Nashville SC have one final match on the calendar before the Leagues Cup break (yes, that's happening next week). They'll travel to the nation's capital to take on DC United, with whom they drew 2-2 earlier this year at Geodis Park.
For the latest on the Black & Red, we checked in with Donald Wine, who covers the team for The District Press.
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Ben Wright (SixOneFive Soccer): Erkut Sogut and Rene Weiler didn't seem like the most inspiring choices for this team as CSO and head coach before the season, but it seems like they're making progress. What was your view initially, and has that changed at all as they've played?
Donald Wine (The District Press): The initial thoughts for most fans was, "How much worse can it get?" The fanbase morale was lower than I've ever seen it, and I watched every second of the 2013 season. It wasn't fun. The team was fighting, but the results weren't there, and much of the blame was pointed at the majority owners, Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan, for running the club into the ground.
People weren't sold on Sogut and Weiler being the guys to turn it around, but as you said, the progress is there. This team looks like it would put last year's team in the dirt despite losing unequivocally its best player in Christian Benteke during the offseason. The moves they've made have been to get guys who can do their job and have a mentality of working hard for everything they get, and you've seen a noticeable difference in the approach of the team each week.
BW: How has this roster been reshaped so far?
DW: The first step was getting some scorers, and Tai Baribo has filled that role wonderfully. He has 10 goals on the season and he's delivered even when it feels like there isn't enough service.
Louis Munteanu is starting to come into his own after a slow start, and the team revamped the flanks and how they play. Silvan Hefti and Keisuke Kurokawa have been mainstays in the lineup on defense, and the club just signed Kimito Nono to help in that area as well (he will not be available this weekend). Sean Johnson has had some moments where he was the vintage Sean that routinely got USMNT call-ups.
Weiler has also looked for more service from the midfield, and despite getting rid of guys like Aaron Herrera and Gabriel Pirani, who were in the doghouse, João Peglow has helped provide some creativity in the middle. Recent acquisition Nathan Ordaz is called upon to be a guy that can create as well, and Jackson Hopkins has been solid in helping the team create more scoring chances. They've scored more goals because their ability to create scoring opportunities has increased a great deal from last season.
