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USL1 One Knoxville SC

Preview: #1 Charlotte Independence Challenges One Knox at Home

June 16, 2023 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
One Knoxville SC News Release


Preview: #1 Charlotte Independence challenges One Knox at home

One Knox SC (4-4-4) prepares for another top-of-the-table challenge against the Charlotte Independence SC (6-2-4) at Regal Stadium on Saturday night.

It's another tough matchup in a challenging stretch of games for Knoxville. It will be their third straight match against a team in the top four of the standings. The team from Marble City is coming off of a loss to T-1 North Carolina FC and a draw last week against #4 Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC.

"We've had a couple of bad results. We're not getting wins in the last few games," head coach Mark McKeever said. "It's going to be another tough game, but I'm excited about it. These are the challenges that are going to make us better."

It has been a struggle offensively for One Knox through this stretch, with only two goals scored in the last three games. Conversely, McKeever's squad has shown defensive strength, only allowing two goals during this same stretch, capped off by a stellar performance against Northern Colorado.

"Everybody played the system. We would have done the same against North Carolina had we played the system correctly," McKeever said. "The buck stops with me there at that point. However, we did get it right against Northern Colorado, and I think the guys understand that when they buy into the system together, we are very hard to beat."

Adding to the defensive improvement has been the return of defender James Thomas, who is back playing in a cast after suffering an arm injury earlier in the season. Thomas returned against the Hailstorm last week but felt a little rusty in his first start back in the squad.

"It's been kind of up and down for me with injuries. I haven't really been able to find a flow, which has been frustrating," Thomas said. "It (NCHFC game) was tough because we played in the altitude of Colorado. The lads put in a lot of hard work. I'm proud of how we showed up and fought throughout the game."

Charlotte comes to Knoxville six points ahead in the standings with 22 points compared to One Knox's 16. The Independence has one of the best defenses in the league so far, having only allowed eight goals, and has a league-high six clean sheets.

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