Memphis 901 FC vs. Indy Eleven Preview

Memphis 901 FC got their 2024 USL Championship campaign off to a solid start last Saturday as they dispatched the visiting Las Vegas Lights by a score of 2-1. They fell behind but were able to battle back and equalize through Samuel Careaga before Nighte Pickering let fly from distance to give the Beale Street Boys a lead they would not relinquish. Now they must turn their attention from the last game to the next game as they get set to play host to Eastern Conference foe Indy Eleven.

One challenge that Memphis 901 FC faced in preparing for the Las Vegas Lights last week was that, in addition to being a Western Conference team they didn’t face often, their roster had been put together very late in the off-season meaning 901 FC didn’t know exactly how to prepare for them. In those instances, Coach Stephen Glass has stressed the importance of 901 FC focusing on themselves and what they can do. Preparing for Indy Eleven this week has been quite similar.

“Working hard again,” Glass said. “Knowing that we’re going to play a difficult opponent in Indy. We faced a couple different challenges from them last year. We know they’ve got a new coach so that makes it another difficulty. But you’ve not seen much of them this year. I think we’ll focus on ourselves, try and replicate the good things that happened last week and hopefully it’s enough for the three points again.”

There were certainly a number of good things last week as 901 FC won a season opener for the first time in team history. A win on Saturday against Indy would be the first time in team history that they have started out with back-to-back wins. And with no game the following week, fans can expect to see the team go all-out for another home win.

“It changes what comes next week for the players” said Coach Glass. “They’ll work very hard next week and then they’ll get a few days off. So I think it probably changes their mindset going into the game with the fact that you doubly want to make sure win and go into an off week with some good feeling rather than thinking ‘I hope we’ve got a game in two or three days.’ Because the reality is the next game we play is Sacramento Republic away after this. So you need to be going into that on a good feeling. The boys are looking forward to it. But I think the important thing is that we go and win again.”

While 901 FC got their season off to a good start, Indy Eleven did not. They traveled out west to take on the Oakland Roots (who, unlike last year, were able to get their field laid down in time to start the season) and fell 2-1. They conceded in the third minute, equalized two minutes before halftime, and gave up a second goal five minutes after halftime. As Coach Glass alluded to, Indy has a new manager: Sean McAuley. This will be his first full-time managerial gig, though he was a caretaker boss for Sheffield Wednesday in England on two separate occasions (totaling seven games). In addition to that he was also the interim man at Minnesota United for their final two games of the 2023 MLS season.

When, Where

Date: Saturday, March 16, 2024

Venue: AutoZone Park

City: Memphis, Tennessee

Time: 3pm CT

TV: ESPN+

Tickets: Single Game Tickets

All-Time Series

Memphis 901 FC leads 5-3-3

Last Meeting

Date: Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Venue: AutoZone Park

City: Memphis, Tennessee

Attendance: 2,567

Result: Memphis 901 FC 0-0 Indy Eleven

Conference Standing

Memphis 901 FC: 1st in West (3pts)

Indy Eleven: 11th in East (0pts)

Next Game

Date: Saturday, March 30, 2024

Competition: USL Regular Season

Match-Up: Memphis 901 FC @ Sacramento Republic

Venue: Heart Health Park

City: Sacramento, California

Time: 9pm CT

TV: CBS Sports Golazo