by Chloe Notowich
July 23, 2024 (7:00 p.m.) – A long-standing battle ended in victory for One Knoxville SC in
penalty shootouts over the Chattanooga Red Wolves SC.
Both teams dominated the game at certain points, giving an even overall possession at 49% for
One Knox and 51% for Chattanooga.
One Knox coach, Mark McKeever, spoke about the need to do better from today’s performance.
“We have problems scoring goals with many many chances. We got to be better about
managing the game and being better when the game goes against us,” he said.
At the start of the first half, One Knox constantly created chances.
Right off the bat in the 2nd minute, Jalen Crisler missed a header to the left of the goal from the
center of the box from a cross by Kempes Tekiela following a corner.
Tekiela continued to create opportunities and was one of the top players who created the most
chances at three.
In the 23rd minute, Angelo Kelly made a through pass to Tekiela who struck it toward the center
of the goal, and it was saved by Red Wolves’s goalie, TJ Bush. Toward the end of the first half, the Red Wolves began to dominate.
During stoppage time, Yahir Perez crossed the ball and it was headed from the center of the box
by Pedro Hernandez. One Knox goalie, Johan Garibay caught and saved it at the top center of
the goal. By the end of the first half, the score remained 0-0 and Chattanooga dominated possession by
an overall 57%.
The second half brought more tension between both teams.
In the 61st minute, One Knox player, James Thomas, bent a shot toward the top right corner but
it went right outside the goal.
In the 69th minute, Chattanooga player, Chevone Marsh made a through ball to Omar
Hernandez who had a breakaway and struck it outside the box but was off-frame to the left.
In the 77th minute, Chattanooga player, Leo Folla, received a red card, leaving the team down a
player. One Knox’s Alliance Brewing Man of the Match, Sean O’Hearn, gave hope for the team after he
entered the match in the second half.
In the 80th minute, Kingsford Adjei passed the ball outside to O’Hearn. He struck the ball from
the left side toward the top left corner, hitting the crossbar and bouncing in for a lead of 1-0.
One Knox was not able to protect their lead.
In stoppage time, Marsh struck the ball and it was deflected off Garibay. Hernandez rebounded
it from the center of the box into the bottom left corner of the goal.
Both teams scrambled for another goal but were unable to succeed, and the second half ended
at 1-1.
The game then went into penalties.
One Knox player Innocent Nshuti made the final penalty for the team, making the shootout
score 4-3.
Chattanooga player, Owen Green, attempted to make one last effort to tie it up, but hit the ball a
bit too high, making it a One Knox victory.
McKeever commented on the penalty shootout after the game.
“I hate penalty kicks. The fans love it. I hate it. Our record in penalty kicks hasn’t been great. I
don’t think it was a great standing for both teams, but we were fortunate enough that our penalty
kicks were better than theirs,” he said.
This game only counts toward the USL Jägermeister Cup and does not affect their regular
season standings. One Knox has fallen to number three and Chattanooga remains at number
four in Group 2 of the USL Jägermeister Cup.
The next home game is Friday, August 16 versus Chattanooga Red Wolves SC at 7:00 p.m. at
Regal Soccer Stadium.