The mad dash for positioning in the USL Championship standings continues as clubs across the country enter the final quarter of the regular season.
Memphis 901 FC (10-6-7, 37 pts.) finds themselves at No. 4 in the Eastern Conference looking to secure their seeding and bring postseason soccer back to AutoZone Park for the second consecutive year.
Standing in their way this week is a surging Indy Eleven club (9-9-4, 34 pts.) looking for revenge after suffering a 2-1 loss to the Beale Street Boys on their home turf two weeks ago.
Since their loss to Memphis on August 5, Indy Eleven has gone on a three-game win streak including a 4-0 victory over Birmingham Legion. Indy holds a +6 goal differential during that three-game span.
“We’ve seen them a couple of weeks back so we’re pretty familiar with the group,” 901 FC Head Coach Stephen Glass said. “We know what to expect and they know what to expect from us. You’ll see a good football match.
“You heard their manager’s comments after the last game. He said they’re one of the best teams in the country between the boxes so we’re aware of what they see their strengths as and we’ll be ready for that as we were in the first game.”
901 FC will be keying on a clicking Indy attack featuring Solomon Asante and Aodhan Quinn, who have combined for two goals and four assists in the last five matches.
Countering with a potent offense of their own, the Beale Street Boys rank second in scoring this season and are one of four clubs averaging two goals per game at home. Rodrigo Da Costa has proven to be exactly what 901 FC bargained for when they acquired him in the midseason trade.
The Brazilian attacker scored the game winner in the club’s latest victory over San Diego Legion and leads the club with nine scores this season.
“My main motivation is always just trying to get as far as you can in the tournament,” Da Costa said. “It’s always to get the three points. The goals and assists and all of these things will come along if the team is doing good. My main goal from the beginning of the season and on is getting to the playoffs.”
A three-point result give Memphis the season sweep on Indy Eleven while separating themselves further into the top-4 spot that insures home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
901 FC is celebrating $2 Beer Night at AutoZone Park and fans can get a $10 concessions credit on corner and sideline tickets using code ‘2BEERs’. Fans can also watch the action on ESPN+ and WMC Bounce TV 5.2 locally, and listen live of SiriusXM.
Home Sweet Home
901 FC returns home for the first time in over a month in Wednesday’s match. The Beale Street Boys rank in the top-5 in the USL Championship in goals per match this season and have failed to score only twice in 11 matches at AutoZone Park.
Rodrigo Answers the Call
Rodrigo da Costa leads Memphis 901 FC with nine goals this season, already matching his 2022 total and only three scores away from his career-high with 11 matches remaining in the regular season.
“Rodrigo continues to give us what we knew he would when we got him,” Head Coach Stephen Glass. “We’ve not been disappointed since he got here.”
The versatile Brazilian attacker joined Memphis 901 FC in a midseason acquisition, bringing his knack for scoring and distribution to one of the most dangerous attacking sides in the league.
Spreading the Wealth
Memphis hasn’t missed a step even with injuries to key players this season. 901 FC has had 14 different players find the back of the net and 11 assist others in scores this year.
Leading the charge is midfielder Aaron Molloy, who leads the club with six assists this season, third most in the league. Molloy and Jeremy Kelly led the team with 10 assists each in 2022.
Romig Rises
Drew Romig has established himself as a strong starter in goal for this league after a strong performance last time out, denying four shots on goal including an all-important penalty kick save to keep the score even and make way for an eventual game-winner.
The goalkeeper earned Team of the Week honors for the first time after his fourth clean sheet of the season.
