Rain, Spokane Dampen One Knox SC Home Finale

USL LEAGUE ONE MATCHDAY 31	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
SPOKANE VELOCITY FC (15-8-5 | 50 PTS)	1	1	2
ONE KNOXVILLE SC (14-8-9 | 51 PTS)	0	0	0

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The final match at Covenant Health Park for the 2026 USL League One regular season did not go as planned for One Knoxville SC. Goals from Spokane Velocity FC on either side of halftime were enough on a rainy Sunday afternoon as Knoxville fell 2-0.

“When it came down to the final say, we just didn’t have the quality that we were looking for,” said Head Coach Ian Fuller. “We just couldn’t find a way through in the right areas. Really disappointed overall.”

Having punched its ticket to 2026 USL1 Playoffs last Wednesday, One Knox’s chances for homefield advantage in the first round took a hit with the defeat. The club currently is in fifth place on 51 points with one match remaining before the postseason begins.

With the remnants of Hurricane Isais providing a light, but steady rain for much of the match, the home side was unable to breakthrough despite holding more than 65% of the ball. Spokane made One Knox pay on the counter-attack with forwards Shavon John-Brown and Neco Brett both finding the back of the net against the run of play.

“It was a shock for sure,” Fuller noted. “We need to get over certain things a little bit better. They took their chances in ways that we didn’t. In both boxes, that’s where you got to be great, not good.”

From the opening whistle, One Knoxville was holding sustained pressure in the final third and nearly grabbed the lead 6 minutes in when Stavros Zarokostas cut a ball back from the endline to a rushing Teddy Baker just inside the top of the box. But the midfielder’s attempt sailed over the crossbar.

The Velocity answered with their first real chance in the 18th minute with defender Lucky Opara chipping a ball over the top to John-Brown, who took a touch inside the box between two One Knox defenders before slotting the ball into the low left corner for the match’s opening goal.

“I think our reaction was a little bit shell-shocked there,” Fuller explained. “We were so good and so aggressive (in the first half) and were causing a lot of problems for them. I thought we were very good in the first half, but unfortunately the phrase goals change games rang true tonight.”

Spokane nearly doubled its advantage five minutes into the second half when a through-ball to Brett had the forward running free on Johan Garibay. But the One Knox goalkeeper was up to the task with a big save inside the box. Garibay won a similar battle with Brett in the 59th minute.

However, Brett would finally find goal in the 62nd minute with Spokane taking advantage of One Knox pushing numbers forward.

“We got so stretched in the second staff,” recalled Fuller. “We had to rely on set pieces and when you have to rely on set pieces, you’re in trouble there, so to give away a second goal was deadly for us.”

Both teams finished the match with 11 shots apiece, however Spokane had four attempts on target while Knoxville had none.

That comes despite One Knox finishing the match with 84 final third entries to Spokane’s 63. Knoxville also completed 416 of its 521 passes while the Velocity only attempted 270 passes total, but the home side was just never able to find much of opportunity in front of goal.

“I don’t think (Spokane Goalkeeper Sean Lewis) had to make a save,” Fuller said. “With all of the aggression and possession that we had, we just missed out on that final burst.”

NEXT UP
With its home slate in the 2026 season now concluded, One Knox will look to finish strong heading into postseason play as it travels to face the New York Cosmos on Saturday.

“We’ve got to be road warriors now,” said Fuller. “Luckily, we’ve been pretty good on the road, but out mindset has got to change (as we head into the playoffs).”

Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m. ET from Hinchliffe Stadium for the final match of the regular season. One Knox will then learn its quarterfinals opponent, as well as its destination, a week later when the final matches of the USL1 season are completed.