Recap: One Knox and North Carolina FC draw 2-2 on a rainy night at Regal Stadium
After a delayed start and cold rain throughout the game, One Knoxville SC came away with its third consecutive draw in a 2-2 grind against North Carolina FC on Saturday night at home.
“That was a roller coaster,” head coach Mark McKeever said after the match. “We should have had a bit more quality to see the game out. We needed to win that one tonight.”
The 7:30 p.m. kickoff was delayed due to thunderstorms in the area, so the match didn’t get underway until 8:30 p.m. Though the thunder left, the rain stayed for most of the game, restarting in the 20th minute and falling continuously until the final whistle.
North Carolina started with a golden opportunity to score early off a turnover from goalkeeper Sean Lewis. Forward Oalex Anderson slotted a shot past Lewis off a backheel pass from forward Rafael Mentzingen in the 4th minute to go up 1-0.
After their goal, North Carolina kept the pressure on with six shots and 55% possession in the first 15 minutes. One Knox only had one shot during that span.
Even though One Knox wasn’t matching North Carolina shot-for-shot, they were able to level the match. Defender Jalen Crisler headed a ball into the back of the net off a free kick to make it 1-1 in the 31st minute. Five minutes later, forward Frank Ross scored off a cutback pass from forward Jake Keegan. With his third goal in four matches, Ross gave Knoxville a 2-1 lead in the 36th minute.
“Part of me is disappointed. Part of me is proud that we came back and made a good account of ourselves,” McKeever said. “I’m proud of the guys for their fight, effort, and desire. They never stop, and they keep going.”
One Knox held on to its 2-1 lead at the half. Since the first 15 minutes, One Knox outshot North Carolina four shots to three and had over 53% of possession from then to halftime.
North Carolina came out of the lockerrooms hot with 71% possession and seven shots in the first 30 minutes of the second half. Their dominant play led to an equalizer in the 60th minute from forward Garrett McLaughlin to knot the game up at 2-2.
The game stayed deadlocked until the end. North Carolina totaled over 60% possession, outshot One Knox 10 to 3, and had 14 touches in the opposition box in the second half. In the end, both teams exit with a point each.
“The message was sent to the players to never start late and never end early,” McKeever said. “I feel as though we started late with lots of errors. We’ve got to be better with the unforced errors.”
One Knox remains behind the playoff line in eighth place with 22 points after its fourth draw in the last five games. NCFC falls second with 27 points behind Forward Madison FC.
“That’s twice now we’ve played the number one team in the league; won one and tied one,” McKeever said. “So I’m happy enough, but I don’t want a scenario where it’s ‘death by draw’ either. Too many draws are detrimental to you.”
One Knox will return to Regal Stadium on a quick turnaround for its next game against #2 Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.