The ‘Yotes snapped their two-match losing streak Saturday with a 2-0 road victory against Orlando City.
Below are our player ratings.
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 – 8.7: Six saves for Willis see his good form continue. It certainly helped that his backline in front of him played their best so far this season, but Willis still was able to answer any questions when he was called into action.
Dan Lovitz – 7.2: Didn’t win any of his ground duels, but was precise with his long balls, completing 62% of his
Jack Maher – 7.3: A decent performance from Maher, who completed all four long ball attempts, but only recorded one clearance.
Walker Zimmerman – 7.8: Nine clearances and 83% of his aerial duels won helped Nashville’s captain land a spot on the MLS team of the week with teammate Hany Mukhtar.
Shaq Moore – 8: Moore was an absolute defensive beast on the defensive side with five tackles. Was also effective on the offensive side, providing Mukhtar with the assist for his goal and hitting the post early on.
Luke Haakenson – 6.8: A surprise start for Haakeson saw him play a decent ball to Mukhtar that was ruled offside. Other than that, not a ton to write home about.
Anibal Godoy – 7.3: Godoy’s return to the starting 11 brought some physicality to the side, as he won the initial challenge that led to Nashville’s opening goal. He also completed 90% of his passes, but only won 33% of his duels.
Sean Davis – 7.2: Had five passes breach the final third, completing 80% of his passes. Also had a tackle and six recoveries.
Fafà Picault – 8.2: Fafà had the fantastic vision to see that he had Pedro Gallese caught in no man’s land when he popped the ball over his head on his run and into the net, despite the contact he absorbed.
Hany Mukhtar – 8.7: It only took him six matches, but last year’s MLS MVP is finally on the scorer’s sheet. He also had the self-awareness to take the quick set piece that allowed Fafà to score the opener.
CJ Sapong – 6.7: Sapong got the nod as the number 9 for the second straight match, and while he only recorded one shot on the night, his hold-up play was solid. A goal from Sapong in his next few matches would help solidify his role in the starting lineup, considering he hasn’t scored since May of 2022.
Substitutes
Taylor Washington – 6.7: Had three clearances and won half of his duels. An solid appearance off the bench for Washington indeed.
Dax McCarty – 7.3: Eager to redeem himself from his match against Cincinnati, McCarty had a limited amount of touches, but did complete two passes into the final third. Also won his only ground and aerial duels.
Teal Bunbury – 6.5: Only won one of four aerial duels and recorded no shots, but did have two interceptions.
Brian Anunga – 6.7: Anunga made his typical cameo with Nashville leading to help solidify the midfield.
Manager
Gary Smith – 8.5: The “Gary Smith Materclass” meme material gets tossed around a ton by the Nashville SC social media mob, but that’s exactly what was on display in the sunshine state. No-nonsense defending with Hany Mukhtar pulling the strings in the final third. There weren’t a ton of quality chances either for the ‘Yotes (.57 xG for the match), but they made the most of their limited opportunities. A bounce-back road victory should give this side confidence heading back to Geodis for a tough Easter weekend matchup against Toronto FC.
