Nashville Soccer Club announced today that the postponed USL Championship regular season match between the club and New York Red Bulls II has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. CST at First Tennessee Park.

The originally scheduled match was abandoned at halftime on Wednesday, June 26 as severe thunderstorms swept through the region. Despite an initial 2-1 lead in favor of the home team, the rescheduled contest will be played from the opening kickoff.

Tickets for the June 26 match will be honored on Aug. 21. If fans transferred or sold their June 26 tickets, the party who received or purchased them will have access to the rescheduled match. Additional tickets are available for purchase at https://www.nashvillesc.com/tickets.

Nashville SC (9W-5L-5D, 32 pts) will be back in action on Saturday, July 27 when they host Indy Eleven at Nissan Stadium, the club’s home when they join Major League Soccer in 2020.

Become an inaugural season ticket member for MLS at https://www.nashvillesc.com/mlstickets and get access to specially priced tickets for the two USL Championship matches at Nissan Stadium on July 27 and Oct. 12, 2019.

Lexi Bryan of CHS volleyball[file photo]

Coffee County lost to Middle Tennessee Christian in straight sets 25-21 and 25- 17. They defeated Rockvale in straight sets 25-19 and 25-22 before getting a thrilling three-set victory over Eagleville. Coffee County won by set scores of 26-24, 24 – 26 and 15 to 11.
Coffee County Lady Raider coach Andrew Taylor complemented the play of Keelie Hillis, Lexi Bryan and Keri Munn.  “(The) girls did a good job with handling the adversity of the day” said Taylor.  “Communication and attitudes were good. Our service game, with the exception of MTCS, was solid. Offensively we are working hard on elevating and speeding up our arm swings. Defensively we need to improve our slides and positioning” added Taylor.

Coffee County returns to Eagleville on Thursday were they take on 2 state qualifiers from last season.  They open against Watertown at 1:30 before taking on Summertown at 3.  They close out the day against former district rival Lawrence County at 4:30 PM.

1st National Bank and Thunder Radio will once again join forces this fall as we continue to highlight local athletes and teams. The highly acclaimed 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series returns for its 6th season as we highlight middle school football action from Westwood and Coffee County Middle, along with girls’ soccer and volleyball at the middle schools and at Coffee County Central High.

Highlights for the season include 4 road trips as we follow Coffee County Middle School football to Watertown and the Lady Raider volleyball team to Tullahoma.  We will also feature a Westwood football game at Cannon County and a Coffee County CHS soccer game at Lincoln County.  We will also feature Westwood volleyball visiting Coffee County Middle School for a battle of crosstown rivals.

Beginning on August 6th and continuing through the end of September, Thunder Radio will bring you a series of 19 regular season contests as we strive to spotlight Manchester’s incredible school and community spirit.  The Hometown Sports Series will continue into the postseason for the high school volleyball and soccer teams as well as any middle school football championship games in October.   Just another example of why Thunder Radio is your leader in Manchester and Coffee County sports coverage.

The tentative schedule is as follows:

Matt Pickens, goalkeeper for Nashville SC

Nashville Soccer Club eased to a 2-0 victory over in-state rival Memphis 901 FC on Wednesday night in the Bluff City, behind goals from debutant Jimmy Ockford and USL Championship leading scorer Daniel Ríos. It’s the second 2-0 win against Memphis for Nashville SC this season, completing the Tennessee Two-Step over the inaugural season club.

The first half wasn’t without a nervy moment for Nashville fans. It looked like Memphis 901 had gone ahead early in the 9’ minute when former Nashville SC and current Memphis forward Brandon Allen tapped in a goal after chaos in the box. Celebrations ensued but the assistant referee had his flag raised, disallowing the goal for offside. After a long discussion between referees, the call stood and Memphis players were left to fume over the decision.

In the 42’ minute, it was Nashville SC that struck first. A set piece won by Nashville SC in its offensive half led to cross into the box from midfielder Lebo Moloto. A slight touch was all Ockford needed to redirect the point perfect cross inside the far post to give Nashville the lead.

Early in the second half, Nashville’s leading man found his 12th goal of the season. A through ball from Alan Winn sent Ríos in all alone in the box. The league’s leading scorer made no mistake, firing high into the net to double the lead. The goal puts Ríos into a tie atop the USL Championship’s goal leaders with Phoenix Rising FC forward Solomon Asante.

From there, Nashville SC salted the victory away, taking state bragging rights and continuing its quest for a second consecutive USL Cup Playoff appearance. Memphis meanwhile languishes near the bottom of the table, with just 15 points in 18 total matches.

Here are three takeaways from the victory:

1) Immediate Impact

Newly acquired defender Jimmy Ockford earned an immediate start for Nashville SC at center back, and made an instant impact, scoring the opening goal of the match on a set piece late in the first half. It was the first goal for the defender since the 2017 season, but it couldn’t have come at a better time as it gave Nashville the lead. While the loan for Ockford is just short-term, the San Jose Earthquakes defender has already proven his value with the goal and contributing to the clean sheet for Nashville.

