MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis 901 FC head coach Ben Pirrman has high standards for his club.
"Are we going to go 32-0? Probably not," he said. "But my expectation is to win every single game."
901 FC begins the 2021 season Saturday at Birmingham, the first of five road games before the club's June 16 home opener. The scheduling anomalies do not stop there.
"We play 14 matches in the last two months," Pirrman said. "We have an 11-day break in August, and then we play 16 matches in 10 weeks. So it's a crazy schedule."
A schedule that will be played with primarily newcomers. 901 FC returns just four players from the 2020 roster. As of Wednesday, 17 players have been announced, down from their 25-man roster last October.
"Rebuilding a team is always difficult at the beginning," midfielder Leston Paul said, as he prepares for his third season in Memphis. "You have to try to find the right pieces to the puzzle. It's coming together. It's coming together for sure."
"The time to come together is over," Pirrman pointed out. "We're going to have to learn on the fly. There is no doubt about it. There are 32 matches. The season isn't won or lost on Saturday. But just like everybody else, we'll be going out with the intention to get 3 points. Just like we will in the other 31 games."
But none of these challenges can take away from the energy produced from Memphis returning to the soccer pitch.
"Everybody is really buzzing, and the excitement is there," defender Raul Gonzalez said. "We had soccer taken from us for a good bit, not sure when we'd be able to play. But now, everybody is ready to play."
You can catch Memphis 901 FC's season debut Saturday at 3:30pm on CW30.