Nashville SC saw it’s playoff run and MLS inaugural season come to an end with a 2-0 loss against Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Below are our player ratings.
Each member of the Speedway Soccer crew gives each player that saw the pitch a rating based on their match performance. Below is a quick guideline for our evaluation process.
- A rating of 6 denotes an average performance. Each player starts out with a 6 and their performance either adds or subtracts from that rating.
- Scores are determined after re-watching the match and looking at the stats, and are the averaged total of each Speedway member’s ratings.
Joe Willis – 7: An excellent performance from Willis up until his two conceded goals in extra time, including a point-blank save on Gyas Zardes.
Daniel Lovitz – 7.3:  Had a pretty wayward early on, but that should not dismiss the fact that it was another good performance on the flanks from arguably Nashville’s most consistent player.
Dave Romney – 7.8: Did an excellent job marking Zardes and had a few key blocks. A true ironman in every sense of the word.
Walker Zimmerman – 7.5: Made some impactful runs to try and spark the offense and had a few headers on goal.
Alistar Johnston – 6.8: Fairly reckless in his play this match, which resulted in a yellow to his name.
Dax McCarty – 7.5: Decent at commanding the middle and having some good battles with Darlington Nagbe. Will be interesting to see him in year two as Nashville’s captain.
Brian Anunga – 6.3:  Was strong in his shoulder tackles, but had a few errant passes. Regardless, he looks to be a mainstay in the midfield rotation next year and beyond.
Alex Muyl – 7.8: Excellent service and work rate out on the flank. A full season with Nashville holds a lot of potential for Muyl next year.
Hany Mukhtar – 8.3:  Really slick with his dribbling and service. He kept getting the offense in a dangerous position.
Randall Leal –  7: Had some quality corners and crosses that led to some of Zimmerman’s headers.
Jhonder Cadiz – 7.3: Cadiz got his first full 90 minutes of action and was decent in his holdup play, he only had a few quality chances. Will be interesting to see how he performs next season until his loan is up.
Subs
Derrick Jones – 6.5: Came on for Anunga and had some plays where he was a bit of a liability in his defensive efforts.
Daniel Rios – 7: Could Rios once again produce extra time magic? It was not meant to be this time. Nashville’s top goal-scorer in its first MLS campaign should get ample opportunities to replicate his success in 2021.
Taylor Washington – 7: Came on to try and serve as a spark on the flanks on both sides. Have to figure he’s a part of Nashville’s plans moving forward considering his usage late in the season.
Handwalla Bwana – 6: Brought in to try and produce some offense after the two goals were conceded, but was ineffective in the time he was allotted.
Eric Miller – 6: Miller was brought on as a late precaution for Johnston, and was a nonfactor in the outcome.
Manager
Gary Smith – 7.3:  Smith was right to not make any changes to his lineup, and eventually the wall broke after over 300 playoff minutes without conceding a goal. Unfortunately, that one goal was enough to send them crashing out of the playoffs. Nonetheless, Smith’s side can hold its heads high heading into the offseason.
What say you? Do you agree or disagree with our match ratings? Feel free to reach out to us on Twitter and let us know your thoughts!
