ball towards the goal, and Walker Zimmerman collects off a deflection from the Cincinnati goalkeeper to score off a half-volley

CIN 42’: Luciano Acosta converts a penalty kick after Nashville SC is called for a handball

CIN 74’: Luciano Acosta threads a ball through the Nashville defense to find Santiago Arias, who chips Joe Willis to score the go-ahead goal

CIN 90’ + 10: Brandon Vazquez finds Aaron Boupendza with space at the top of the box, and Boupendza puts the ball into the lower left corner of the net

Notes:

  • Nashville SC:

o         is 2W-2L-2D against FC Cincinnati in series history

o         lost a match after scoring the first goal for the first time since Aug. 8, 2021

o         has lost three games in a row for the first time in its MLS franchise history

  • Tah Brian Anunga led the team with 10 possessions won
  • Josh Bauer recorded his third start and sixth appearance of the season
  • Teal Bunbury made his 359th career regular season appearance
  • Lukas MacNaughton led the team with 86.7% passing accuracy
  • Dax McCarty led the team with two chances created
  • Hany Mukhtar appeared in his 103rd match for Nashville SC
  • Alex Muyl led the team with eight duels won and three successful dribbles
  • Fafà Picault received two yellow cards, resulting in a subsequent ejection from the match
  • Jacob Shaffelburg has appeared in back-to-back matches after returning from international duty with Canada in the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup
  • Taylor Washington

o         recorded his second start and 18th appearance of the season

o         received two yellows, resulting in a subsequent ejection for the first time in his MLS career

  • Walker Zimmerman led the team with 0.38 xG, two shots and 35 accurate passes

Box Score:

Nashville SC (11W-8L-5D, 38 pts.) vs. FC Cincinnati (15W-2L-6D, 51 pts)

July 15, 2023 – TQL Stadium

Final Score:

NSH: 3

CIN: 1

Scoring Summary:

NSH: Walker Zimmerman (Unassisted) 32’

CIN: Luciano Acosta (Penalty) 42’

CIN: Santiago Arias (A: Luciano Acosta) 74’

CIN: Aaron Boupendza (A: Brandon Vazquez) 90’ + 10

Discipline:

CIN: Santiago Arias (Caution) 26’

NSH: Taylor Washington (Caution) 37’

CIN: Luciano Acosta (Caution) 45’+7

NSH: Fafà Picault (Caution) 62’

CIN: Matt Miazga (Caution) 63’

NSH: Taylor Washington (Ejection, Second caution) 68’

NSH: Fafà Picault (Ejection, Second caution) 70’

NSH: Luke Haakenson (Caution) 86’

CIN: Brandon Vazquez (Caution) 87’

CIN: Pat Noonan (Caution) 90’ + 9

Lineups:        NSH Starters: Joe Willis; Lukas MacNaughton, Josh Bauer (Jacob Shaffelburg 90’ + 2), Taylor Washington, Walker Zimmerman (C); Dax McCarty (Sean Davis 57’), Randall Leal (Luke Haakenson 81’), Hany Mukhtar (Teal Bunbury 81’), Alex Muyl, Tah Brian Anunga (Ján Greguš 81’); Fafà Picault

Substitutes: Ethan Zubak, Laurence Wyke, Elliot Panicco

CIN Starters: Roman Celentano; Nick Hagglund (Ian Murphy 90’ + 1), Santiago Arias (Alvas Powell 82’), Yerson Mosquera, Matt Miazga, Alvaro Barreal; Obinna Nwobodo, Luciano Acosta (C), Junior Moreno (Marco Angulo 90’); Sergio Santos (Aaron Boupendza 75’), Brandon Vazquez

Substitutes:   Alec Kann, Malik Pinto, Raymon Gaddis, Quimi Ordonez, Bret Halsey

Match Officials:

Referee: Ramy Touchan

AR1: Jose Da Silva

AR2: Jeffrey Greeson

4TH Official: Adam Kilpatrick

VAR: Younes Marrakchi

AVAR: Joshua Patlak

Weather: Clear, 78 degrees

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 defeated 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 2021 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. Nashville SC inaugurated GEODIS Park, the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and Canada, in front of a 30,109-sellout crowd on May 1, 2022. For more information, visit NashvilleSC.com and follow the club at @NashvilleSC on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Spotify.