Nashville SC’s run in the 2019 USL Championship Playoffs came to a heartbreaking end on Saturday night at First Tennessee Park as it fell to Indy Eleven 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Indy’s goal came midway through the second half when forward Tyler Pasher ran onto a ball over the top of Nashville defense and redirected it to the far side of the goal for the match-winner.

Following the goal, Nashville SC pressed for an equalizer throughout the last 30 minutes, and looked to find it in the 89’ minute when defender Justin Davis sent a ball into the net. However, the linesman had the flag up for offside, and the goal was disallowed. Unfortunately there was no stoppage time magic for Nashville as Indy’s defense locked down the final minutes of the match to maintain the victory.

For Nashville, the loss ends an incredibly successful two-year run in the USL Championship that saw the club earn playoff berths in each season, set a season ticket holder record and showcase soccer in Nashville for over 300,000 fans at home matches throughout the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Nashville SC now enters an offseason in which it will gear up for Major League Soccer in 2020. Next on the calendar for the club will be the MLS Expansion Draft on November 19. Season Ticket Memberships for the 2020 season are now on sale and start at just $25 a match.

Friday Prep Schedule
5:15 PM – CHS/CCMS/Westwood Swim HOSTS Tullahoma & Grace Tutorial Homeschool at Manchester Recreation Center
6:00 PM – CCMS Basketball vs. North Franklin at Franklin County High School
7:00 PM – CHS Football at Riverdale – Thunder Radio broadcast

Saturday Prep Schedule
6:00 AM – CHS Bass Club in Central TN Region Tournament at Percy Priest Lake
9:00 AM – CCMS 6th Grade Basketball in 6th Grade Tournament at West Tullahoma
10:00 AM – CHS Claybusters in AIM Team Shoot at Big Springs
12:00 PM – WMS 6th Grade Basketball(Girls only) at Community

Saturday Manchester Youth Football Playoffs at Franklin County
10:30 AM – Division 1 vs. Fayetteville
12:30 PM – Division 2 vs. Giles County
4:30 PM – Division 3 vs. Liberty

Saturday’s Coffee County Elementary Basketball League Schedule at Coffee County CHS
9 AM – Hillsboro vs. New Union- Girls (Boys @ 10)
11 AM – Deerfield vs. North Coffee – Girls (Boys @ 12)
1 PM – East Coffee vs. Westwood – Girls(Boys @ 2)
3 PM – College Street vs. Hickerson – Girls(Boys @ 2)

Coming up on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show, we will interview Tori Taylor of the Coffee County Middle School girls’ basketball team.  She will talk about the Lady Raiders fast start and give everyone a review of their first week of action.  We will also talk to Brock Freeze, the head coach for the Coffee County freshman football team.  Coach Freeze will talk about the Red Raiders season that concluded on Tuesday in the Tullahoma Lion’s Bowl.  We will also talk to Coffee County CHS wrestling coach Roger Barlow.  Coach Barlow will give us a preview of the Raiders and Lady Raiders upcoming season.  We will also talk about last season.

The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast live each Saturday at 10 AM from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.  The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively here on Thunder Radio. 

Austin Watson and Calle Jarnkrok each tallied twice, but it wasn’t enough as the Calgary Flames came back to beat the Nashville Predators in overtime, 6-5, on Halloween at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds a point in the standings but ends their winning streak at four games.

Nashville had a 4-1 lead entering the third period, but the Flames scored three to tie things up with less than four minutes to play in regulation. It looked as though the Preds would escape defeat when Watson tallied his second of the night with just over a minute remaining in the third, but Calgary evened the score with 39 seconds left. Matthew Tkachuk won it with two seconds left in overtime.

“We played a good first and then went downhill from there,” Preds Associate Captain Ryan Ellis said. “We got comfortable and kind of quit playing once when we got up. They’re a resilient team, that’s not the first time they’ve done that to us, when they climb back with a two- or three-goal lead. We knew it was coming, but we didn’t pick up our end of it.”

