One of the more annoying trends of modern American soccer is the tendency of new rivalries to feel forced by the league rather than the rivalry developing organically over time. But every once in a while a new rivalry just works. Such is the case of Memphis 901 FC and the Las Vegas Lights. It may be premature to call it a rivalry (the teams have only played once) but they are playing for a rivalry trophy that would make even some of the most die-hard college football fans jealous: a golden Elvis statuette.
901 FC’s regular season struggles have been well-documented. They dropped their first two games of the season, both at home and both by 3-1 scorelines before flying all the way out to Oakland only to have that game postponed due to poor field conditions. With an extra week of rest and prep they were able to go on the road and scratch out a 1-1 draw with Miami FC. Things started to look a little brighter as they stepped outside of USL play to take on One Knoxville in the US Open Cup, earning a dramatic 2-1 win and advancing to play Atlanta United of MLS. Many teams in many leagues around the world have used Cup competition to generate momentum for their regular season play. Here’s to hoping that 901 FC can do the same.
It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that the Las Vegas Lights are the most aggressively average team in the USL Championship. They’ve never qualified for the playoffs and seem to have a new manager every year (current manger Isidro Sanchez is in his second stint managing the team). So far in 2023 they have played three games and posted three draws: a 1-1 draw with Rio Grande Valley, a 2-2 draw against Orange County SC and then a 0-0 draw with Indy Eleven. Three names on their roster also manage to stand out. Of interest to Memphis fans is defender Zach Carroll formerly of 901 FC. ALso noteworthy is Andrew Carlton who was considered a prodigy when he broker into MLS with Atlanta United but has bounced around five different teams in the last three years. And last, but certainly not least, is Erick “Cubo” Torres who made a name for himself going on a tear with the Houston Dyanmo of MLS from 2015 to 2017. He has even represented Mexico at the international level, earning seven caps and scoring one goal (in a friendly against Panama in 2014).
When, Where
Date: Saturday, April 15, 2023
Venue: AutoZone Park
City: Memphis, Tennessee
Time: 7pm CT
TV: WMC 5.2, ESPN+
All-Time Series
Memphis 901 FC leads 1-0-0
Last Meeting
Date: Saturday, March 26, 2022
Venue: Cashman Field
City: Las Vegas, Nevada
Result: Memphis 901 FC 1-0 Las Vegas Lights
Conference Standing
Memphis 901 FC: 12th in East (1pt)
Las Vegas Lights: 10th in West (3pts)
Next Game
Date: Saturday, April 22, 2023
Competition: USL Regular Season
Match-up: Memphis 901 FC @ Rio Grande Valley Toros
Venue: H-E-B Park
City: Edinburg, Texas
TV: WMC5.2, ESPN+