Memphis 901 FC @ Sacramento Republic Preview

The 2024 season, Memphis 901 FC’s sixth in the USL Championship, is off to an interesting start. They began the season with a come from behind home victory over the Las Vegas Lights. A week later, they dropped a home game to Indy Eleven by a score of 2-1. While they may have lost the game, the team still showed heart and determination to keep fighting and have a chance at an equalizer, despite some questionable refereeing. Now the Beale Street Boys must get set for their first road test of the season as they travel out west to face the Sacramento Republic.

Despite falling to Indy in the second week of the season, it’s important to note (as Stephen Glass did in the postgame) that Memphis 901 FC is three points ahead of where they were after two games last year. In 2023, they dropped their first two games, both at home and both by 3-1 scorelines, to Loudoun United and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. This year, as mentioned above, they have split their first two games: a win against fellow Western Conference team Las Vegas Lights and a loss to Eastern Conference opponent Indy Eleven.

But following the loss to Indy, 901 FC had a week off to regroup and work on things at training. One player who didn’t have the week off, however, was Nighte Pickering. He was called up to represent the US U19 National Team for a pair of friendlies in Morocco. They won the first game against England 3-2. In the second game, this time against Morocco, Pickering got the start. Unfortunately, the US fell to the hosts 1-0.

While 901 FC may not have played a game last weekend, the Sacramento Republic did. They have played three games thus far in 2024 and have yet to lose. They opened with a 2-2 draw against Orange County SC. That was followed up with 1-0 win over Miami FC. Most recently they played to a 1-1 draw against Indy Eleven. Sacramento is one of the more consistent teams in the USL Championship and now that the league has moved Memphis 901 FC to the Western Conference, they will be one of the teams competing for playoff places. Last year the Republic went all the way to the Western Conference Final, falling to the Phoenix Rising. The year before they went all the to the US Open Cup Final and were tied with Orlando City of MLS until the 75th minute.

When, Where

Date: Saturday, March 30, 2024

Venue: Heart Health Park

City: Sacramento, California

Time: 9pm CT

TV: CBS Sports Golazo

All-Time Series

Series tied 0-0-1

Last Meeting

Date: Saturday, July 15, 2023

Venue: Heart Health Park

City: Sacramento, California

Result: Memphis 901 FC 1-1 Sacramento Republic

Conference Standing

Memphis 901 FC: 8th in West (3pts)

Sacramento Republic: 2nd in West (5pts)

Next Game

Date: Saturday, April 6, 2024

Competition: USL Regular Season

Match-Up: Memphis 901 FC vs. Orange County SC

Venue: AutoZone Park

City: Memphis, Tennessee

Time: 3pm CT

TV: ESPN+

Tickets: Single Game Tickets