The Boys in Gold return to GEODIS Park this Saturday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m. CT to host the Portland Timbers for Barbie Game Day™ presented by Hyundai. 

Here are five things to know for this weekend’s match, available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and Nashville SC’s flagship station 104.5 The Zone.

1. Nashville SC will host the Portland Timbers for just the second time Saturday night after playing to a 2-2 draw at GEODIS Park on July 3, 2022. The clubs have met four times in Major League Soccer play, including twice when Nashville was a member of the Western Conference in 2022.
2. The Boys in Gold played their first-ever MLS road match against the Timbers at Providence Park on March 8, 2020. The club’s inaugural away fixture took place just six days after a deadly tornado outbreak significantly impacted Nashville and Middle Tennessee and, due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team would not play again until Aug. 12 at FC Dallas.
3. Three current Nashville SC players have appeared in all four of the club’s matches vs. the Oregon side: midfielder Hany Mukhtar (one goal) and defenders Dan Lovitz and Walker Zimmerman, who leads the club in career MLS appearances vs. Portland with 13.
4. Nashville SC forward Sam Surridge, who is tied with Mukhtar for the team lead in shots this season with six, scored a goal in his lone career match vs. the Timbers on July 7, 2024.
5. On Barbie Game Day™, which celebrates Women’s History Month, Nashville SC’s First Team staff includes three female members: Head Athletic Trainer Sydney Gray, who is one of just three females to hold her position in MLS, Performance Dietician Bre Cecil, and Assistant Team Administrator Rosemarie Orlando. In addition, NSC’s Lindsey Paola was promoted from Chief Operating Officer to Chief Business Officer in January, becoming just the eighth female to hold that role in the league.

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 and Spotify.