The original Nashville SC purchased the name, logo and colour scheme from an amateur team called Nashville FC. John Ingram purchased majority ownership in the Nashville team in March 2017. A month later, Gary Smith was hired as the first manager and technical director in Nashville. Over the summer of 2017, they added Mark, Zygi and Leonard Wilf as investors. The Wilfs own the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and Mark is on the Board of Trustees at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, as is Ingram.
Heading into MLS play, the team changed their badge from a circular crest to an octagonal one. The electric gold and acoustic blue colours remained, but the N was moved to the top of the crest and constrained by vertical blue bars. The bars represent sound waves and vibrations, playing off Nashville's vibrant musical history.
Nashville played their first-ever game as a pre-season friendly against MLS side Atlanta United on February 10, 2018, losing 3-1 in front of 9,059 fans. Ropapa Mensah, the youngest player in the team, scored the only goal for Nashville SC. They played six more friendlies before the start of the season and didn't lose any of them. They drew against MLS team Chicago Fire while beating MLS side Orlando City SC 3-0 for their first win.
Nashville won three out of four to end May and start June, including their first-ever three-goal game - a 3-1 win over Penn FC on June 2. They scored three again on June 30 to beat Atlanta United 2 3-0. Their first losing streak took place from July 11 to 21, but Nashville recovered to earn points in four of the next five games, including a 4-0 win over Richmond Kickers.
Battling for a play-off spot and a top-eight finish, Nashville earned at least a point from each of their final six games. That stretch included two wins and four draws, with four of the games being played at home. As a result, Nashville finished with 49 points and tied for seventh in the table with 12 wins, 13 draws and nine losses. They lost a tie-breaker to Indy Eleven and received the eighth seed for the play-offs.
In the play-offs, they faced No. 1 seed FC Cincinnati away from home, with the game ending goalless after 90 minutes. FCC scored first, but Bradley Bourgeois tied the game in the 115th minute to set the stage for a penalty shootout. Each of the first 11 kickers scored before Nashville's Justin Davis missed, meaning Cincinnati won 6-5.
In the 2018 US Open Cup, Nashville won three straight home games to advance to the final 16. They beat Inter Nashville FC 2-0 and Mississippi Brilla 3-1 to reach the fourth round. They then drew MLS side Colorado Rapids, with an own goal and a strike from Mensah resulting in a 2-0 shock victory. In the round of 16 on June 20, they lost at Louisville City FC 2-1.
Heading into the 2019 season in the USL Championship, Nashville lost friendlies against MLS teams Montreal Impact and New York City FC. They started the regular season with a 2-0 win over Loudoun United FC and earned back-to-back clean sheets in April. From May 11 to June 29, they didn't lose a single game, with four wins and three draws in that period. During those seven games, they outscored their opponents 17-8, with a team record five goals against Swope Park Rangers on May 11.
With 67 points from 34 games, Nashville finished just one point off the top as they won 20 games and had a +33 goal difference. Nashville SC led the USL in conceding just 26 goals all season while posting 16 clean sheets. They beat No. 7 Charleston Battery 3-1 at home on October 26 in the play-offs. Their season ended in a 1-0 home loss to No. 3 Indy Eleven on November 2.
The most prominent American brought in by Nashville was US men's national team defender Walker Zimmerman. They traded $950,000 in allocation money and an international roster spot to LAFC on February 11, 2020, to bring him in to anchor Nashville's first defense.
In September, Nashville won twice, drew three games and lost once, 2-0, to Columbus Crew. They kept piling up points in October with three wins, four draws and just one defeat. They beat Orlando City 3-2 in the final game of the regular season to finish seventh in the East and secure a play-off spot. Mukhtar tied the game in the 88th minute and Jhonder Cadiz scored the match winner in the third minute of added time.
In the play-offs, Nashville routed Inter Miami 3-0 in the play-in round in front of a limited home crowd of 3,240 fans. Leal, Mukhtar and McCarty scored the goals while Willis recorded a clean sheet. In the first round, they upset No. 2 Toronto FC on the road 1-0 with a goal in the 108th minute from Rios. The No. 7 Nashville side went on the road again in the conference semi-finals to face Columbus Crew and the game ended 0-0 after 90 minutes. However, the Crew scored twice in extra time to win 2-0 and end Nashville's inaugural MLS season.
There’s plenty of action in Major League Soccer this weekend and that’s the focus of our weekend acca, including Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami facing St Louis City.
There’s a full fixture list in MLS on Wednesday night (0030 BST Thurs) including Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami facing Atlanta United.
Major League Soccer is in full swing and while there’s no Lionel Messi this weekend, there are 14 juicy fixtures to pick from in this weekend’s MLS acca.
There’s a full slate of games in MLS on Wednesday with the end of seasons playoffs drawing near and Planet Sport has picked out three betting tips.
Inter Miami continue their journey towards the biggest turnaround in MLS history as they host Nashville on Wednesday.
The Leagues Cup reaches the quarter-final stage on Friday evening as Lionel Messi and co take on Charlotte FC, while LAFC welcome Monterrey.
MLS Matchday 19 has been reduced to six fixtures due to the International break, but we've still picked out six betting tips across the matches.
