It’s the kind of finish you’d expect from a top striker.
Six minutes in against D.C. United, in MLS play this Saturday, Nashville SC defender Daniel Lovitz, who can count the goals he’s scored in nearly a decade as a pro on the fingers of one hand, put his laces through the ball to leave the keeper with no chance. Rather than bathe in the luxury of the moment, he simply turned back to the center-circle to start again.
“Dax [McCarty] was the party police there,” laughed Lovitz, describing how his veteran teammate, and an MLS fixture, forced him back to a celebration the goal more than warranted. “It was early on in the game and I guess I was just focussed on how much work was still left to do.”
Nashville SC’s full identity was on display in that 3-1 win over D.C. United. The stingy defense. The fighting spirit. The opportunistic attack. And it came just three days before the third-year MLS side from Tennessee travel to Florida to take on Orlando City in the last 2022 U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal.
Veteran Core + Mukhtar Spice
“I was excited to get on the scoresheet; to contribute in that way at a time when our offense has been clicking,” added Lovitz of the win that also saw Hany Mukhtar, the reigning MLS Player of the Week who’s up near the top of the league’s scoring charts, grab two. “Getting little contributions from all over the field speaks to the way we go about our game – and it puts us in a good mental space.”
There’s no ignoring the fact that Nashville SC’s attack is clicking into a higher gear. In their last nine games they’ve scored 17 goals (with five goals from two games in the Cup). For a team with second-highest age in the league, and one built with a mind to being what Lovitz describes as “a defensive stalwart,” this kind of output is nothing to sneeze at.
