Nashville SC still aren’t back in action, but two of their players are. It’s time for this week’s edition of “Gold On Loan”, where we check in on Nashville SC players plying their trade with other teams.
Forward Cameron Lancaster and midfielder Luke Haakenson are both on loan in the USL Championship, and both got on the scoresheet this past weekend.
Cameron Lancaster (Louisville City FC)
Lancaster came to Nashville in 2019 amid high expectations. The striker’s 26 goals for Louisville City FC had just broken the USL single-season record, and had interest from other teams in Major League Soccer. Instead of going immediately to MLS, Lancaster signed an MLS contract with Nashville, who still had a year left in USL before moving up to MLS.
2019 was supposed to be a time for Lancaster to adjust to Nashville and maintain his form heading into MLS, but it turned into an injury-filled nightmare. He played just 834 minutes.
Ahead of their debut season in MLS, Nashville loaned Lancaster back to Louisville for the 2020 season on a deal that included a recall clause, but saw Nashville responsible for a large portion of Lancaster’s wages. (For those newer to soccer, loan moves allow a player to join another team on a temporary deal, while their “parent club” still owns their permanent rights).
Lancaster’s form immediately improved. He has appeared in all four of Louisville’s matches this season, scoring twice in the process.
His second goal came this past weekend, scoring the loan goal in a 1-0 win over Sporting KC II.
It was Louisville’s first win since the restart. They’re currently in third place in Group E with another match against SKC II up next. They’ll play Wednesday, July 29 at 7:00 PM central on ESPN+.
Luke Haakenson (Charlotte Independence)
Nashville’s fourth round draft pick in the 2020 SuperDraft spent preseason in Nashville before heading to Charlotte on loan for the season. He’s played in both of the Independence’s matches this season, coming off the bench in their season opener back in March, and starting their first match since the restart this past weekend. Against Memphis 901 this past weekend, Haakenson started as an eight in Charlotte’s 4-2-3-1, playing 59 minutes and scoring Charlotte’s first goal.
Scoring the first goal of his professional career was special. It’s even more special to score it against US National Team legend Tim Howard (yeah, he’s in the USL Championship with Memphis 901 as an owner/general manager/goalkeeper).
With just one match played since the restart, Charlotte are in second place in Group G. They’ll travel to Birmingham Legion next Wednesday, August 5.
Twitter