Preview: One Knox hosts Northern Colorado for the first time on short rest
After playing games only three days prior, Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (7-1-5) will travel to Regal Stadium for the first time this season to play One Knoxville SC (4-7-2) on Tuesday night.
Both squads drew their matchups on Saturday night. One Knox is coming off a rainy 2-2 draw against North Carolina FC, while the Hailstorm tied Chattanooga Red Wolves FC 1-1 on the road. For One Knox, it was its fourth draw in five games, while Northern Colorado has not lost since April 29.
“Everything at this point is reset,” head coach Mark McKeever said following the draw on Saturday. “Reset the body. Reset the brain and get back to work on Monday.”
The match will be the third time the two sides have met this season. In the last matchup, One Knox fought to a 0-0 draw at Northern Colorado’s home field. It was the only game since May that the Hailstorm didn’t score a goal.
Since then, Northern Colorado has been one of the best teams in USL League One. They sit third in the standings with 26 points and only 13 games played, three less than first-place Forward Madison FC. They have the fourth most goals with 22 and have the leading scorer in all USL 1 in forward Trevor Amann, who has 11 goals. They’ve conceded a league-low ten goals on defense and have seven clean sheets this season.
One Knox has a rough patch in the last stretch of fixtures. They’ve only accumulated seven points in six matches since the beginning of June, leading them to slide to eighth in the table. However, after scoring five goals in the last three games, the attack has started to come alive. Ultimately, it comes down to whether Knoxville can limit their mistakes.
“We’ve got to be better with the unforced errors. That’s been our message since the start of the season,” McKeever said. “They’ve got to start becoming minimal the longer the season goes.”
While One Knox is coming off another draw and is on short rest against another one of the league’s top teams, home-field advantage will play a key factor for McKeever’s side.
“Northern Colorado and North Carolina are potentially the most talented teams in the league,” McKeever said. “But it’s our home field, and they played tonight [Saturday] against Chattanooga, so they’ve played 90, and we’ve played 90. They’re traveling, and we’re on our home field, so the boys will be ready for it.”
Tuesday’s matchup begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Regal Stadium. Tickets are on sale online and sold at the gate.