Nashville Soccer Club and its MLS NEXT Pro affiliate Huntsville City FC will visit their Orlando City SC counterparts this weekend. Huntsville City FC will open up the weekend with a 6 p.m. CT kickoff match vs. Orlando City B on Friday, while the Boys in Gold take on their MLS opponent at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. Both matches will be available on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app. 104.5 The Zone will also host Nashville SC’s action on Saturday. 

Nashville SC’s Academy will also be traveling to Florida this weekend to participate in the 2023 Generation adidas Cup, a premier global youth tournament featuring representation from every MLS academy and renowned club academies from around the world. NSC’s Academy will feature both its U15 and U17 in the competition.  

The NSC U15s will open play on Saturday, April 1 at 9 a.m. CT against the Real Madrid C.F. U15s (Spain), while the U17s will open against the New England Revolution U17. A full breakdown of the club’s schedules is below. 

Earlier today, Nashville SC Head Coach Gary Smith and defender Jack Maher spoke to media about the preparations against Orlando and the test the team will have playing away from home. Maher also discussed the importance of focusing on Orlando and staying even keel throughout the season no matter the previous results, as well as the difference in personnel this Orlando roster has compared to years past.   

Maher has been precise in his decision making this season, as the centerback led the Starting XI with a 92.3 passing accuracy against FC Cincinnati last weekend. Maher leads Nashville SC players with three or more starts this season in passing accuracy and leads the team in total passes (246) and accurate passes (208).  

Nashville SC is currently the best defensive team in the Eastern Conference, surrendering just two goals this season, leading MLS in Save Percentage (88.2%), being tied for the league lead in clean sheets (3) and having yet to allow more than one goal in a match.  

This weekend’s opponents have a very rooted history, despite Nashville SC’s brief time in Major League Soccer. The two sides have met a total of eight times across all competitions, Nashville owns a 2W-2L-4D record in that span. In MLS play, Nashville SC has remained unbeaten against Orlando City SC since Aug. 16, 2020.  

Nashville SC and Orlando last met in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals in 2022, in a match that Orlando tied in injury time and ultimately won in penalty kicks to advance to the Semifinals. 

Reigning MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar has had tremendous success against Orlando City, recording a goal or assist in every match across all competitions. In total, Mukhtar has recorded six goals and four assists in eight career matches, including a brace in the 2021 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.  

Dax McCarty and Walker Zimmerman are both on milestone watch as they are one regular season start short of reaching 400 and 200 career starts, respectively.  

BROADCAST INFORMATION:    

• Television: MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV App
• 104.5 The Zone for English radio  

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.