2020 MLS Regular Season – Week 12
Columbus Crew SC vs. Nashville SC
MAPFRE Stadium – Columbus
September 19 – 7:30 PM ET
STREAMING: MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, on DAZN in Canada
LOCAL TV: MyTV30, SportsTime Ohio
Columbus Crew SC look to extend an unbeaten streak to five games Saturday night at MAPFRE Stadium when they face a confident Nashville SC squad coming off a resounding 4-2 victory over Atlanta United. .
Crew SC (7W-1L-3) rallied from a two-goal deficit to draw Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field Saturday to remain first in the Eastern Conference table, while Nashville SC (3W-4L-3D) moved above the playoff line win the win over the Five Stripes.
Columbus Crew SC
Crew SC climbed out of a two-goal hole to earn a road point following a 2-2 draw with Fire FC Saturday. Although conceding as many goals in four minutes as they had to that point of the season, Fatai Alashe and Gyasi Zardes scored second-half goals to secure a share of the points. It was an uncharacteristic slow start, but outside of the first 20 minutes, Caleb Porter loved what he saw from his squad.
"We’ll be better from that 20 minutes and these are lessons you need to learn along the way: you absolutely need to learn them," Porter said. "The other lesson we learned is we can come from behind and find a way, even on the road down two goals, to grind out a point."
![Columbus Crew SC vs. Nashville SC | 2020 MLS Match Preview - Project Starting XI](https://images.mlssoccer.com/image/private/t_keep-aspect-ratio-e-mobile/f_png/prd-league/wzikqidai8yulwkxdrr3.png)
- Updated team roster
- Injury Report:
- OUT: Vito Wormgoor (D) - ankle injury
- OUT: Fanendo Adi (F) - undisclosed injury
- QUESTIONABLE: Lucas Zelarayan (M) - undisclosed injury
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: None
- International duty: None
Nashville SC
Dax McCarty had a goal and two assists, helping lead Nashville's first multi-goal game in their 10-match MLS history and also had some sage advice for Atlanta's Miles Robinson, who said in the leadup to the match that the Five Stripes had better players on their team.
"But I have to say: a little bit of unsolicited old man advice for Miles Robinson,” McCarty said. “I think he's got tremendous talent. I think the future for him is extremely bright. But when your team is going through a tough time … their team is not in a good place right now, and their team is struggling. So for me, if I can give Miles a little bit of advice I would say to him: Talent is only so valuable and it's only going to take you so far. Especially in this game. Especially in soccer because there's so much more to the game than talent.
“So when you're going through a tough time I would say that things like character, things like hard work, things like humility, they go a long way to help get your team out of a tough time. For us, we continue on our path. Regardless how teams look at us, we're not going to let it affect us in our locker room.”
![Columbus Crew SC vs. Nashville SC | 2020 MLS Match Preview - Project Starting XI](https://images.mlssoccer.com/image/private/t_keep-aspect-ratio-e-mobile/f_png/prd-league/akmcktxa0y9xqjbhcofx.png)
- Updated team roster
- Injury Report:
- OUT: Jimmy Medranda (D) - hip injury
- OUT: Ken Tribbett (D) - calf injury
- OUT: Randall Leal (M) - undisclosed injury
- OUT: Abu Danladi (F) - undisclosed injury
- OUT: David Accam (M) - undisclosed injury
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: Daniel Lovitz (D)
- International duty: None
Series Matchup at Crew SC
This is the first all-time meeting between Columbus Crew SC and Nashville SC.
Officials
- Referee: Silviu Petrescu
- Assistant Referees: Andrew Bigelow, Matthew Nelson
- 4th Official: Calin Radosav
- VAR: David Gantar