US Open Cup Round of 32: Memphis 901 FC @ FC Dallas Preview

Call it the magic of the Cup, call it a Cupset, call it whatever but tonight Memphis 901 FC has the chance to defeat an MLS team for the second straight season. With a win tonight against FC Dallas of MLS, the Beale Street Boys would score an upset over a team from the top of the American soccer pyramid for the second straight season.

Memphis 901 FC advanced to this point of the Open Cup by defeating Miami United in the Third Round by a score of 2-0. In front of a crowd of 1,425 down at AutoZone Park (the first home US Open Cup game for Memphis 901 FC since 2019) the professional side put on a competent, professional performance and dispatched the amateur side. Nighte Pickering put two goals away, one in the 31st minute and another in the 85th minute to ice the game.

By virtue of being an MLS team, FC Dallas is just now joining the competition. Their participation is perhaps poetic, though it should not have had to come to that. The US Open Cup is the longest running soccer competition in the United States, dating all the way back to 1914. It allows opportunities for lower division teams to have memorable moments against top flight teams. This past winter however, Major League Soccer set the competition firmly in their crosshairs. But not as a valuable trophy to be won (which it is, considering it comes with a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup). No, MLS instead decided they wanted to destroy the competition and told US Soccer they were pulling all 26 American teams out of the competition and would instead be sending their reserve teams. US Soccer told them that was not going to happen but after more negotiations, MLS got most of what they wanted. As a result, only eight MLS teams are participating in this year’s tournament. FC Dallas being one of them is poetic because they were founded by, and now owned by the son of, the late Lamar Hunt. It is Lamar Hunt’s name that is on the name of the trophy awarded to the winner of the Open Cup.

Tonight’s game against FC Dallas is not the first time 901 FC has played an MLS team in the US Open Cup. Back during their inaugural season, the Beale Street Boys played host to Orlando City. In a back and forth game before an over-capacity crowd of 3,088 in the stadium at Mike Rose, the MLS side eventually prevailed 3-1. Last year, 901 FC went on the road to Atlanta United of MLS, a team funnily enough, that was managed by Stephen Glass in 2020 following the firing of Frank de Boer. Despite trailing for nearly the entire game (they conceded in just the third minute), 901 FC threw themselves a lifeline when Philip Goodrum converted a penalty in the 96th minute of the game to force extra time. During that extra time, it was all 901 FC and Nighte Pickering duly found the back of the net ten minutes after the restart and gave Memphis 901 FC one of the biggest wins in team history.

Can they pull off something similar tonight?