KNOXVILLE, TN (July 30, 2025) – A four-goal affair ended in a 2-2 draw Wednesday night between Charlotte Independence and One Knox SC in Tennessee.
The Jacks battled back after conceding first, scoring twice through #11 Bachir Ndiaye and #8 Juan David Moreno. One Knox found an equalizer shortly after to share the points.
Following a 45-minute rain delay, One Knox found the breakthrough just two minutes in. #4 Jordan Skelton scored his second goal in as many games against Charlotte, blasting home a loose ball in the box off a corner kick.
Suddenly chasing the game, Charlotte found their legs and pressed a strong Knoxville defense. The Jacks equalized in the 24th minute.
After #15 Rafael Jauregui was taken down just outside the box, #21 Tumi Moshobane whipped in a lovely cross to the back post and Ndiaye headed it home for his third goal of the season.
The two goals were the two best chances of the first half as the two teams headed to the intermission tied at one, an identical score 45 minutes in the first time around.
One Knox nearly made it 2-1 in the 58th minute. #77 Nico Rosamilia struck the crossbar with a thunderous strike from 25 yards out with help from a deflection off #4 Nick Spielman’s head.
Five minutes later, the Independence countered and had a strong chance of their own. #9 Jon Bakero floated a cross, but Moshobane couldn’t hit the empty net from a sharp angle.
But in the 67th minute, they did indeed find the back of the net. Bakero squared it for #26 Souaibou Marou. The Cameroonian dummied it on and Moreno placed his right-footed finish past #1 Sean Lewis, giving the Jacks their first lead of the match. It is Moreno’s first goal for the Independence.
One Knox had a response in the 79th minute. Rosamilia slipped through #21 Stavros Zarokostas and the winger finished well past #28 Matt Levy.
One Knox pressed on for the late winner, hoping to steal back three points. #6 Abel Caputo blasted a half-volley try over in the 87th minute. In stoppage time, One Knox dribbled around Levy, but #5 Javen Romero saved the day, stopping it off the line.
The score ended 2-2 and both teams split the points.
QUOTES:
Mike Jeffries on the performance:
“I don’t think we could have started any worse. Just from the kickoff, not into it and then long throw, second ball corner, and then it’s just scramble off the corner. I did feel like after we conceded the first goal, it took a little time for us to get in the game, but I thought we did a pretty good job of pushing the game in the first half. Maybe didn’t create a ton of chances out of it, but I thought we had a good hold on the game in terms of just our possession and movement. Great to get a goal off a set piece for us and get to 1-1 at halftime. I thought the second half was a pretty level half.”
Jeffries on the boost Moshobane and Moreno have given the group:
“Both of those guys are very talented attacking players and we feel like we have a good core of talented attacking players and can rotate and there’s going to be days when one guy’s a little sharper than another and so forth. I think it gives us the opportunity to change how we play a little bit to keep guys fresh.”
Bachir Ndiaye on the competitiveness of the game:
“It was a very competitive game from two good teams. Truly think we were the better team for most of the night.”
Jon Bakero on multiple players stepping up:
“Just a little disappointing to not come back with the three points because I feel like we had the game right there. It’s a tough place to play against a good team. I think the team is showing how deep it is and a lot of guys are coming up in big moments and just shows the quality of the squad overall.”
