INDIANAPOLIS – Goals by Michael Salazar and Kyle Murphy lifted Memphis 901 FC to a 2-1 victory against Indy Eleven on Saturday night at Michael A. Carroll Stadium, giving the visitors their first win of the 2021 USL Championship season.

Memphis got out to a flying start with the opening goal in just the third minute. A pass by Laurent Kissiedou found a cutting run by Michael Salazar to the top of the penalty area and the Belize international controlled well before shooting low into the left corner of the net. The visitors went close again five minutes later as Francis Atuahene delivered a cross from the left that was met first-time by Kyle Murphy, but Indy goalkeeper Jordan Farr made a comfortable save.

The hosts thought they had equalized in the 20th minute when Manuel Arteaga had room to shoot from distance and fired an effort that was tipped onto the crossbar by Memphis goalkeeper John Berner and came down close to the goal line, but the officials ruled play on keeping 901 FC ahead.

Memphis almost added to its lead just past the half-hour mark as Andre Reynolds got into space down the left and delivered a cross that Murphy couldn’t quite make clean contact with. Murphy made no mistake 10 minutes before halftime, however, as after Salazar stole possession in midfield and drove forward, navigating for a shot that was blocked, the New York native was on hand to shoot the loose ball into the bottom-left corner of the net.

The visitors continued to look dangerous into the second half as Mark Segbers wove into the penalty area from the right and fired a low shot to the far post that Farr got down to save. Indy, by contrast, struggled to find much joy in attack as the game went on, and with 13 minutes to go Kissiedou almost put the game away for Memphis with a shot that Farr had to tip over the crossbar.

Indy tried to ramp up the pressure in second-half stoppage time, and Nick Moon had a shot denied by Berner from the right side of the penalty area after Nicky Law recycled a corner kick back into the box. The Boys in Blue then found the net in the sixth minute of stoppage time as a corner kick from Gordon Wild fell in the penalty area and allowed Karl Ouimette to poke home into the left corner of the net. That proved the final chance for the hosts, however, as Memphis saw out the win.

USLChampionship.com Man of the Match

Laurent Kissiedou, Memphis 901 FC – Kissiedou recorded one assist and four key passes as well as four shots for the visitors as he played a pivotal role in springing Memphis into attack, completing 27 od 31 passes overall.

Scoring Summary
MEM – Michael Salazar (Laurent Kissiedou) 3’
MEM – Kyle Murphy 35’
IND – Karl Ouimette 90+6’

Full Box Score