One Knox Plays to Scoreless Draw with Westchester SC

USL LEAGUE ONE MATCHDAY 28	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
WESTCHESTER SC (8-14-6 | 30 PTS)	0	0	0
ONE KNOXVILLE SC (13-6-9 | 48 PTS)	0	0	0

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For a second straight match in front of its home crowd, One Knoxville SC was the one that looked more likely to find the back of the net on the night. But while every single shot on goal in Sunday’s contest came from the home side, it was not enough in the end to breakthrough and the club had to settle for a consecutive 0-0 draw at Covenant Health Park, this one coming against Westchester SC.

“It was a tough night where felt like we should’ve come out with three points,” said Assistant Coach James Thomas, who led One Knox with Head Coach Ian Fuller serving a red card suspension.

“Everything now is about dusting ourselves off and moving forward.”

The lone point moves Knoxville’s total of the 2026 season to 48, as the club continues to cling on to the fourth spot in the USL League One table, with five matches left to play.

The outcome might’ve been different if not for some unlucky bounces and the play of Westchester goalkeeper Luca Marinelli. One Knox concluded the match with three of its 15 total shots on target, while holding its opponent to 0 on frame across eight attempts. The club also outpossessed its opponent with 59.4% of the ball and had 84 entries into the final third.

“It’s frustrating,” Thomas said of not being able to find a path to victory despite controlling the match. “The boys feel that more than anyone. We’ve got a bunch of winners in our locker room. I felt the game plan was good and we got a lot of things right, it just didn’t quite go our way tonight.”

As chance upon chance kept coming, particularly in the second half, One Knox appeared to have finally gotten the best of Marinelli in the 80th minute.

Beginning with Teddy Baker forcing a turnover deep on Westchester’s end, the break was on as the midfielder quickly squared the ball across to John Murphy Jr. at the top of the box. With the backline’s attention on him, Murphy Jr. then picked out Nico Rosamilia running down his left.

Taking the shot on the first touch with his right-foot, Rosamilia curled it over a a diving Marinelli’s outstretched arm, but needed the ball to dip a few inches more as it struck the bottom part of the crossbar before bouncing back into play and out of harm’s way.

“Football matches are won and lost in the boxes,” Thomas noted. “Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how good you are between the two areas, you have to make it count when you get those chances, but it’s kind of been the story of our season where we haven’t made some of those moments count.”

That big chance, along with shots in the box from Momo Diop and Mikkel Gøling forcing quick reaction saves from Marinelli in the 42nd and 54th minute, respectively, nearly did enough to get a crowd of over 4,300 on its feet, along with those watching on ESPN2 in what was the first nationally-televised sporting event in Covenant Health Park history.

“We are ambitious and want to hit the highest of heights when we can,” explained Thomas. “I wish we would’ve made a better showcase of ourselves, because this is massive for the club and it’s a testament to the growth of soccer in Knoxville”

After a pair of injury absences, captain Jordan Skelton and Jaheim Brown both marked their returns to the starting lineup and both contributed positively as One Knox posted its eighth clean sheet of the campaign.

While each recently earned appearances off the bench, it was Skelton’s first appearance in the XI since August 22 and Brown’s first start since August 8.

NEXT UP
As the push for the postseason rolls on, One Knoxville SC returns to action on Saturday, October 3 for a match at Richmond Kickers. Thomas will again man the sideline as Fuller serves the second of a two-match suspension. Kickoff from City Stadium is set for 6:00 p.m. ET, with One Knox needing a win to secure a postseason berth for a third consecutive year.

The squad returns home on Wednesday, October 7 to take on in-state rival Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (tickets) before closing out the home portion of its regular season slate on Sunday, October 11 against Spokane Velocity (tickets).