Recap: Nashville SC held to 0-0 draw with DC United

Joe Willis once again played the hero in Nashville SC’s 0-0 draw with D.C. United on Wednesday night at Audi Field. The Nashville goalkeeper earned his 13th clean sheet of the year to earn a vital point on the road.

Lineup

Gary Smith was forced into a number of changes, with Randall Leal and Dan Lovitz missing due to injury and Alistair Johnston and Aníbal Godoy still returning from international duty.

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90 minutes

DC nearly took the lead just three minutes in when Golden Boot leader Ola Kamara rattled the post. They came close again in the 65th minute. Russell Canouse found himself open at the back post on a set piece, and put a header from close range directly at Joe Willis, who made a solid save to keep the score level.

Hany Mukhtar and CJ Sapong struggled to impact the match until late in the second half, and Daniel Ríos dragged a shot just wide of the far post in Nashville’s best look of the night.

Nashville will argue they should have played up a man for the second half. Halftime substitute Joseph Mora was shown a yellow card just seconds after his introduction for an enthusiastic challenge on Eric Miller, but referee Ismail Elfath opted against further punishment.

Big picture

While Nashville fans certainly are eager for more than a point, a point against a surging DC United side isn’t a bad result.

Philadelphia’s dramatic draw in Montreal means that Nashville maintain their two-point hold on second place. With a rare home match on the docket for Wednesday night, a win against Columbus is much-needed ahead of another lengthy road stretch.

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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