Recap: Two Frank Ross goals power One Knox past Charlotte Independence
One Knoxville SC (5-4-4), led by Scotsman Frank Ross’s two goal performance, earned a 2-0 win against top-of-the-table Charlotte Independence SC (6-3-4) on Saturday night at the Regal Stadium.
“Tonight, probably our best performance of the season,” head coach Mark McKeever said. “It could have been more than two. We’re talking about big moments at both ends of the field. It was a great performance from Frankie (Ross), not to mention the clean sheet. It came together at both ends.”
One Knox was clicking right from kickoff after struggling to find goals in the previous three matches. The attack took three shots on target in the first 30 minutes of the game, besting their 2023 per game average.
The breakthrough came in the 36th minute when Midfielder Angelo Kelly-Rosales drew a foul 25 yards from the Charlotte goal after a meandering half-field run. Forward Frank Ross, just back from injury, took the free kick and fired a missile over Charlotte’s wall and into the top left corner of goal. It was Ross’ first goal of the season.
“It’s funny – my first-ever goal was against Rangers, and it was the exact same spot on the pitch,” Ross said. “So yeah, if I kick in that area, I feel confident because I scored from there before… The free kick absolutely flew out. I could try it about a thousand more times, and it wouldn’t work.”
Knoxville went into halftime with a 1-0 advantage. They had the majority of possession and were clinical inside the final third, where the team completed 81% of its passes compared to Charlotte’s 68%.
The second goal came thanks to an excellent effort from defender James Thomas to draw a penalty in the 49th minute. Frank Ross slotted the penalty kick past an outstretched goalkeeper to seal his brace. However, Ross didn’t get the chance to finish his hat trick, as Sebastian Andreassen replaced him in the 65th minute.
“Frankie, he makes us better. He’s a special player,” McKeever said. “We’ve been unfortunate not to have him more because of injuries. Because of that, we’ve tried to protect him. Because we protected him, he’s come back and given us something special here tonight.”
“I’ve been waiting for this moment,” McKeever said. “Not for me. Not even for the players. We needed that one for the fans. We’ve been ending games in ties and defeats, so to see their happy faces… it felt like time.”
One Knox moves to 19 points and is level with Forward Madison FC and Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC on points in the standings but is behind them on goal difference. Charlotte remains second with 22 points, behind North Carolina FC on goal differential.
One Knox has a quick turnaround and will travel to Nebraska to battle Union Omaha on Wednesday at 8 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.