Friday Night Lights: 901 FC vs. San Antonio FC preview

Stephen Glass had said several times that everybody knew Memphis 901 FC’s unbeaten streak wasn’t going to last forever. The Beale Street Boys had rattled off twelve straight league games without a loss dating back three months. Unfortunately, Glass proved to be correct as 901 FC got absolutely walloped by Phoenix Rising on national TV this past Saturday by a final score of 6-0. The team now has to put that result quickly in the rear view mirror and get ready for a very good San Antonio FC team coming to town for a rare Friday night game at AutoZone Park.

While he may have been correct in saying the team’s unbeaten streak wasn’t going to last forever, it’s hard to imagine Stephen Glass being thrilled at just how it ended. It’s one thing to lose but Saturday night was a complete and total no-show from Memphis 901 FC. In fact, it was the worst loss in team history, surpassing a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rowdies in August of 2019. It was almost a case of the game being over before it began (and for many viewers it was as ESPN2 opted to allow a cornhole competition to preempt the first 20 minutes of the game, during which time Phoenix scored twice).

Drew Romig had, for the most part, been solid in goal for four games but conceding six goals against Phoenix the week after conceding two against Charleston will lead to questions being asked about the continued absence of Bill Hamid, who hasn’t seen the field for Memphis since a 2-1 win over FC Tulsa back on May 19. The turnaround for 901 FC began shortly after Hamid’s arrival so it has been odd to not see him on the field in over a month.

The lone bright spot for 901 FC on Saturday night was the long-awaited return from injury of Leston Paul. The lone player still on the roster from the debut season in 2019, Paul has been the captain for this team for several years now. He picked up an injury in the preseason and consequently, his presence was sorely missed during the rough early start to the campaign this year. But he was finally able to get healthy and came on for the last 15 minutes against Phoenix. It wasn’t a bad idea to get him some run time on the field given that the game had long before been decided.

There’s no rest for the weary as 901 FC has to turn around after getting crushed and prepare to face a very good San Antonio FC team. San Antonio is currently in third place in the Western Conference and more importantly, is the reigning USL Champions after defeating perennial contender Louisville City in the USL Championship Final last November. Curiously however, the month of June was a struggle for them. Until their most recent game against the Birmingham Legion, they hadn’t won a lot, posting three draws and a loss in the month of June. One thing that will concern 901 FC fans is that, just as the Beale Street Boys appear to be starting to concede more goals, San Antonio FC is starting to score more of them. In fact, they’ve scored multiple goals in eight of their last nine games (including six straight) dating back to May 7 against the Las Vegas Lights. And the man who is scoring the most of them in Tani Oluwaseyi on loan from Minnesota United in MLS, with six goals since his arrival at the end of April.

When, Where

Date: Friday, July 7, 2023

Venue: AutoZone Park

City: Memphis, Tennessee

Time: 7:30pm CT

TV: WMC 5.2, ESPN+

Tickets: Single Match Tickets – Memphis 901 FC

All-Time Series

Memphis 901 FC trails 0-1-0

Last Meeting

Date: Sunday, October 10, 2021

Venue: Toyota Field

City: San Antonio, Texas

Result: Memphis 901 FC 2-4 San Antonio FC

Conference Standing

Memphis 901 FC: 4th in East (28 pts)

San Antonio FC: 3rd in West (28pts)

Next Game

Date: Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Competition: USL Regular Season

Match-Up: Memphis 901 FC @ Oakland Roots

Venue: Pioneer Stadium

City: Hayward, California

Time: 9pm CT

TV: WMC 5.2, ESPN+

Photo Credit: D’Angelo Connell Photography