(Photo courtesy of Carl Gulbish)
Daniel Lovitz made his seventh appearance at Subaru Park Saturday night.
For much of his thirteen-year pro career, the Germantown Academy grad from Wyndmoor, PA, has been one of the most consistent performers in MLS and one of the best left backs in the country. During Nashville SC’s 0-0 draw against the Philadelphia Union Saturday night, Lovitz put in another high-quality performance, leading his club to a road clean sheet while in the middle of the biggest series in the franchise’s history.
“It’s always a pleasure,” Lovitz told Backyard Pitches after the game about his return home. “Luckily, if you’re in the league as long as I have, we’ve had a lot of good reps here, and getting friends and family out and just over the years getting to see familiar faces at the club, with the Union organization. Otherwise, business as usual, trying to get three points.”
Nashville started a mixed lineup as it prepared for the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals against Tigres Tuesday night in Mexico. Tigres won the first leg 1-0 on 33rd minute goal from Angel Correra then eliminated Nashville with another 1-0 win at home.
Time and time again, MLS teams, including the Union, have struggled to maintain success in the early league season while juggling the Concacaf competition, yet Nashville has been able to handle both, largely due to its experienced players like Lovitz. Leading the Eastern Conference with a 7-1-2 record, Nashville knocked off MLS Cup Champions Inter Miami and Liga Mx Clausura Champions Club América on their way to the semifinals.
“Boring answer is just being consistent and really just focusing on whatever your next game is and trying to win that game,” Lovitz said about how the team has managed their success in both competitions. “Teams in the past that have had issues have tried to pick and choose moments that they really want to go for it and win games versus manage games.”
"We are a resilient group." - Nashville's Dan Lovitz 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/0NFyeXMwsJ
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) May 6, 2026
The Philadelphia Union, the 2025 Supporters’ Shield winners, crashed out in the Concacaf Round of 16 to Club América and have had their worst start to an MLS season (1-7-3) in the club’s history. Miami is 5-2-4 in MLS, a positive showing, but they also lost head coach Javier Mascherano, who departed the club in April, not long after Nashville eliminated them from Concacaf. Seattle knocked out Vancouver, last season’s MLS runners-up, in the Round of 16 after winning both legs. Vancouver is 8-1-1 and second in the Western Conference. San Diego FC, last season’s top team in the West following the regular season, lost in the Concacaf Round of 16 to Toluca (6-3 agg). The MLS newcomers are 3-5-3 and sit twelfth.
“One thing BJ and the club has been really consistent with and really emphasize,” Lovitz said, “is focusing on each game, one at a time, putting our best foot forward, and knowing that we’re trying to progress and not peak in March, April, May, and knowing that we’re putting performances together that we can build on and try to continue to progress in whatever competition it may be.”
Since joining MLS in 2020, Nashville has been near the top of the league every season, always pushing for trophies but never able to get over the final hump. In 2023, they reached the League Cup finals after beating a very good Monterrey team but lost to Inter Miami and their global icon Leo Messi, who’d just arrived on the MLS scene. Since then, Nashville has developed a bit of a rivalry with Miami and appeared to turn the corner with their wins this season. Nashville’s breakthrough moment came in last year’s Open Cup when they lifted the club’s first trophy after beating Austin 2-1 in the final. Nashville knocked out the Union in the semifinals.
Off the corner! 😤
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 13, 2025
Daniel Lovitz finds the equalizer for @NashvilleSC! pic.twitter.com/kMDLzN2joF
As a core player ever since the club joined MLS, Lovitz has seen the club’s growth and enjoyed experiencing the successes of all the hard work.
“It’s something I take a lot of pride in,” he said. “I know a lot of other guys like Hany [Mukhtar], Joe [Willis], Jack [Maher], Alex [Muyl], we’ve been here for a while and understand that we were itching to have these opportunities to play in the best competitions in the continent, and knowing that we’d have to bide our time and know that it was coming.”
Nashville SC was founded in 2016 and played their 2018 and 2019 seasons in the USL, reaching as far as the conference semifinals. Lovitz joined Nashville for their first MLS season in 2020 and has appeared 215 times, leading the club to five playoff appearances during that span.
“In the beginning, it was more about being competitive, turning some heads, surprising some people for an expansion team and how competitive we were,” he said. “We outgrew that relatively quickly and wanted to progress and make sure we were one of the best teams in the east, at least, and definitely the league. So it’s good to see that come to fruition. It’s still a work in progress. We still think there’s a lot of evolving we need to do, but at the same time, we’re happy to take stock of where we’re at and where we started and just know that we’ve done a really good job so far and just looking to progress and get better game by game. And know that we’re going to stay humble but stay ambitious.”
Lovitz career longevity ranks among the best-ever for players born in the Philadelphia area, yet Lovitz often falls a bit under the radar because he’s been away from his hometown for much of his career. Drafted by Toronto in 2014, he played his first three seasons for Toronto FC, followed by another three seasons with Montréal, establishing himself as one of the best left backs in the country. His 14 appearances for the USMNT came in 2019 as the U.S. opened qualifying for the 2022 World Cup and reached the final of the Gold Cup.
With 305 total MLS games played and more than 350 professional appearances total, Lovitz has compiled over 28,000 minutes in all competitions. Only West Chester’s Jeff Laurentowicz has more professional minutes among Philadelphia-area players than Lovitz. Laurentowicz played in over 40,000 minutes in all competitions and captained Atlanta United to the MLS Cup in 2018.
Media’s Austin Trusty has played just over 28,000 minutes in all competitions and some of those minutes include his time with Bethlehem Steel. Downingtown’s Jeff Parke (25,000), Philly’s trio of Chris Albright (20,000), Dan Gargan (18,000), and Bobby Convey (18,000 MLS plus another 7,000 in England), and Oreland’s Jim Curtin (15,900) all rank among the top players from the Philadelphia area in professional minutes played.
Though Lovitz has been in the league for than a decade, he’s not finished.
“I know I’m a little bit long in the tooth for the average MLS player, especially at my position,” he said, “but in all honesty I feel great. I still have the physical capacity and more importantly the spirit and the heart to continue to compete. I think that’s all the more easier playing with a team that’s as competitive and full of great guys that we have here, and winning more games than not always helps.
Lovitz has been a big reason for Nashville’s successful start as a franchise, and as they make strides toward lifting their first MLS Cup, his leadership and experience will prove invaluable. He’s already had a number of strong games this season, including Saturday night’s performance against the Union, and he’ll be a key figure for Nashville as they balance the regular season and Leagues Cup throughout the summer before another postseason run.
After Saturday’s game, he’s not thinking about how many more return trips to his hometown he has left. He’s only focused on the present.
“I’m one of those guys that’s going to keep my head down. I’m going to keep doing what I do and be who I am, trying to help the team as best as I can, as long as I can, and focus on that. I have the rest of my life to look back on my career, and while I’m at it I’m tunnel vision a bit, so I’m happy to continue doing that.”
