Nashville SC head coach Gary Smith

(Opening statement on the game)

“I am bitterly disappointed we didn’t take all three points. The first half was competitive, but there were numerous mistakes from both teams. We had two or three chances that we didn’t convert. The second period we kept the ball and developed pressure better than we did in the first half. The amount of clear sights of goal we had as an away team…we were by far the better group. You don’t score, you can’t win. In front of goal, we fell short.”

(On if Nashville’s long layoff affected the game)

“Not really, no. The players were in good spirits, it was a tough environment. I just thought that both teams suffered in terms of connecting regularly. We gave the ball away too cheaply on too many occasions. There were some really good moments. Robin’s [Shroot] first chance was a clear sight of goal. He had a few really good looks in the first half. We just didn’t have the final touch.”

(On what improvements the offense needs to make to break the trend of not executing the final touch)

“I honestly think you look at the best teams, and they have players that hit the back of the net regularly. They can change the face of any challenge, of any game. How do we change that for us? We keep working in training. I can just keep trying to work our team into good areas and get good chances. I can give them new ideas, but they need to finish our chances. I am frustrated we haven’t scored. We can be encouraged by the chances, but I am disappointed to come away with just one point.”

Nashville SC captain and midfielder Michael Reed

(On the positives of a point on the road)

“The shutout and our defense’s consistency were both positives for us. We were organized in the back and [Penn] wasn’t able to generate many chances. We showed positive movement, but just didn’t have the last touch to get the goal.”

(On if you can chalk up the offense’s inconsistency to a team still building chemistry)

“If we weren’t gelling we wouldn’t be creating opportunities. We are creating those chances. Someone has to rise up and have that mentality to put it away. A couple goals and you start to build momentum. Games on the road are always tough. Every game has been a completely different atmosphere, time, surface. I think there are lot more positives than negatives to take from that one.”

Nashville SC keeper Matt Pickens

(On his fourth shutout)

“We knew early on this season with the new group that [defense] potentially could be a problem, but we have exceeded expectations defensively. It’s a great foundation to start with this season. We are just doing our part defensively and we will try to keep this up moving forward.”

(On the cohesion between himself and the defense)

“We were solid. There weren’t holes that [Penn] could exploit. The guys in front of me played well and limited [Penn’s] chances tonight and kept things out of the box for me. The coaches prepare us well in scouting reports on the other teams.”