Nashville SC made a huge statement in their playoff position push with a 3-0 victory against Austin FC Saturday night.
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 – 7.2: Willis was much busier this match as opposed to previous matches, but he was well-positioned for every one of his saves, thus resulting in his third clean sheet in four matches.
Daniel Lovitz – 8.3: Had a goal-line clearance in the first half that might’ve changed the trajectory of this match had he not been in the right to make that clearance. He then followed that up in the second half with a well-executed corner kick that found Walker Zimmerman’s head for the opening goal.
Shaq Moore – 7.5: Moore had some exceptional service this match from the flanks with his crosses, and he found Hany Mukhtar square making a run on the counter to ice the match.
Dave Romney – 6.7: Won’t grab all the headlines like Zimmerman did, but did have seven clearances and played some solid balls from the backline.
Walker Zimmerman – 8.3: Zimmerman was finding plenty of headers on Nashville’s set pieces, which of course led to his goal. He timed his run well to the near post after breaking free from his marker and thumped home the header.
Dax McCarty – 7.8: McCarty was busy in the middle winning three tackles. He also hit all four long balls, including the one that sprung Shaq Moore late in the match that resulted in Mukhtar’s brace.
Sean Davis – 6.8: Won all six ground duels and completed 87% of his passes. Did have a look at goal early in the match that went just wide.
Jacob Shaffelburg – 7.3: Shaffelburg continues to bring a new dynamic to this Nashville offense with his pace and fearless dribbling at opposing back lines. He also had a couple of decent shots, including one from way outside the box that wasn’t too far off target.
Alex Muyl – 6.8: Great awareness by Muyl to punish the errant touch and play Mukhtar through in to space for his assist.
CJ Sapong – 6: Sapong continues to struggle with his finishing, and, despite Nashville’s good run at the moment, the ‘Yotes would benefit even more if he could bag at least one during the postseason push.
Hany Mukhtar – 9.3: Mukhtar’s late second-half brace means he now sits alone at the top of the MLS golden boot race with 21 goals. He also completed 91% of his passes and created seven chances. Is he now the leader in the clubhouse for MVP? These last few matches will be telling.
SUBS
Anibal Godoy (on 73’) – 5.8: Only touched the ball twice during his cameo. Completed both of his passes, but lost his only ground duel.
Luke Haakenson (on 73′) – 5.8: Haakenson was fairly lively in his appearance, completing 80% of his passes and winning all four of his ground and aerial duels.
Teal Bunbury (on 79′) – 5.5: Bunbury returned from injury and completed his lone cross.
Jack Maher (on 87′) – 5.5: Brought on late to see out the result with his defensive presence.
MANAGER
Gary Smith – 9.5: Make that four straight wins for Smith, whose side have now scored 14 in four matches. This was a true measuring stick match considering where Austin sit in the Western Conference, and Nashville looked the much better side from the opening whistle. These two sides will see each other again in a few weeks in Texas, but now a date with Chicarito and the LA Galaxy await at Geodis Park before that rematch.
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.
