One Knox SC wins Smoky Mountain Smackdown to clinch USL playoff berth
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One Knox SC clinched a playoff berth Oct. 7 with a 3-0 win over Chattanooga Red Wolves SC at Covenant Health Park.
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Knoxville (14-7-9, 51 points) downed the in-state rival in the Smoky Mountain Smackdown behind a strong overall attack, powered by two first-half goals, earning the opportunity to defend its USL League One title when the playoffs begin later this month. One Knox has three regular season matches remaining.
"We're going to celebrate tonight knowing that we have a very big, important match on Sunday," One Knox head coach Ian Fuller said. "Clinching the playoffs is one thing. But it's, 'What are you going to do with that position?'"
One Knox is in fourth place in the USL1 standings and must finish inside the top four to clinch home field advantage at Covenant Health Park. AC Boise is in fifth with 49 points but has played one less match than Knoxville.
Teddy Baker took advantage of an early Knoxville opportunity when Chattanooga (14-12-4, 46 points) was presented a red card in the 10th minute. Baker tucked the ensuing free kick inside the top-left corner of the net to put Knoxville ahead 1-0.
Nico Rosamilia added a second goal late in the first half when he gathered a ball outside the box off a deflection. Rosamilia took the misdirection off the first touch and fired it to the bottom right corner of the goal to double Knoxville's lead in the 41st minute.
"We had a rough one at Richmond, so we knew we had to come out against our rivals and compete. And that was the main thing − just go out there and fight," Rosamilia said. "We knew Chattanooga was going to bring it, so we had to match it and then some. I think we did that tonight."
One Knox continued its attacking effort in the second half. Denis Krioutchenkov had a one-on-one opportunity with Chattanooga's keeper in the 54th minute and smoked the ball through the left side for a 3-0 lead that stuck until the final whistle.
One Knox man of the match, top moments: Wednesday, Oct. 7
Man of the match: Nico Rosamilia scored a goal and added an assist in Wednesday's win with a clean feed to Krioutchenkov. "I felt super confident going into this game," Rosamilia said. "I felt like I put together a couple good weeks of training and in games. I just felt like I had a lot of energy tonight and happy to get the goal and the assist and help the team win."
- Getting on the board: Baker's 12th-minute goal was Knoxville's first at Covenant Health Park since Aug. 22. One Knox played back-to-back scoreless draws in its previous two home matches.
- Double digits: Krioutchenkov's second-half goal was his team-leading 10th strike in 29 league appearances this season. The rookie attacker hadn't scored a goal at Covenant Health Park since June 13.
One Knox returns to Covenant Health Park this weekend
One Knox concludes its regular-season home slate with the Spokane Velocity at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11. Knoxville and Spokane faced off in the USL League One title match at Covenant Health Park in 2025.
Knoxville's regular season will end on the road Oct. 17 against the New York Cosmos.
Trevor McGee covers the Knoxville Smokies and One Knox SC for Knox News. Email: [email protected]; X: @TrevorMcGee12
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: One Knox SC wins Smoky Mountain Smackdown to clinch USL playoff berth
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