Memphis 901 FC is back in the playoffs for the fourth straight season. They are hosting a home playoff game for the third straight season. Now that they are in the playoffs, it’s win or go home time. Coming into these playoffs, Memphis 901 FC has some momentum as they finished the regular season on a four-game unbeaten run. They got two home draws against the Oakland Roots and Sacramento Republic before hitting the road to pick up massive wins against the reigning champion Phoenix Rising and the number one team in the Western Conference, New Mexico United. It’s worth noting that all four of those teams made the playoffs this year. But to advance in these playoffs, the Beale Street Boys must do something they were not able to do this season: beat Orange County.
Head Coach Stephen Glass said that one of the biggest goals for this team this season was making sure they were able to deliver another home playoff game.
“Yeah, it’s been a big goal of ours from day one, to get a home playoff match,” he said. “There’s people who celebrate getting into the playoffs. We don’t. We want to be at home. We managed to do it given the performances of the whole season but particularly the last two weeks. So, we’re excited about what the future holds but hopefully there’s four weeks of football left, and we can do something special.”
A third straight season with a home playoff game is something that acting Sporting Director Caleb Patterson-Sewell is particularly proud of, especially given how many of the preseason prognostications had Memphis much lower in the standings.
“We talked about this yesterday or the day before. I think in the last three or four years we’re the only club that’s finished inside the top four three consecutive years in a row. We should be really happy about that. If you think at the beginning of the year, we were told we’d be 10th, we’d be 11th, we’d be 12th, you’re going into the West, you’re losing players, you’re going to be rubbish and all the rest of it. And we just said, ‘Crack on.’ It’s not with arrogance that we say that. It’s more with pride that we are not having excuses and we’re not getting caught up in that. We don’t let our players get caught up in that. So, for us to be top four three years in a row, and to be the only club to do that in the last three or four years, we’re absolutely proud of that and we’re going to talk about it.”
Orange County comes to Memphis having surged into the playoffs on the back of an eight-match unbeaten streak that included five wins. They are on their third manager of the season, after Morten Karlsen left to take a job with Lyngby Boldklub in his native Denmark, and Paul Hardyman was fired in late August after a mid-season swoon that saw them lose seven times in ten games. The culmination of that swoon was a 6-0 hammering against the Charleston Battery, after which, Danny Stone was named the manager. Stone, of course, was the manager for Phoenix Rising who guided them to the USL title last season. Since Stone’s appointment, Orange County has stopped the bleeding and gotten things turned around. They’ve been especially stingy at the back, conceding just three goals in their last eight games, and keeping six clean sheets.
Memphis 901 FC, however, has been one of, if not the, most dangerous attacking teams in the Western Conference season. They’ve scored ten goals in their last eight games and have only been held scoreless twice. This playoff game could finally answer the question of what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.
When, Where
Date: Saturday, November 2, 2024
Venue: AutoZone Park
City: Memphis, Tennessee
Time: 1pm CT
TV: WMC 5.3, ESPN+
Tickets: Memphis 901 FC vs. Orange County SC tickets
All-Time Series
Memphis 901 FC trails 0-3-1
Last Meeting
Date: Saturday, July 6, 2024
Venue: Championship Soccer Stadium
City: Irvine, California
Result: Memphis 901 FC 1-4 Orange County SC
Playoff Seed
Memphis 901 FC: 3rd in West
Orange County SC: 6th in West
Next Game
TBD