Nashville SC

Nashville SC
Full name Nashville Soccer Club
Founded May 19, 2016 (2016-05-19)
Stadium First Tennessee Park
Capacity 10,000
Owner DMD Soccer
CEO Court Jeske
Head coach Gary Smith
League United Soccer League
Website Club website

Nashville Soccer Club is an American professional soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2016, the team made its debut in the United Soccer League in 2018.[1]

The yet-to-be-named Major League Soccer franchise awarded to Nashville in December 2017 may also be known as Nashville SC, though this is subject to change.[2]

History

The club was announced on May 19, 2016. The ownership group consists of David Dill, president and chief operating officer of LifePoint Health; Christopher Redhage, co-founder of ProviderTrust, a health care software company, and former pro soccer player; and Marcus Whitney, president of Jumpstart Foundry, a health care innovation fund, and former chairman of Nashville FC, the city's existing amateur team.[3]

The team acquired its team name, logo, and color scheme from the amateur Nashville FC, established in 2013, in exchange for a 1 percent equity stake in the USL team and a voting seat on its board.[4] In September 2016, the USL team changed its name to Nashville Soccer Club, or Nashville SC.[5]

Gary Smith, who led the Colorado Rapids to an MLS Cup championship in 2010, was hired as head coach and technical director on April 12, 2017.[6][7]

On March 4, 2017, John Ingram, under the entity Nashville Holdings LLC, bought a majority stake in DMD Soccer, the ownership group of Nashville SC.[8] Ingram also headed up the bid to bring a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise to Nashville,[9] and the partnership between Ingram and Nashville SC was seen as an effort to present a united front to MLS after Nashville was named one of ten finalist cities for four MLS franchises.[10] On December 20, 2017, Nashville was selected as MLS' 24th franchise.[11] The yet-to-be-named team will begin play in either 2019 or 2020.[11] Ingram expects the MLS team to also bear the name Nashville SC, but a final decision has not been made.[2]

Nashville SC competed in a preseason exhibition match against MLS' Atlanta United FC on February 10, 2018, in their first game.[12] In the rain-soaked contest, Nashville was defeated by Atlanta, 3–1, in front of 9,059 spectators.[13] Forward Ropapa Mensah, the youngest player on the Nashville squad, scored the first goal in franchise history in the 64th minute.[14] Their first regular season game, a 2–0 loss, was played against Louisville City FC on March 17 at Louisville Slugger Field.[15] The club's first regular season home game was played on March 24 against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Nissan Stadium.[16] The game was attended by 18,922 people and ended in a scoreless tie.[17] Nashville recorded its first win on March 31 against Bethlehem Steel FC. Forward Michael Cox scored on a penalty kick in the fifth minute to secure the 1–0 win.[18]

Stadium

The team plays primarily at First Tennessee Park in its inaugural season.[19] The stadium's primary tenant is the Nashville Sounds, a Triple-A Minor League Baseball club. It has fixed seating for 8,500 people, but can accommodate up to 10,000 with additional berm space and group areas.[20] The team will evaluate its first season before determining stadium plans for 2019 and beyond.[19]

During the 2018 season, the team has played twice at Nissan Stadium.

Sponsorship

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2018– Under Armour Nissan

Broadcasting

Nashville SC matches are broadcast locally on MYTV30 and nationwide on ESPN+[21]. John Freeman is the play by play broadcaster. Color analysts have included former Vanderbilt Women's Soccer coach Ronnie Woodard[22], Eddie Carvacho, and local radio host, Braden Gall[23].

Most home and away matches are broadcast live on 94.9 FM Game 2, an ESPN Radio affiliate.[24] Wes Boling is the play by play broadcaster.

Spanish language radio broadcasts are carried by El Jefe 96.7 FM.[25]

Supporters

Nashville SC's original organized supporter group is The Roadies. Established in February 2014 with the creation of Nashville FC, the city's NPSL amateur franchise with the club's transition from NPSL amateur to USL pro status and accompanying rebranding as NSC, The Roadies are similarly transitioning to maintain their support for "Our Town, Our Club".[26] The group supports local charities including Oasis Center and Soccer for the Nations.[27]

The Assembly supporter group was created in early 2017 and has a presence in the supporters section at games.[27]

