BRADENTON, Fla. - Nashville SC played its second preseason match of 2021 on Wednesday, defeating the USL Championship’s Tampa Bay Rowdies at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. It was a hard-fought 1-0 victory for Nashville, one that Head Coach Gary Smith was happy with.
“Very pleased with the attitude of everyone out in the field,” said Smith following the match. “I would love to have seen a little bit more quality out of that group, but they showed a tremendous amount of determination to see the game.”
Several different players saw more substantial playing time in the second match of preseason, including goalkeeper Elliot Panicco. The 13th overall pick in the 2020 Major League Soccer SuperDraft pres. by adidas went the full 90 minutes on Tuesday as he enters his second season with the club.
“There'll be an awful lot that we can take out of it and discuss with him, and he can go away and mentally, reflect on it, but ultimately he’ll be very, very pleased, especially with that second half onslaught, that he's kept a clean sheet,” said Smith of Panicco’s performance.
Nashville SC will conclude its preseason schedule against Birmingham Legion FC at Nissan Stadium on April 10 in a closed-door friendly before beginning its second Major League Soccer campaign on April 17 at Nissan Stadium against FC Cincinnati. Visit NashvilleSC.com and the club’s social channels on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to keep up to date with Nashville SC ahead of the 2021 season.
