Nashville Soccer Club (10W-5L-5D, 35 pts.) will host D.C. United (7W-8L-5D, 26 pts.) at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, July 1, presented by MAPCO. Nashville SC is riding a seven match home unbeaten streak (5W-0L-2D), with five consecutive wins at GEODIS Park. 

Earlier today, Nashville SC Head Coach Gary Smith and midfielder Alex Muyl addressed the media to preview the match against D.C. United. Smith spoke about the change in mindset the club has had this week off the back of a pair of losses and the excellent mentality his group has entering a home match. Smith also praised D.C. United Wayne Rooney in his coaching and recruitment in his time at the club. 

Muyl, who has scored three of his six career goals with Nashville SC against D.C. United, talked about the difference between playing at home compared to playing away from Music City. Muyl also talked about the familiarity with D.C. as well as the opportunities that present itself within the squad as teammates are away on international duty. 

Saturday night will mark the second and final meeting between Nashville SC and D.C. in the 2023 regular season as the Boys in Gold fought to a 1-1 draw at Audi Field on May 13. Nashville has never lost to D.C. in its MLS history (3W-0L-2D) and have outscored D.C. United 10-4 in five all-time meetings.  

Earlier this week the Nashville SC All-Star connections flurried in as Reigning 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar and Designated Player Walker Zimmerman were selected to participate in the 2023 MLS All-Star Game in Washington D.C. on July 19.

Mukhtar and Zimmerman will join a cast of MLS All-Stars to compete against English Premier League side Arsenal FC in the showpiece event of the summer, as the entire soccer community unites to celebrate the sport and soccer culture in North America.

Joining Mukhtar and Zimmerman for the All-Star festivities will be Nashville SC’s first Homegrown signing Adem Sipić, who was selected to compete in Allstate’s second annual MLS NEXT All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 19 at 9:30 a.m. CT at the Naval Academy’s Glenn Warner Soccer Facility in Annapolis, Md. The match will provide a world-class experience for Sipić and the rest of North America’s rising stars to showcase their talents in an East vs. West format.

Goalkeeper Ben Martino was also selected to participate in the Goalie Wars Exhibition at the 2023 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T 5G on Tuesday, July 18.Goalie Wars will feature four MLS NEXT Pro goalies as Ben Martino (Huntsville City FC) Damian Las (Austin FC II), Xavier Valdez (Houston Dynamo 2) and Isaac Walker (Crown Legacy FC) will face off one-on-one in a single-elimination competition.

On the pitch, Nashville SC will look to continue its form on the defensive side of the ball as the Boys in Gold own the lowest goals against average (0.80) in league play while maintaining the highest save percentage in MLS (79.8%)

Nashville will also turn to its All-Star Hany Mukhtar who has recorded, eight goals and six assists at the GEODIS Park this season, including an active stretch of six consecutive home matches registering a goal or an assist. 

Mukhtar, the current MLS Golden Boot leader with 13 goals also ranks first in goal contributions (20). Since 2022, Mukhtar has recorded 36 goals and 18 assists the most of any MLS player. 

Saturday’s match will serve as Military Appreciate Night as Nashville SC will be supporting the Armed Forces with Military inspired activations throughout the night. 

The club will recognize Richard Casper as the Hero of the Match. Casper is a United States Marine Veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and the co-founder and Executive Director of CreatiVets, a non-profit that provides art, music, and writing programs for wounded veterans with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries. Richard was named a CNN Hero in 2022 and one of TIME magazine’s Next Generation Leaders in 2017.

The Hyundai Military Salute will feature Intelligence Officer Taylor Melcher of the United States Army, while the Section 615 Guests will be Operation Stand Down who provides housing services, emergency financial assistance, career training and transition services, plus social and career networking initiatives to reduce isolation and increase opportunity to all who served in uniform as well as to their spouses and families.

GEODIS Park Line-up:

Most artists and groups performing on Saturday will be veterans and or involved with local groups supporting military and veteran organizations. 

Main Act: Nashville SC vs. D.C. United

Opening Act: Eric Burgett, a performer booked through Folds of Honor TN, a nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of military members who have fallen or been disabled while serving in the United States Armed Forces. 

WeHo Performance: Scotty Hasting, a combat Veteran who was shot 10 times in Afghanistan in 2011, now a local singer/songwriter. 

In-house DJ: CISCO

Gate F Performance: Molch

Gate C Performance: Morgan Taylor

National Anthem: Donnie Reis of War Hippies, an award-winning country music duo featuring U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army combat veterans.

Guitar Riff: Pat McGuire, the Chapter Coordinator for Guitars For Vets (G4V) in Nashville. G4V is a volunteer organization that provides free guitar lessons to veterans as a means of recovering from PTSD and other challenges. The Guitars For Vets mission is to “put the healing power of music in the hands of heroes”.

Halftime Performance: War Hippies 

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

• Television: MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV App 
• Radio:  104.5 The Zone

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.