Players

First-team squad

As of September 2, 2018[28]
No. Position Player Nation
1 Goalkeeper Micah Bledsoe  United States
2 Defender Justin Davis  United States
3 Forward Ropapa Mensah (on loan from Inter Allies)  Ghana
4 Midfielder Ramone Howell  Jamaica
5 Defender Liam Doyle  Isle of Man
6 Midfielder Josh Hughes  United States
7 Midfielder Ryan James  Canada
8 Forward Robin Shroot  Northern Ireland
10 Midfielder Lebo Moloto  South Africa
11 Midfielder Ismaila Jome  Gambia
12 Forward Tucker Hume  United States
13 Midfielder Ian McGrath  United States
14 Defender Jordan Dunstan  Canada
15 Defender Michael DeGraffenreidt  United States
17 Midfielder Michael Reed (captain)  United States
18 Goalkeeper Matt Pickens  United States
19 Forward Alan Winn  United States
20 Midfielder Matt LaGrassa  United States
21 Goalkeeper C. J. Cochran  United States
22 Defender Bradley Bourgeois  United States
23 Defender Taylor Washington  United States
26 Forward Kris Tyrpak  United States
27 Defender Kosuke Kimura  Japan
28 Defender London Woodberry  United States
29 Midfielder Blake Levine  United States
30 Midfielder Bolu Akinyode  Nigeria
32 Forward Brandon Allen  United States

Staff

Front office staff[29]
Chief executive officer Court Jeske
Vice president of ticketing and sponsorship Michael Schetzel
Vice president of marketing and communications James Cannon
General manager Christopher Jones
Director of operations and supporter relations Ron Deal
Senior director of administration Lindsey Paola
Technical staff[30]
Head coach Gary Smith
Technical director Mike Jacobs
Assistant coach David Proctor
Team administrator and equipment manager Jeff Robben
Video analysis coordinator Bert Leonard

Nashville SC U23 Team

Nashville SC established Nashville SC U23, an under-23 team of the Premier Development League, in 2016. The club began play in 2017 in order to build a pool of players to feed into the USL club for 2018. Only one player, Martim Galvao, from the PDL team eventually made the USL roster of Nashville SC. Its home games were played at Vanderbilt University, on both the football and soccer fields.[31] The club did not field a PDL side in the 2018 season.

References

  1. ↑ "USL Expanding to Nashville: Music City, USA". United Soccer League. May 19, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Boclair, David (December 22, 2017). "Ingram plans to keep low profile as soccer team owner". Nashville Post. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  3. ↑ Garrison, Joey (May 19, 2016). "Nashville awarded United Soccer League franchise". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  4. ↑ "USL Formally Welcomes Nashville to League". United Soccer League. July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Nashville USL to Play as Nashville Soccer Club". Nashville Soccer Club. September 9, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Nashville Unveils Smith as Head Coach". United Soccer League (USL). April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Gary Smith, MLS Cup-winning coach, to lead Nashville SC". Mike Organ. Nashville Tennessean. April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  8. ↑ Garrison, Joey (May 4, 2017). "John Ingram buys majority stake in Nashville SC, aligning efforts for MLS bid". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  9. ↑ Garrison, Joey (December 20, 2016). "Businessman John Ingram to lead Nashville's Major League Soccer bid". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  10. ↑ Garrison, Joey (December 15, 2016). "Nashville among 10 cities under consideration for four MLS expansion teams". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  11. 1 2 Garrison, Joey; Organ, Mike (December 20, 2017). "MLS grants Nashville expansion club, propelling Music City from underdog to 'soccer city'". The Tennessean. Nashville. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Nashville SC to Host Atlanta United in Historic Exhibition". USL Soccer. November 28, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  13. ↑ Roberson, Doug (February 10, 2018). "Atlanta United wins preseason opener". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  14. ↑ Luis, Torres (February 10, 2018). "Ropapa Mensah scores the first goal for Nashville SC franchise". The Tennessean. Nashville. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  15. ↑ Learner, Danielle (March 17, 2018). "Louisville City FC begins USL title defense with win over new rival Nashville SC". Louisville Courier Journal. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Nashville SC League Home Opener Moved to Nissan Stadium". Nashville SC. February 12, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  17. ↑ Luis, Torres (March 24, 2018). "Nashville SC plays to draw in first USL home game at Nissan Stadium". The Tennessean. Nashville. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  18. ↑ Ammenheuser, David (March 31, 2018). "Nashville SC posts first win, beats Bethlehem Steel FC". The Tennessean. Nashville. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  19. 1 2 "Exclusive: Nashville Soccer Club to play inaugural season at First Tennessee Park". The Tennessean. August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Fact Sheet - Highlights of First Tennessee Park Construction Tour". Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. February 4, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  21. ↑ SC, Nashville (February 16, 2018). "Nashville SC Partners with Sinclair Broadcast Group to Air 27 USL Games Free of Charge". Nashville SC. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Vanderbilt Official Athletic Site - Vanderbilt University". Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  23. ↑ "United Soccer League". Retrieved June 23, 2018 – via YouTube.
  24. ↑ "Nashville Soccer Club". The Game Nashville. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  25. ↑ "El Jefe 96.7FM – Con todo el poder". eljefe967fm.com. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  26. ↑ "The Roadies". NSCRoadies.com. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  27. 1 2 "Supporters". Nashville SC Website. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Players and Staff - First Team". Nashville SC. December 12, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Front Office Staff". Nashville SC. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Coaching Staff". Nashville SC. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  31. ↑ "PDL Introduces Nashville SC U23 as Newest Team". Premier Development League. September 20, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
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