Memphis 901 FC vs. Orange County SC preview

Things were looking quite bleak for Memphis 901 FC. They had lost a national TV game on the road, 6-0 to the Phoenix Rising. A return home to AutoZone Park did little to turn the short-term fortunes around as they were once again hammered, this time 4-0 by the reigning champions San Antonio FC. It was looking rough as the Beale Street Boys headed out to the West Coast for a rescheduled game against the Oakland Roots. But things are now appearing to wear a more hopeful look as Memphis 901 FC gets set to return home and play their only home game for nearly two months.

But the game against Oakland saw Memphis begin to stem the tide. It seems crazy to even suggest that 901 FC had to stem the tide, as they had been on a twelve game unbeaten streak, but back to back defeats by a combined scoreline of 10-0 was enough to set alarm bells ringing. Fortunately the reschedule game in Oakland provided a little bit of relief as 901 FC was able to get a 1-1 draw, courtesy of a 61st minute equalizer from Laurent Kissiedou. They had a real quick turnaround, but not far to go, for a game against the Sacramento Republic. 901 FC took the lead in this one after Emerson Hyndman found goal in the 49th minute. Unfortunately, the ghosts of 2019 surfaced as they conceded in the 87th minute to split the points with the Republic. As it stands Memphis is now four games without a win but there is some cautious optimism that the bleeding has been stopped.

Orange County started the season off in truly horrendous fashion. They were winless in nine of their first ten games. That resulted in a managerial change. Richard Chaplow was let go and they are currently proceeding with interim manager Morten Karlsen. Their form of late has been much better and has seen them rise from last place to 10th place in the Western Conference. In fact, Orange County has won four of their last five games: 3-0 over FC Tulsa, 1-0 over Detroit City, 3-1 over Monterey Bay FC, and 3-1 over Loudoun United. The lone loss was 2-0 against a Rio Grande Valley team that Memphis beat 3-0 earlier this year. Orange County does feature one former Memphis 901 FC player in goalkeeper Cody Cropper who made 14 appearances for the Beale Street Boys back in 2021.

When, Where

Date: Saturday, July 22, 2023

Venue: AutoZone Park

Time: 7:30pm CT

TV: WMC 5.2, ESPN+

Tickets: Single Match Tickets – Memphis 901 FC

All-Time Series

Series tied 0-0-1

Last Meeting

Date: Saturday, September 3, 2022

Venue: Championship Soccer Stadium

City: Irvine, California

Result: Memphis 901 FC 1-1 Orange County SC

Conference Standing

Memphis 901 FC: 4th in East (30pts)

Orange County SC: 10th in West (25pts)

Next Game

Date: Saturday, July 29, 2023

Competition: USL Regular Season

Match-Up: Memphis 901 FC @ Pittsburgh Riverhounds

Venue: Highmark Stadium

City: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Time: 6:00pm CT

TV: WMC 5.2, ESPN+

Photo Credit: D’Angelo Connell Photography