Memphis, TENN. (June 15, 2024) – Memphis 901 FC defeated Western Conference leading New Mexico United FC 2-1 on Saturday night at AutoZone Park
First half goals from Bruno Lapa and Lucas Turci gave the Beale Street Boys the decisive lead.
Memphis benefited from an early blunder when a New Mexico defender committed a careless handball in the box, giving Lapa a shot from the penalty spot for his fifth score of the season.
901 FC delivered constant pressure throughout the first half until a break in the defense opened for Lucas Turci. Turci used a nice pass from Lapa to finish his second goal of the season. The versatile Brazilian has played as a defender in every appearance so far this season but stepped into the striker position on Saturday night.
Memphis is unbeaten in eight of the last nine matches and moved 6-6-3 with the victory. 901 FC rose to No. 3 in the Western Conference through Week 15.
Memphis 901 FC is back in action next Saturday as they travel to face Las Vegas Lights FC. Kickoff for the Western Conference matchup is set for 9:30 p.m. CT. Fans can watch on ESPN+ or WMC Action News 5 Plus locally.
For more information on Memphis 901 FC, visit https://www.memphis901fc.com and follow the club on social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
POSTGAME QUOTE SHEET
Memphis 901 FC vs. New Mexico United | June 15, 2024 – AutoZone Park
On tonight’s performance:
“It’s a good team coming in here and you could tell by their play. They really fancied themselves a little bit. They wanted to put pressure on our backline and thought we’d give the ball away. I think we were very good. We were aggressive and I think we fully deserved to be up and potentially put it out of sight before they come back. The resilience the boys showed at the end in their third game in a week. We had to really go to the well to get the work done. I’m proud of the team. Delighted for the team. It’s the workload we talked about this week. They don’t know when they’re beaten, and they also really love winning. “
On the resilience of the team:
“To come away with the three points after the week the team’s had and the effort they’ve had to put in is great. The heat is kicking up and it’s very difficult but I think again you saw the heart and the spirit that they have. Like I said last week, it will carry us a long way.”
On Lucas Turci moving to central forward tonight:
“It says he’ll play anywhere for the team. I think if you ask any of them, they’ll do the same because they want to play, especially for a team that’s winning. I think we knew what Lucas could offer us and it allowed us to change a little bit in the way we played. I think with how good Marlon and Bruno have been centrally, they get a bit of punishment that goes unnoticed so we thought we’d take that away and use Lucas’ physicality, but his quality came as well with the finish.”
On the defense:
“I think we ended up having to defend a little bit more than normal. At that point we’re 2 nil up against a team that likes to roll it around. We made the decision to let their center backs have it and see if they could play through us. They got through a couple of times, but any time they did our center backs were there dealing with it. Cut back areas were covered and there was a lot of hard work to keep it to one. When you do the work like that you deserve it.”
On the team’s mentality:
“There’s a lot of them that have been brilliant for us over the course. It’s a night where Lucas gets the acclaim and applause, but the way that we’re going at the minute, they don’t care who gets it. They’re happy for Lucas tonight with his goal and performance but everyone seems to be spreading the love a little bit and they’re doing well. But as always the negative scotsman says we need to keep on working and keep going. It’s important that we go to Vegas next week and continue.”
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Joshua Clayton – Manager, Communications and Media Relations
