Memphis, TENN. (June 28, 2024) – Memphis 901 FC tied a franchise record with five goals in a dominant 5-1 victory over Phoenix Rising on Friday night at AutoZone Park.
The Beale Street Boys put on an attacking clinic, showing why they’re the top-scoring team in the Western Conference with goals from Zac Duncan, Marlon, Carson Vom Steeg, Emerson Hyndman and Nighte Pickering.
In the 11th minute, Akeem Ward lined up a cross from the left wing to find Duncan for the right footed finish on the volley. The Aussie midfielder tallied his first goal with Memphis tonight after grabbing his first assist last week. Memphis has scored six goals in the first 15 minutes of action this season, the most in the USL Championship.
Memphis doubled the lead with excellent build up play in the opposition box. Carson Vom Steeg put in a spectacular pass to Marlon for a finish into the empty net. Marlon tallied his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Memphis leads the league with 16 first-half goals in 17 matches. 901 FC held Phoenix to only one shot in the first half while pouring in five shots on goal.
Vom Steeg, Hyndman and Pickering made the lead insurmountable with goals in the second half. Vom Steeg and Hyndman tallied their first goals while Pickering scored his second.
901 FC climbed to No. 3 in the Western Conference with the victory.
Memphis 901 FC starts a three-match road trip on Saturday, July 6 with a showdown against Orange County SC. Memphis returns to AutoZone Park on Saturday, July 27 for Back to School Night featuring post-match fireworks.
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. Phoenix Rising FC | June 28, 2024 – AutoZone Park
HEAD COACH STEPHEN GLASS
On tonight’s performance:
“I think we came out of the traps really well and were aggressive at the start. The quality on the ball was some of the best that it’s been all season. It’s really good to see we kept our foot on it as well. I don’t think we sat off what we think is a good team. We felt it there last year and they felt it here this year. I’m sure they’ll be difficult when we go there next time because they don’t like what happened tonight.”
On the difference in tonight’s approach:
“Nothing different. It’s been good all season and we’re getting the rewards for the work that we’ve put in. I think we felt like we deserved the three points last week as well. The group doesn’t cry about it and they keep on trying to win a game. You saw the mentality of the group tonight. I think they came in trying to be aggressive and dictate the pace of the game but our players didn’t allow that to happen. It’s a testament to how they’ve been with their work rate and quality and effort.”
On leading the league in first half goals:
“It’s an important factor to the game that you can start well and get on top but the games that we don’t, it’s important that we stay in it. We’re hard to beat, as you know, so if we stay in the game we believe we’ll have opportunities for our players to score. There’s a lot of positive lads in that dressing room. Players that love scoring goals, they almost live for it. Long may it continue.”
On Emerson Hyndman, Carson Vom Steeg and Zac Duncan getting their first goals:
“I’m happy for them. They had a lot of assists and near goals and goalkeepers making fantastic saves. Its great for the rewards to get spread a little bit. Carson (Vom Steeg) gets his goal, he doesn’t score too many. It gets spread around the team and that’s what we’ve got. We’ve got a team that plays for each other and fights for each other.”
MIDFIELDER EMERSON HYNDMAN
On his baseball goal celebration:
It’s something me and Zac talked about beforehand. We always said that if we scored on that side, we would do a little performance over there. My swings is not great but yeah it was fun.
On him and Duncan scoring :
I was thrilled for him when he got the early one and same thing for me. We’ve worked really hard all year and we’ve been a pretty good pairing in the midfield. Thankfully we were both able to get one tonight.
One the momentum from the victory:
It’s huge. We’ve had our share of performances without the results. It’s good to see it all click tonight with a good performance and a great win scoring five goals against a good team. So that’ll be a huge bonus for us and proof of what we can do.
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Joshua Clayton – Manager, Communications and Media Relations