Recap: Seattle Sounders 0 – Nashville SC 1

A late Aníbal Godoy goal got Nashville SC’s 2022 season off to an ideal start. The Boys In Gold toppling the Seattle Sounders 1-0 to take three points from one of the most difficult road trips of the year.

The XI

Head coach Gary Smith threw a curveball to start the season. After using a back three during preseason, Smith opted to start Aníbal Godoy, Sean Davis and Dax McCarty together in a 4-1-3-2 formation, with Randall Leal putting in a defensive shift underneath the strikers.

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On the pitch

With a trio of defensively solid midfielders, Nashville clogged the middle of the pitch and frustrated Seattle’s attackers. While Seattle controlled the bulk of possession, Nashville looked the more dangerous side. Hany Mukhtar picked up right where he left off last year and looked lethal on the half turn, nearly opening the scoring just before the break.

As the match looked destined for a draw, Nashville found a winner from an unlikely source. Randall Leal hit a perfect driven cross for Aníbal Godoy, who snuck across goal to the back post for a simple finish.

The big picture

With their eight match road stretch looming heavy over the start of the season, any result in Seattle would have been a positive. To start the season with three points heading into a difficult match in Minnesota gives the Coyotes a bit of relief and more room for error until they can return home.

Stats

Possession: SEA 58% – 42% NSH
Shots: SEA 10 – 10 NSH
Shots on goal: SEA 2 – 4 NSH
Expected goals: SEA 0.45 – 0.90 NSH
Goals: SEA 0 – 1 NSH
Passes: SEA 434 – 317 NSH
Fouls: SEA 13 – 11 NSH
Yellow cards: SEA 2 – 0 NSH
Red cards: SEA 0 – 0 NSH

Gallery

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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