Nashville SC looks ahead to extended road trip in MLS Cup Playoffs — just how it likes it

LOS ANGELES — The 6-foot-5 Joe Willis tucked himself comfortably inside his locker after his career-high 14 saves on Sunday protected Nashville SC's 1-0 victory at Los Angeles FC.

A beer in his left hand and his iPhone in his right, the goalkeeper's smile abided and not because of a highlight outing, but a video his wife Katy sent minutes after the game.

Dressed in a pink and white stripped onesie, Willis' 13-month-old daughter Holland was recorded clapping her hands, smiling from ear to ear, softly uttering, "Da-da," as her father reflected on Nashville's final regular season game.

"This is why I do it man," Willis said watching the video of baby Holland.

What Willis did was shut out the team with the best regular season record in 2022, serving it its first home shutout since August 2020 while helping Nashville to a 13th win and No. 5 seed in the upcoming MLS Cup Playoffs.

Nashville will be back in Los Angeles in six days to face the No. 4 LA Galaxy (2 p.m., TUDN) on Saturday and is somewhat emboldened to continue playing on the road into the postseason because seven of its wins have come away from Geodis Park.

"I think it gives me personally, and the rest of the team, a lot of confidence moving into the playoffs, knowing we're gonna have to go on the road," Willis said after the win. "We're gonna have to get results against good teams in difficult places to play. And I think we proved to ourselves today that we're capable of doing that."

Nashville finished 7-5-5 (26 points) on the road this season, compared to 6-5-6 (24 points) at home. Only four teams in MLS have won more road games than Nashville this year. Two of them, LAFC and Austin FC, are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the West playoff bracket.

The difference between Nashville and the Galaxy clinching home-field advantage was a tiebreaker. Tied on points, the Galaxy edged Nashville on total wins (14). Had Nashville eclipsed that with another win, it would've claimed home field for the game on the second tiebreaker, which is goal differential. Nashville had a plus-4 goal margin over the Galaxy.

But there was little solace from Nashville players. Looking back on the season, opening the largest soccer-specific stadium in the U.S. in May, Nashville fell remarkably short of replicating the unbeaten home streak this year that it had at Nissan Stadium in 2021.

"To be completely honest, we haven't been that great at home," Willis said. "So I think we need to look at the positives and be optimistic about it — that our away record is as better than our home record. So maybe it's a blessing in disguise that we don't have a home playoff game to start.

"We would've liked to reward our fans with that and I'm sure the atmosphere at Geodis (Park) would've been unreal, having a playoff game there. But at the end of the day, whether you're playing at home or away, it's the same soccer field. It's the same ball. It's the same game," Willis added.

Blocking out the noise is the mentality for Nashville. The club finished the regular season with 1-3-2 away record against Western playoff teams. However, a 2-0 loss to FC Dallas on March 12 was the only game dropped by more than one goal.

To get past the conference semifinals for the first time, Nashville must go through both LA squads — on the road. The confidence in doing so was solidified in perfect timing Sunday, by Willis' goalkeeping against the league's best team.

"It's huge," said center back Dave Romney. "To be on the stretch we're on the last seven games and then finish with a win in LA and if we win next week, we're right back (at LAFC). So it's nice to know, look, we can control our destiny. We can beat these teams."

For stories about Nashville SC or Soccer in Tennessee, contact Drake Hills at DHills@gannett.com. Follow Drake on Twitter at @LiveLifeDrake. Connect with Drake on Instagram at @drakehillssoccer and on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC doesn't fear road in MLS Cup Playoffs — it prefers it