FRISCO, Texas – It took 157 days for Nashville SC to take the pitch again.
It took 90 minutes to make history.
Nashville SC earned its first Major League Soccer win on the road at FC Dallas in its first match back since the season was paused due to COVID-19. It might not have been how the players imagined earning the first win in club history, but given all that has happened to the world, to the city of Nashville and to the club in the last five months, this victory was as sweet as they come.
The lone goal scorer in the 1-0 victory came from none other than winger David Accam, whose apartment was destroyed in the March tornadoes just months before his wife was due to give birth to his first daughter. The team rallied around Accam then, and they did once again in an emotional celebration by the corner flag after the goal on Wednesday night.
The scenes after the goal and after the final whistle showed the kind of brotherhood that has been built at Nashville SC just a few months into its MLS existence.
“It’s amazing, it’s a different feeling because I haven’t had this in a long time,” Accam said. “Like last year and this year has been really tough for me and my family with the tornado and the virus and everything. I am just so happy to get on the field and to score and help the team get a first win for the season.”
Nashville SC’s first MLS win was no easy contest against a talented FC Dallas squad. However, Nashville’s shape held strong throughout the match to fend off Dallas’ attacks, and goalkeeper Joe Willis made five stops. Even after Nashville found the back of the net in the 86’ minute, Nashville’s defense came up big to preserve the win. Walker Zimmerman’s clutch sliding block in stoppage time helped get the team to the final whistle.
Much like the way this club has approached its topsy-turvy inaugural MLS season, Willis was prepared for whatever would come his way.
“To be honest I almost like it more. You have to stay focused, you have to stay tuned in the whole time,” Willis said of the volume of shots he faced. “We knew coming into it, it was going to be a grind and usually that means sitting back a little more and taking some pressure from the opposing attacks. So, I came into this game thinking I was going to have to do more work than the first two games. I think from the start the mentality was a little different, that has to be the mentality of a goalkeeper coming into any game no matter how much action you end up seeing you have to be prepared for facing shots all night.”
If Wednesday night’s scoreline had gone any other way, a litany of excuses were available. It could have been the 157-day layoff between matches, the new day-of-match travel schedule, or the novelty of Nashville’s inaugural MLS roster. Despite the odds stacked against them in every conceivable fashion, Nashville SC earned its first win, and gave the club and city another reason to cheer in the midst of a trying year.
“Well it is one game, but please forgive us for maybe enjoying it more than we would normally,” said Assistant Coach Steve Guppy, who filled in for Head Coach Gary Smith on the sideline. “It’s our first win, it’s away from home, we had the disappointment of what went on at Disney [MLS is Back Tournament] with a lot of players in isolation forever, it felt like we were in Shawshank down there. It’s been a difficult road for everyone, but they stuck at it and Gary (Smith) has done a marvelous job of keeping everyone closer together. When you look at all these things together, tonight, away from home in the heat, flying during the day, all these things players aren’t used to. It’s our first game in five months, to hang in there and to get a win in the manner we did, hats off to the players.”
Nashville SC goes for win number two on Sunday, August 16 against FC Dallas once again. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT.