2) Much Needed Clean Sheet

It hasn’t been a great run lately for the Nashville defense, giving up eight goals in its last four matches. The clean sheet on Wednesday night against a rival was the perfect remedy. It’s the 7th clean sheet of the year for the Nashville backline and 5th of the year for keeper Matt Pickens who made three big saves.

3) Ríos at the Top

The second consecutive match with a Daniel Ríos goal puts the Mexican forward in a tie at the top of the USL Championship leaders with 12 goals this season. Ríos was the club’s first MLS signing in the offseason, and he has shown why all season, with 12 goals in 19 matches. He is on his way to becoming the first player in USL Championship history to scored 20 goals in consecutive seasons and potentially winning the league’s Golden Boot for being the top scorer at the end of the season.

Up Next

Nashville SC’s premier match of the summer is now on deck as Nashville will take on Indy Eleven at Nissan Stadium on July 27 at 7 p.m. The matchup will allow fans a preview of Nashville SC at Nissan leading into the 2020 MLS season. Tickets are available here.

The Nashville Sounds’ losing streak hit four games in a 7-5 setback to the San Antonio Missions Wednesday night at Nelson W. Wolff Stadium.

Nashville was in charge by a score of 4-2 when San Antonio plated four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take control. The Missions never trailed the rest of the way.

For the fifth consecutive game, the Sounds allowed at least one run in the first inning. Starter Austin Bibens-Dirks battled control issues early when he uncorked a wild pitch allowing the first run of the game and a bases-loaded walk to give the Missions a 2-0 lead after one inning.

Newly acquired Nick Solak got the Sounds on the board in the second when he clubbed a double to the wall in left-center. His first hit as a member of the Texas organization scored Matt Davidson to make it 2-1.

Bibens-Dirkx settled in and the offense kept churning. With Scott Heineman on base in the top of the third, Andy Ibanez launched a 3-2 pitch from Aaron Wilkerson well over the left field wall for a two-run homer. His 11th home run of the season gave Nashville a 3-2 lead.

Nashville manufactured a two-out rally in the fourth when Christian Lopes singled and stole second base ahead of Jose Trevino. The Sounds’ backstop delivered a two-out, run-scoring single to make it a 4-2 game.

The Missions sent nine batters to the plate in the long bottom of the fifth. Travis Shaw, Troy Stokes Jr. and Jacob Nottingham had doubles in the frame. Shaw’s double drove in a pair of runs and evened the game at 4-4, and chased Bibens-Dirkx from the game.

Reliever Jake Petricka was summoned and got two quick outs but then surrendered back-to-back doubles to Stokes Jr. and Nottingham. Both two-baggers knocked in a run and San Antonio grabbed a 6-4 lead.

It was a 7-4 game in the seventh when Eli White’s RBI single gave the Sounds life. They brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth but Taylor Williams slammed the door for his sixth save of the season.

The series finale is schedule for Thursday night in San Antonio. Left-hander Wes Benjamin (4-5, 6.56) starts for Nashville. San Antonio has not announced a starter. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

– With tonight’s 7-5 loss, the Sounds dropped to 40-56 on the season.

– Eli White went 1-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to seven games.

– Andy Ibanez hit his 11th home run of the season tonight. He is one shy of his single-season high of 12 home runs in 2018 with Triple-A Round Rock.

– Christian Lopes and Matt Davidson extended their on-base streak to 16 games and 13 games, respectively.

The 2019 season is the 42nd in Nashville Sounds franchise history and first as the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

C.J. Anthony of Coffee County football

The Coffee County Central High School football team traveled to Cleveland on Tuesday for three 7 on 7 games at Walker Valley.  Coach Doug Greene, who has bemoaned the slow starting Raiders this summer, was pleased with Coffee County’s execution on the night.  Speaking of the Red Raiders performance he said “tonight was as well as we have executed on both sides of the ball (all summer).”

Opening up against Ooltewah, the defense forced a 3 and out and Kelvin Verge caught a long pass on a fly route.  “Our quarterbacks made better decision with some good throws tonight” said Greene.  He also praised the performance of his running backs calling out Marshall Haney and Ethan Baker for making some good catches out of the backfield.

On the defensive side, Greene praised the play of C.J. Anthony who had an interception.  “We are still running to the ball well and understanding what we need to do at the safety position” added Greene.  He added that the defensive backfield still needs improvement in communicating.

The Red Raiders will travel to Shelbyville on Thursday for their final 7 on 7 scrimmages of the summer.  They will take part in the 7 on 7 scrimmage where they will play at least 5 games.  First action will begin at 9:30 AM at Shelbyville Central High School.