“They were quicker than us and played a game that put the puck behind us for a lot of the second period,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “In the third period, they did the same thing. We were good in the first period because we got the puck behind them and we went to work in the offensive zone. You spend that much time in the defensive zone, they’ve got some players on that team that can really hurt you, and they did.”

Watson did his best to give the Preds a chance, and he added two assists for the first four-point game of his career. Plus, the Predators announced a three-year contract for Watson during the second period of the contest to keep him in Nashville through the 2022-23 season.

“It’s a special day for me and my family,” Watson said. “At points last year I wasn’t really quite sure of where my career was going or if it was going to continue. To have some job security here, just super grateful for the organization, the guys. I’ve been through a lot and they’ve been through a lot with me. This is definitely a good day.”

Nick Bonino continued his reign as Nashville’s leading goal scorer when he potted his fourth-consecutive marker after Tuesday’s hat trick – and seventh overall – to give the Preds a 1-0 lead in the first. Watson’s first came five minutes later, and although the Flames got one before the period ended, the home team took advantage on the penalty kill in the second.

Watson’s quick one-timer
00:56 • October 31, 2019

Jarnkrok’s first of the evening came while the Preds were shorthanded at 4:36 of the middle frame, and then he did it again before the period was out with an almost identical tally, also down by a man. The Swede became just the second player in franchise history to score two shorthanded goals in the same game, joining Predators Director of Player Development and Milwaukee Admirals General Manager Scott Nichol.

“He’s been great this year shooting the puck,” Ellis said of Jarnkrok. “He’s got a heck of a shot and he put those right upstairs, they were great.”

But in the third, the Flames scored four, and Watson’s second wasn’t enough to hold them off before Tkachuk tied the game and then won it.

“It’s a game that we put ourselves in a great position to win,” Ellis said. “The last three or four games that we’ve really started to play the brand of hockey we wanted, and tonight was a step back, but we’ll address the issues and move on.”

Nashville will get back to work on Friday in preparation for a chance to erase the fruition when they host the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon (at 1 p.m. CT).

“We can’t sit on our heels in the third period when we have a lead,” Watson said. “It’s probably not the first time we’ve talked about it and hopefully it’s the last, but I doubt it will be. It happens. It’s not fun. It’s not very exciting right now the way that game ended, but we will learn from it and we will move forward.”

Notes:

Filip Forsberg returned to the lineup after missing six games with a lower-body injury.

Pekka Rinne extended his season-opening point streak to nine games tonight (7-0-2 record) to pass Tomas Vokoun (7-0-1 in 2005-06) for the Preds franchise record.

Nashville’s three-game homestand concludes on Saturday afternoon when the New York Rangers come to town for Hockey Fights Cancer Day.

Prior to Saturday’s game on the Fifth & Broad building across the street from the Bridgestone Arena Plaza, the Predators will reveal their jersey for the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic to be played against the Dallas Stars at the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day. A 60-foot by 80-foot banner will be hung on the building between 10-11 a.m.

The Coffee County CHS Red Raider basketball team will open practice on Monday with some high expectations.  Coach Micah Williams begins his 5^th year at the helm of the Coffee County program and is coming off a 19 win season last year and a regular season district title.  The Red Raiders have averaged 19 wins a year for the last 3 years and are coming off hosting a first round regional game for the first time since 2006.  The Red Raiders were selected to finish in 2^nd place in the district by the coaches and media in attendance at Monday’s District 8AAA Media Day.

The Red Raiders will take part in a scrimmage playday on Saturday, November 9^th at Rockvale.  The Red Raiders will take on Walker Valley, Jellico and Stratford.  Coffee County will host an open practice on Friday, November 15^th and the public is invited to attend.  The practice will get underway at 5:30 PM as Coach Williams will be mic’d for the duration of the practice as he leads his team through drills before ending with a controlled scrimmage.  Admission is free and folks are invited to stay after practice to eat with the team.  Coffee County opens the season on Friday, November 22^nd and Saturday, November 23^rd as they host a series of Hall of Champions games at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.