Preseason Recap: Nashville SC 2-3 FC Cincinnati

Nashville SC fell 3-2 to FC Cincinnati on Wednesday in their second preseason match of 2022. The Coyotes will play their final preseason friendly on February 18 against Philadelphia Union.

Nashville head coach Gary Smith didn’t start a first choice lineup, as he’d previously indicated. Instead, he started a group almost entirely comprised of players expected to start the season as reserves.

Nashville once again got off to a quick start, with Luke Haakenson heading home a cross from Alex Muyl in the fourth minute. Cincinnati equalized just a minute later through Isaac Atanga. Smith changed his squad at halftime, bringing in several of his starters in a mixed lineup.

Second half XI for #NashvilleSC:

Willis; Bauer, Castellanos, Zimmerman; Muyl, Godoy, McCarty, Washington, Aké Loba, Ríos, Leal#EveryoneN | #UpTheYotes pic.twitter.com/P6fpTWq8Jd

— Speedway Soccer 🐺 (@SpeedwaySoc) February 15, 2022

Once again, goals came early. Calvin Harris put Cincinnati ahead in the 47th minute, but Alex Muyl continued his strong attacking showing, finishing a rebound just three minutes later to pull Nashville level once again.

In the 60th minute, Smith once again made major changes to the lineup. The Coyotes finished the match with close to a first-choice group, including Hany Mukhtar and what is expected to be the first-choice backline of Dave Romney, Walker Zimmerman and Jack Maher.

#NashvilleSC shift to closer to a first-choice lineup in the 60th minute.

Willis; Maher, Zimmerman, Romney; Miller, Godoy, McCarty, Lovitz; Aké Loba, Bunbury, Mukhtar #EveryoneN | #UpTheYotes pic.twitter.com/xSPi3RbCdu

— Speedway Soccer 🐺 (@SpeedwaySoc) February 15, 2022

The two sides played an extra 30 minutes in addition to the standard 90 minutes, giving the first-choice group around 60 minutes together. It was Cincinnati who found the winner, though, with academy standout Harrison Robledo scoring the winner with a strike from outside the box in the 100th minute.

Nashville will play their final match of the 2022 preseason on Saturday against the Philadelphia Union.

Gallery: Nashville SC 2-3 FC Cincinnati

All photos courtesy Nashville SC.

Author: Ben Wrightis the Director of Soccer Content and a Senior MLS Contributor for Broadway Sports covering Nashville SC and the US National Team. Previously Ben was the editor and a founder of Speedway Soccer, where he has covered Nashville SC and their time in USL before journeying to Major League Soccer since 2018. Raised in Louisville, KY Ben grew up playing before a knee injury ended his competitive career. When he is not talking soccer he is probably producing music, drinking coffee or hanging out with his wife and kids. Mastodon

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