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Nashville SC (2018–19)

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For the National Premier Soccer League team of a similar name, see Nashville FC.
Nashville SC
File:Nashville SC.png
Full nameNashville Soccer Club
FoundedMay 19, 2016; 8 years ago (2016-05-19)
StadiumFirst Tennessee Park
Capacity8,500
OwnerDMD Soccer
CEOCourt Jeske
Head coachGary Smith
LeagueUnited Soccer League
WebsiteClub website
Current season

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 a rain-soaked contest, Nashville was defeated by Atlanta, 3–1, in front of a crowd of 9,059.[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 will be played on March 24, 2018 against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Nissan Stadium, which has previously drawn as many as 56,232 spectators for soccer.[16]

Stadium

Main article: First Tennessee Park

The team will play at First Tennessee Park in its inaugural season. The stadium's primary tenant is the Nashville Sounds, a Triple-A Minor League Baseball club. The team will evaluate its first season before determining stadium plans for 2019 and beyond.[17]

PDL club

Main article: Nashville SC U23

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 when it begins play in 2018. Its home games were played at Vanderbilt University, on both the football and soccer fields.[18]

Sponsorship

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2018– Under Armour Nissan

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".[19]

The Assembly supporter group was created in early 2017 with the goal of becoming an officially recognized supporter group. The group is an active presence at Nashville SC's U23 matches and plans to continue through the club's entry into the USL in 2018.[20] On December 20, 2017, MLS announced that the Nashville application for a franchise for the group headed by businessman John Ingram had been approved, with the team to play its home games at a new, soccer-specific stadium previously approved by the Metropolitan Council of Nashville-Davidson County, located at the Fairgrounds in Nashville, tentatively starting in the 2019 MLS Season.[21]

Players

First-team squad

As of March 15, 2018[22]
No. Position Player Nation
1 GK Micah Bledsoe  United States
2 DF Justin Davis  United States
3 FW Ropapa Mensah (on loan from Inter Allies)  Ghana
4 MF Ramone Howell  Jamaica
5 DF Liam Doyle  England
6 MF Josh Hughes  United States
7 MF Ryan James  Canada
8 FW Robin Shroot  Northern Ireland
9 FW Michael Cox  Canada
10 MF Lebo Moloto  South Africa
12 FW Tucker Hume  United States
13 MF Ian McGrath  United States
14 DF Jordan Dunstan  Canada
15 DF Michael DeGraffenreidt  United States
16 MF Martim Galvão  Portugal
17 MF Michael Reed (captain)  United States
18 GK Matt Pickens  United States
19 FW Alan Winn  United States
20 MF Matt LaGrassa  United States
21 GK C. J. Cochran  United States
22 DF Bradley Bourgeois  United States
23 DF Taylor Washington  United States
27 DF Kosuke Kimura  Japan
28 DF London Woodberry  United States
30 MF Bolu Akinyode  Nigeria

Staff

Front office staff[23]
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
Technical staff[24]
Head coach Gary Smith
Technical director Mike Jacobs
Assistant coach David Proctor
Team Administrator & Equipment Manager Jeff Robben
Video analysis coordinator Bert Leonard

References

  1. ^ "USL Expanding to Nashville: Music City, USA". United Soccer League. May 19, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ "Exclusive: Nashville Soccer Club to play inaugural season at First Tennessee Park". Tennessean. August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  18. ^ "PDL Introduces Nashville SC U23 as Newest Team". Premier Development League. September 20, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  19. ^ "The Roadies". NSCRoadies.com. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  20. ^ "The Assembly". Facebook. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  21. ^ WTVF-DY Channel 5, December 20, 2017
  22. ^ "Players and Staff - First Team". Nashville SC. December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  23. ^ "Front Office Staff". Nashville SC. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  24. ^ "Coaching Staff". Nashville SC. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
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