901 FC extends unbeaten run to four games
Several times this season, Memphis 901 FC has played some terrific soccer but managed to come away with nothing more than a draw. Wednesday in Kansas City, the soccer gods evened things up a little bit.
Tristan Hodge scored on a header in the 73rd minute as 901 FC rallied for a 2-2 draw with Swope Park Rangers. The team now stands at 2-4-6 (10 points) in its inaugural United Soccer League season and is unbeaten in its four matches, including a victory over Red Bulls under-23 in the U.S. Open Cup last week.
"It wasn't our best night of soccer per se," said coach Tim Mulqueen. "But we found a way to get a huge point on the road against a very good team (and) getting a point on the road is something we can take into our Open Cup match next week."
Lagos Kunga (right) and Memphis 901 FC extended their unbeaten run to four matches Wednesday with a 2-2 draw against Swope Park Rangers in Kansas City. (Courtesy of 901 FC)
Dan Metzger opened the scoring for Memphis in the third minute, heading in a corner from Marc Burch. It's the fastest goal in team history.
Swope Park captain Camden Riley equalized from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute and it stayed level until the 68th minute, when Mark Segbers put the home team ahead. Hodge tied it five minutes later on a well-worked set piece as Cam Lindley served a perfect ball into the box on a corner kick.
After struggling to find the net early in the season, Memphis now has nine goals in its last four matches.
"I think we're starting to expect to score goals," Mulqueen said. "We're starting to build momentum on this streak but it's also about our mantra of getting better every single day."
Memphis returns to action Wednesday as it hosts Hartford in the third round of U.S. Open Cup at 7 p.m. at Mike Rose. The two teams met in league play on May 10 with Memphis winning 2-1.
Memphis 901 FC 2, Swope Park Rangers 2
Memphis (4-4-2): Jeff Caldwell; Abdi Mohamed (Jacob Hauser-Ramsey, 45th); Tristan Hodge; Marc Burch; Josh Morton; Lagos Kunga (Ewan Grandison, 80th); Dan Metzger; Cam Lindley; Adam Najem; Elliot Collier; Jochen Graf (Duane Muckette, 61st)
Swope Park (4-3-3): Eric Dick; Alexsander Andrade; Camden Riley; Kaveh Rad; Mark Segbers; Jacob Davis (Jahon Rad, 83rd); Rassambek Akhmatov; Felipe Hernandez; Ethan Vanacore-Decker; Tyler Freeman (Jerome Ngom-Mbekeli, 45th; Sean Karani
Goals: Memphis, Dan Metzger (3rd); Tristan Hodge (73rd); Swope Park, Camden Riley (penalty, 34th); Mark Segbers (68th)
Cautions: Memphis, Adam Najem (52nd); Josh Morton (90th); Swope Park, Felipe Hernandez (59th); Ethan Vanacore-Decker (82nd)
Attendance: 311
Possession: Memphis 44.0 %; Swope Park 56.0%
Duels success rate: Memphis 47.2%; Swope Park 52,8%
Aerial duels won: Memphis 51.9%; Swope Park 48.1%
Interceptions: Memphis 13; Swope Park 20
Offsides: Memphis 3; Swope Park 0
Corners: Memphis 6; Swope Park 2
Passes: Memphis 419; Swope Park 532
Long passes: Memphis 59; Swope Park 59
Passing accuracy: Memphis 77.6%; Swope Park 86.5%
Passing accuracy in opponents' half: Memphis 65.0%; Swope Park 78.9%
Crosses: Memphis 8; Swope Park 7
Crossing accuracy: Memphis 37.5%; Swope Park 42.9%
Shots: Memphis 7; Swope Park 11
Shots on target: Memphis 6; Swope Park 6
Blocked shots: Memphis 0; Swope Park 1
Shots outside the box: Memphis 3; Swope Park 6
Shots inside the box: Memphis 4; Swope Park 5
Shooting accuracy: Memphis 85.7%; Swope Park 54.5%
Tackles: Memphis 17; Swope Park 16
Tackles success rate: Memphis 64.7%; Swope Park 81.3%
Clearances: Memphis 15; Swope Park 18
Fouls: Memphis 14; Swope Park 15
Cautions: Memphis 2; Swope Park 2
Topics
901FC soccer Tim Mulqueen United Soccer LeagueJohn Varlas
John Varlas is a lifelong Memphian who has covered high school sports in various capacities for over 20 years.
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