Asheville City Soccer Club put up a valiant effort against USL League One side One Knoxville, but fell on penalties after both teams finished extra time tied at one.
A few smaller chances came and went without much danger until the 21st minute, when Ryan Flood cut in from the left flank and unleashed a wicked shot with his right foot that flew narrowly wide of the far post as the match remained tied.
Knoxville found the opener in the 33rd minute, when some nifty passing led to Braudilio Rodrigues being alone in the box as he tucked a tidy finish into the bottom right corner to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
The first dangerous chance in the 2nd half came in the 50th minute when One Knoxville sprang Denis Krioutchenkov through on goal with a one-on-one opportunity. Andrew Pannenberg got enough on the ball to slow it down before Ryan Holmes cleared it off the goal line to keep the Blues within one.
Immediately after, an altercation in front of the bench led to a red card for Knoxville’s Stavros Zarokostas. From this moment forward, the Blues dominated possession and created the majority of the dangerous chances.
In the 61st minute, Evan Southern nudged a Knoxville defender off the ball on the edge of the box before firing a shot that was saved by Jonathan Burke but bounced away from him. Kameron Lacey ran onto the ball and blasted one from point-blank range but Burke was able to recover and keep the Blues off of the scoresheet.
However, four minutes after that, the Blues broke through. A handball in the box by One Knox meant a penalty kick for Asheville. Simon Carlson blasted his attempt past Burke to knot things up at 1 in the 67th minute.
Knoxville hit the Blues on the counter a mere three minutes later but Pannenberg was able to stand strong and keep things deadlocked.
The visitors fell to 9 men in the 90th minute, when Teddy Baker was given his marching orders after being given his second yellow for a dangerous challenge.
The Blues mustered two more chances in stoppage time. Izaiah Vignali and Jonny Fenwick both fired low-driven shots towards the bottom right corner that Burke was able to get in front of both times. The last kick of regulation came when the ball bounced out to Carlson on the edge of the box, who unleashed a volley that went just over the bar as the match headed to extra time.
The Blues dominated the first half of extra time with three major chances. Ryan Flood whipped in a beautiful cross to Evan Southern that forced a save out of Burke in the 92nd minute. Four minutes after a free kick from a tight angle found Ryan Holmes at the back post. Holmes redirected the ball back into the mixer, but Knoxville was the first to get a foot to it to clear it out. Holmes nearly scored three minutes later, but his shot from the right side of the box rolled inches wide of the far post.
Asheville struggled slightly more to break down Knoxville in the second half of extra time, but Flood had the best two chances of the period. In near identical moves mere minutes apart from each other, Flood cut in from the right flank and rocketed shots that both seemed earmarked for the far upper corner. Both times Burke was quick to react and knocked both shots over the crossbar.
The match headed to penalties. After a scoreless first frame due to a Burke save and a beautiful kick save from Pannenberg, Knoxville was more clinical as they put 3 penalties away compared to Asheville’s 2, as the visitors moved on to the 3rd Round of the US Open Cup.
The Blues return home to Greenwood Field on May 16th, when the Men’s and Women’s squads take part in a doubleheader. Men’s kickoff is set for 3:30, and Women’s is scheduled for 6:30. You can buy your season tickets here.
