One Knox SC Hands Spokane its First Home Loss

USL LEAGUE ONE MATCHDAY 13	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
ONE KNOXVILLE SC (8-2-3 | 27 PTS)	2	2	4
SPOKANE VELOCITY (6-4-2 | 20 PTS)	0	0	0

SPOKANE, Wash. – It was a match that, coming in, had all of the storylines to make for a potential classic. However, One Knoxville SC took all of the air out of those narratives in emphatic fashion, turning it into a lopsided affair with a 4-0 road victory over the Spokane Velocity in a rematch of the 2025 USL League One finals.

“We were fantastic in every phase of the game,” Head Coach Ian Fuller said of his players. “Their attitude was unbelievable, the physicality was amazing, they played incredibly with the ball, were organized without the ball and did everything correct against an opponent we know very well.”

With Saturday’s win, One Knox is moves its unbeaten streak in away matches to six, ending Spokane’s perfect record at One Spokane Stadium in the process. Knoxville also remains unbeaten against Spokane in the two sides’ six overall meetings, dating back to 2024. The four-goal difference is the largest margin of victory against any side in club history.

Most importantly, however, the victory sees One Knox move into second place in the USL1 standings with 27 points and just one point behind Union Omaha with two matches in hand.

“The togetherness is the main thing,” said Baker when asked what worked on Saturday. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy playing this team in their place. We’ve put some good results together and knew how good we’ve been away from home. We knew we could put together a performance like this and all the boys performed amazing tonight.”

Baker set the tone for the visitors in the first half with a four-minute stretch in the first half that began with an assist to Finn McRobb, followed by a goal of his own. Kyle Linhares and Mikkel Gøling then put an exclamation point on the proceedings with goals in the second half, picking apart a Spokane side that had only allowed 12 goals all season.

One Knox, meanwhile, lived up to its defensive billing as Johan Garibay notched his league-best sixth clean sheet of the 2026 season. But the goalkeeper was only called on to make one save as the One Knox defense was staunch in keeping its USL1-best 11 goals allowed mark untouched.

“To pick out one individual tonight would be crazy because every single player gave their all tonight,” Fuller explained. “We knew if we stayed defensively sound and protected the box that we were going to have plenty of opportunities. We countered very well, took our chances and could’ve had even more.”

Nearly jumping out to a lead four minutes into the match with Denis Krioutchenkov hitting the inside of the post, the opening strike would occur 29 minutes later with Baker whipping in a free kick from just outside the left corner of the box. McRobb was there to meet it with his head for his first professional goal since 2024.

Baker then took matters into his hands in the 37th minute from a similar position as his free kick. Instead of crossing one in for another assist, he curled one into the top far corner to double the lead.

“Sometimes when you hit it, it just feels good,” Baker recalled of his second goal across all competitions in 2026. “From the moment I hit it, I knew it was right and then when it goes in, it’s just such an amazing feeling.”

Knoxville grabbed its third not long after coming out of the halftime break, with Krioutchenkov taking advantage of Spokane’s backline pressed high by picking out a run from Kyle Linhares, who showed composure in running at goalkeeper Sean Lewis before picking out the far post. It capped off a solid night for the forward, who also provided the final pass on Baker’s goal.

Mikkel Gøling then removed all doubt in which team would be taking home three points on the evening with his second goal in as many matches as he also finished a one-on-one opportunity with Lewis after a pass from Babacar Diene sprung him free.

“It’s who these guys are, they’re selfless,” Fuller noted of both of his strikers recording assists. “I’ve got to give all of our staff credit as well. This is a collective and everyone has fully bought in and on nights like this, it gets rewarded, everyone was focused and determined.”

NEXT UP
Having won three straight matches in league play, One Knoxville SC will look to hold onto that momentum during some time off before its next match. The squad returns to action on July 2 when it heads back on the road to face AC Boise.

“We wish we could play right now,” Fuller laughed after Saturday’s win. “But this break is going to really good for them. For them to come out with this performance heading into the break was really class.”

The squad will then conclude play in the Prinx Tires USL Cup at Corpus Christi FC on July 11 before returning home to Covenant Health Park for a pair of matches against Fort Wayne FC on July 15 (tickets) and AV Alta FC on July 18 (tickets).