By Daniel Feuerstein | Asheville, NC | March 31st, 2026
A Second Round Match-up between the One Knoxville SC of USL League One as they were on the road to face Asheville City SC of USL League Two in a tightly contested U.S. Open Cup that went the distance with action, drama, and it went all the way to the penalty shootout. The referee was busy with his whistle and his cards as tensions got elevated, which threw out three players, two from Knoxville. At the end of the match, somehow, One Knoxville had magic on their side as they survived and advanced to the Third Round draw, defeating Asheville City four goals to two in the shootout, while the match was a one-all draw throughout regulation and after extra time.
Game Recap
Asheville City were on the front foot at the start of the match, trying to score the opening goal. While at first it looked like they scored inside the first 12 minutes, the referee wiped it out due to a handball he just saw, and the match remained deadlocked until the 33rd minute. One Knoxville’s Danny Fernandez went down the near side with the ball. He looked up towards the area, and decided to cross the ball and found his target in teammate Braudilio Rodriguez, who just tucked the ball inside the far post to take the opening goal.
In the Open Cup, things can change in a hurry if you don’t pay attention. Stavros Zarokostas would be the first victim of a red card offense when he earned his first yellow in the first half stoppage time. In the second half, Zarokostas would be hit with his second yellow card of the match, and automatically got the red card that eliminated a potential two-goal lead for One Knoxville in the 50th minute.
Then, Asheville would get a lifeline later in the second half when a handball offense happened inside the Knoxville area. AS the defender slid down to keep himself upright, his left hand struck the ball while it was away from his body in an unnatural position. That gave Ashville City’s Simon Carlson the chance to level the match, and as he went toward the spot, he drilled the ball inside the near post in the 67th minute.
One Knoxville got unlucky again as another player who was already on a yellow card from the first half would get his second of the match when Teddy Baker was shown his second yellow card, and then the red came out in the 90th minute, which put the visitors down to ten men. When the whistle blew to end regulation, the match advanced into extra time. While no goals were scored, Asheville City lost Johnny Fenwick, who got his straight red card in the 120th minute for a foul from just behind the Knoxville defender.
The match moved into the penalty kick shootout as both sides were hoping to gain the advantage, but it was Knoxville’s goalkeeper Jonathan Burke who stood his ground and made two big saves, stopping Simon Carlson on the first kick and then the final two kicks against Rai Pinto and Ryan Holmes. Steven Cordova earned the match-winning penalty before Burke had his moment to end the match and moved on toward the third round draw.
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