# 2023 Nashville SC season

The 2023 Nashville SC season was the fourth season for Nashville SC as a member of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top flight of professional soccer in the United States. After finishing the 2022 season with a playoff berth and a first round exit, the club loaned out Designated Player and forward Aké Arnaud Loba to Mazatlán F.C. and made trades to add depth. Midfielder Hany Mukhtar had finished the previous season as the league's top goalscorer, earning the MLS Golden Boot with 23 goals, and was also won the most valuable player award.
The club moved from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference for the 2023 season and played 34 regular season matches between February 25 and October 21. The team opened their preseason training camp on January 9 in Tampa, Florida, and played several friendly matches in Florida. Nashville SC also participated in the Leagues Cup, a knockout competition for all MLS and Liga MX clubs in July and August. They finished as runners-up, hosting the Leagues Cup final against Inter Miami CF and losing in a penalty shootout. The club entered the U.S. Open Cup in the third round and advanced to the Round of 16, where they were eliminated by Miami.
Nashville qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs—their fourth consecutive postseason—by finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference. They were eliminated in the first round by Orlando City SC, losing the first two games in the best-of-three series by a 1–0 scoreline.

## Non-competitive matches
### Preseason

During the preseason, Nashville SC had a 3–2–1 record.

## Competitive
### Major League Soccer
#### Standings

MLS Eastern Conference table (2023) :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 5 | New England Revolution | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 55 | Qualification for round one |
| 6 | Atlanta United FC | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 66 | 53 | +13 | 51 | Qualification for round one |
| 7 | Nashville SC | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 49 | Qualification for round one |
| 8 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 36 | 39 | −3 | 43 | Qualification for the wild-card round |
| 9 | Charlotte FC | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 43 | Qualification for the wild-card round |
Overall MLS standings table :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 10 | Atlanta United FC | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 66 | 53 | +13 | 51 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
| 11 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 48 | 50 | −2 | 50 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
| 12 | Nashville SC | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 49 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One |
| 13 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (V) | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 55 | 48 | +7 | 48 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One |
| 14 | FC Dallas | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 41 | 37 | +4 | 46 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
* 1 2 As one of the top seven teams in the overall table to not qualify for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup
* ↑ As 2023 Leagues Cup runner-up
* ↑ As 2023 Canadian Championship winners

#### Match results
### Leagues Cup
#### Central 4

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | TOL | NAS | COL |
| 1 | Toluca | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage | — | — | 4–1 |
| 2 | Nashville SC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage | 3–4 | — | 2–1 |
| 3 | Colorado Rapids | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 0 | | — | — | — |

#### Knockout stage
## Players and staff
### Roster

    As of May 16, 2023
| Squad no. | Name | Nationality | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Previous club | Notes |
| 1 | Joe Willis | United States | GK | (1988-08-10) August 10, 1988 (age 36) | Houston Dynamo FC | |
| 2 | Daniel Lovitz | United States | DF | (1991-08-27) August 27, 1991 (age 33) | CF Montréal | |
| 3 | Lukas MacNaughton | Canada | DF | (1995-03-08) March 8, 1995 (age 29) | Toronto FC | |
| 4 | Nick DePuy | United States | DF | (1994-11-14) November 14, 1994 (age 30) | LA Galaxy | |
| 5 | Jack Maher | United States | DF | (1999-10-28) October 28, 1999 (age 25) | Indiana Hoosiers | GA |
| 6 | Dax McCarty | United States | MF | (1987-04-30) April 30, 1987 (age 37) | Chicago Fire | |
| 7 | Fafà Picault | United States | FW | (1991-02-23) February 23, 1991 (age 34) | Houston Dynamo | |
| 8 | Randall Leal | Costa Rica | FW | (1997-01-14) January 14, 1997 (age 28) | Saprissa | |
| 10 | Hany Mukhtar | Germany | MF | (1995-03-21) March 21, 1995 (age 29) | Brøndby | DP |
| 11 | Ethan Zubak | United States | FW | (1998-04-15) April 15, 1998 (age 26) | LA Galaxy | HG |
| 12 | Teal Bunbury | United States | FW | (1990-02-27) February 27, 1990 (age 35) | New England Revolution | |
| 13 | Joey Skinner | United States | DF | (2003-03-28) March 28, 2003 (age 21) | Clemson Tigers | GA |
| 14 | Jacob Shaffelburg | Canada | FW | (1999-11-26) November 26, 1999 (age 25) | Toronto FC | |
| 16 | Laurence Wyke | England | DF | (1996-09-20) September 20, 1996 (age 28) | Tampa Bay Rowdies | |
| 17 | C. J. Sapong | United States | FW | (1988-12-27) December 27, 1988 (age 36) | Chicago Fire | Traded to Toronto FC on April 25, 2023. |
| 18 | Shaq Moore | United States | DF | (1996-11-02) November 2, 1996 (age 28) | Tenerife | |
| 19 | Alex Muyl | United States | MF | (1995-09-30) September 30, 1995 (age 29) | New York Red Bulls | HG |
| 20 | Aníbal Godoy | Panama | MF | (1990-02-10) February 10, 1990 (age 35) | San Jose Earthquakes | |
| 21 | Ahmed Longmire | United States | DF | (1999-10-11) October 11, 1999 (age 25) | UCLA Bruins | |
| 22 | Josh Bauer | United States | DF | (1998-07-22) July 22, 1998 (age 26) | Atlanta United FC | |
| 23 | Taylor Washington | United States | DF | (1993-08-16) August 16, 1993 (age 31) | Nashville SC (USL) | |
| 24 | Ján Greguš | Slovakia | MF | (1991-01-29) January 29, 1991 (age 34) | San Jose Earthquakes | |
| 25 | Walker Zimmerman | United States | DF | (1993-05-19) May 19, 1993 (age 31) | Los Angeles FC | DP |
| 26 | Luke Haakenson | United States | MF | (1997-09-10) September 10, 1997 (age 27) | Creighton Bluejays | |
| 27 | Brian Anunga | Cameroon | MF | (1996-08-10) August 10, 1996 (age 28) | Charleston Battery | |
| 28 | Tyler Freeman | United States | FW | (2003-01-09) January 9, 2003 (age 22) | Loudoun United FC | |
| 29 | Nebiyou Perry | United States | FW | (1999-10-02) October 2, 1999 (age 25) | Östersunds FK | |
| 30 | Elliot Panicco | United States | GK | (1996-11-18) November 18, 1996 (age 28) | Charlotte 49ers | |
| 54 | Sean Davis | United States | MF | (1993-02-08) February 8, 1993 (age 32) | New York Red Bulls | |
| 67 | Ben Martino | United States | GK | (2002-09-13) September 13, 2002 (age 22) | Virginia Tech Hokies | HG |
| 91 | Kemy Amiche | France | MF | (2000-12-10) December 10, 2000 (age 24) | Campbell Fighting Camels | |

### Coaching staff

    As of May 16, 2023
Technical Staff :
| Head coach | Gary Smith |
| Assistant coach | Steve Guppy |
| Assistant coach | Kosuke Kimura |
| Goalkeeping coach | Matt Pickens |