HUNTSVILLE — It was just a hundred miles up the road but it was the goal of Joey DeZart’s professional journey when he took the field Wednesday night in Nashville.
The Huntsville City FC midfielder made his Nashville Soccer Club debut in its 1-0 win against San Antonio FC in the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
He is the first Huntsville City player to be in a Nashville SC match. Huntsville City FC, a MLS NEXT Pro club, is affiliated with Nashville SC.
DeZart came on in the 82nd minute and helped the team send off the visitors. His Huntsville City FC teammate Chris N’Sa also made the trip to Nashville and was available on the bench for the MLS side.
“I was happy to get in and happy to get the win,” DeZart said after the match. “It’s been a long process to get to this point.
“I hope to keep going in this positive direction.”
DeZart said the training at Huntsville under Coach Jack Collison has helped him prepare for Nashville.
“Everybody’s hungry for the chance to play in Nashville,” he said. “(Huntsville’s) a good environment to be in … it’s a very professional environment.
“The coaches have set a high standard – we’re performing to our maximum standard every day.”
DeZart and N’Sa are back in Huntsville to continue the club’s preparation for Friday’s match at Columbus Crew 2. Kickoff is 6 p.m. and fans can gather at BeeZr on the downtown square in Huntsville to watch the match or tune into the MLS Season Pass on the AppleTV app.
