Memphis 901 FC @ Las Vegas Lights Preview

Despite not having started off the season in the best form, Memphis 901 FC is certainly making up for it now. The Beale Street Boys are unbeaten in eight of their last nine games and are fresh off a three-game homestand in which they got a draw against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, a thrilling 2-2 draw against Rhode Island FC, and an impressive 2-1 win over conference-leading New Mexico United.

Despite the very good run of form, Head Coach Stephen Glass knows that the team can’t take their foot off the gas any time soon as they get set for a road trip out to Sin City to take on the Las Vegas Lights.

“I’ve already known that Vegas are a good team.” Glass said. “I said it when we beat them here in the first game of the season. This is not the Vegas of last year. They’re continuing to prove that. They’re continuing to improve. We know it’s a difficult place. But we go in there confident, ready to try and go and win against a team that’s played three in a week like we did last week.”

As Coach Glass mentioned, Memphis 901 FC opened up the season with a 2-1 win over the Las Vegas Lights down at AutoZone Park. After falling behind early, the Beale Street Boys responded as Nighte Pickering scored twice to secure all three points for the home side. Is there anything for the players and staff to take from that game to use as preparation for this game?

“Probably the only thing is that we knew they were not the Las Vegas of old.” said Glass. “They have improved and they continue to improve. They’ve added good players, they look like they’re spending a bit, they’re bringing in real good ones. It’s a good team with a good coach. Difficult to beat. They’re very dangerous going forward so we’re aware of their threats. We’re aware of where we feel like we can hurt them, but we need to be at our best to go and get three points in Vegas for sure.”

The Las Vegas Lights of old were, quite simply, dreadful. They made their USL Championship debut in 2018. In six seasons, they have never made the playoffs. On top of that, they are currently on their seventh different manager (Isidro Sanchez had two different managerial stints with the Lights: September-October 2018 and January 2023-January 2024). But following the sale of the team to former MLB star Jose Bautista, the Lights are starting to resemble a competent soccer organization. They have already matched their win total from last year with four wins. They currently sit 9th in Western Conference on 17 points, just a point behind the 8th and final playoff spot. Coming into this game against 901 FC, the Lights are on a four-game unbeaten run. Three of those four games were draws, but they did pick up a 3-1 win over Miami FC.

When, Where

Date: Saturday, June 22, 2004

Venue: Cashman Field

City: Las Vegas, Nevada

Time: 9:30pm CT

TV: WMC 5.3, ESPN+

All-Time Series

Memphis 901 FC leads 2-0-1

Last Meeting

Date: Saturday, March 9, 2024

Venue: AutoZone Park

City: Memphis, Tennessee

Attendance: 3,290

Result: Memphis 901 FC 2-1 Las Vegas Lights

Conference Standing

Memphis 901 FC: 4th in West (21pts)

Las Vegas Lights: 9th in West (17pts)

Next Game

Date: Friday, June 28, 2024

Competition: USL Regular Season

Match-Up: Memphis 901 FC vs. Phoenix Rising

Venue: AutoZone Park

City: Memphis, Tennessee

Time: 7:30pm CT

TV: WMC 5.3, ESPN+

Tickets: Memphis 901 FC vs. Phoenix Rising tickets