Matt Pickens, goalkeeper for Nashville SC
Nashville Soccer Club keeper Matt Pickens was named the USL Championship’s Player of the Week following two clean sheets on the road last week, earning Nashville SC four points and vaulting it to second place in the Eastern Conference standings. The honor is Pickens’ first as a member of Nashville SC as he received 67 percent of the poll conducted by a national panel of independent media representing every USL Championship market.
The two clean sheets last week give Pickens four in eight starts in 2019, tied for the seventh-most clean sheets in the USL Championship. To add more context, Pickens’ eight starts are the fewest of any USL Championship keeper with four or more clean sheets.
As the first signing in Nashville SC history, the MLS Cup-winning veteran Pickens has exceeded all lofty expectations with 18 clean sheets in 39 appearances, allowing just 34 goals, fewer than one per match. The 18 total clean sheets are the most in the USL Championship for any keeper the last two seasons in the league.
Nashville SC will return to action on Wednesday night in the Third Round of the U.S. Open Cup in Murfreesboro at Hayes Stadium at 7:30 p.m. against the Charleston Battery. A win would advance Nashville to play a Major League Soccer team in the Fourth Round.
