The Nashville Metros were an American soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1989, the team most recently played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the South Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The Metros were the longest continuously operating soccer club in the United Soccer Leagues before their last season in 2012.
In the side's later years its home games were contested at Ezell Park and E. S. Rose Park.
History The Nashville Metros were founded by Lynn Agee and Devinder Sandhu and began indoor play in the Sunbelt Independent Soccer League in 1990. Due to a lack of facilities, the team played their entire first season on the road, before settling in Smyrna. The Metros continued to play indoors until 1996, but only won six matches in six seasons. During much of the same period, the outdoor team played in the USL's amateur Premier League with significantly better results. Nashville's first winning season came in 1995 with a 12–6 record and their first playoff appearance. The 1996 team witnessed the Metros' Pasi Kinturi score a league-leading 19 goals as he was named that season's league MVP.
The Metros moved up to the second division A-League in 1997. After several years of playing at various high school and municipal stadiums in Nashville and Franklin, the team settled into their new home at Ezell Park. Nashville made their first U.S. Open Cup appearance in the 1998 tournament where they routed the third division Delaware Wizards before advancing to face the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer. A heavy underdog, the Metros pulled off the upset of the tournament with a victory over the first division club in front of an ecstatic home crowd. Nashville eventually fell in the quarterfinals to MLS' Dallas Burn.
In 1999 due to financial circumstances, the club was forced to reorganize. The side was renamed the "Tennessee Rhythm" and moved from Nashville to Franklin, but returned to their original venue in 2001, reverting to their original name at the same time. This time period featured an unsuccessful rematch against the Dallas Burn in the 2000 U.S. Open Cup and a nationally televised game against the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2001 tournament. In 2002 the Metros moved down from the A-League to the Premier Development League, mainly due to Ezell Park's substandard facilities, such as the lack of a press box.
Beginning with their first playoff appearance in 1994, Nashville made eight postseason trips over the next 11 years.
Players
Final roster Source
Notable former players This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.
Jay Ayres Kainoa Bailey Kalin Bankov Trevor Banks Ian Borders Jon Busch Danny DeVall Tanner Redden Gabe Eastman Albert Edward John Jones Pasi Kinturi Patrick Parker Steve Klein Tony Kuhn Jamel Mitchell Richard Mulrooney Dimitry Shamootin J. P. Rodrigues Daryl Sattler
Year-by-year YearDivisionLeagueRegular seasonPlayoffsOpen Cup1991N/ASISL4th, SoutheastDid not qualifyDid not enter1992N/AUSISL5th, SoutheastDid not qualifyDid not enter1993N/AUSISL6th, SoutheastDid not qualifyDid not enter19943USISL5th, MidsouthDivisional SemifinalsDid not enter19954USISL Premier3rd, EasternDivisional SemifinalsDid not qualify19964USISL Premier4th, Eastern NorthernDivision FinalsDid not qualify19972USISL A-League2nd, CentralDivision SemifinalsDid not qualify19982USISL A-League1st, CentralConference QuarterfinalsQuarter Finals19992USL A-League6th, CentralDid not qualifyDid not qualify20002USL A-League5th, CentralDid not qualify2nd Round20012USL A-League4th, Central1st Round2nd Round20024USL PDL4th, Mid South1st RoundDid not qualify20034USL PDL3rd, Mid SouthDid not qualifyDid not qualify20044USL PDL4th, Mid SouthConference SemifinalsDid not qualify20054USL PDL5th, Mid SouthDid not qualifyDid not qualify20064USL PDL5th, South AtlanticDid not qualifyDid not qualify20074USL PDL7th, SoutheastDid not qualifyDid not qualify20084USL PDL7th, SoutheastDid not qualifyDid not qualify20094USL PDL7th, SoutheastDid not qualifyDid not qualify20104USL PDL7th, SoutheastDid not qualifyDid not qualify20114USL PDL5th, SoutheastDid not qualifyDid not qualify20124USL PDL4th, South AtlanticDid not qualifyDid not qualify
Indoor
YearDivisionLeagueRegular seasonPlayoffs1990/91N/ASISL Indoor9th, SoutheastDid not qualify1991/92N/AUSISL Indoor4th, SoutheastDid not qualify1992/93N/AUSISL Indoor4th, SoutheastPlayoffs1993/94N/AUSISL Indoor6th, SoutheastDid not qualify1994/95N/AUSISL Indoor4th, Mid SouthDid not qualify1995/96N/AUSISL Indoor7th, SoutheastDid not qualify
Honors USISL A-League Central Conference Champions (1): 1998
Head coaches Greg Petersen (1998–1999) Brett Mosen (2000–2001) Andy Poklad (2002–2004) Rico Laise (1999, 2007–2008) Richard Askey (2009) Obed Compean (2005–2006, 2010) Ricardo Lopez (2011) Brent Goulet (2012)
Stadium Stadiums in Nashville and Franklin, Tennessee; (1990–1996) Stadium in Franklin, Tennessee; (1999–2000) Ezell Park; Nashville, Tennessee (1997–1998, 2001–2011) Siegel Park; Murfreesboro, Tennessee 5 games (2007–2010) E.S. Rose Park; Nashville, Tennessee; (2012)
Average attendance Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20131208011525/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html.
2005: 307 2006: 392 (8th in PDL) 2007: 361 2008: 308 2009: 162 2010: 215 2011: 349
References
External links Official PDL site