One Knox SC of Knoxville, Tenn., locked up a place in the USL League One postseason Wednesday night, beating in-state rival Chattanooga Red Wolves SC 3-0 at Covenant Health Park.
Knoxville came into the home match needing at least a draw to reach the playoffs for the third consecutive season. The win in the matchup known as the Smoky Mountain Smackdown moved the club to 14-7-9 with 51 points.
The match tilted early. Chattanooga defender Michael Knapp was sent off with a red card for a tactical foul after just 10 minutes, and two minutes later midfielder Teddy Baker put Knoxville ahead with a powerful free kick.
Nico Rosamilia, the reigning USL League One Final MVP, doubled the lead just before halftime. Denis Krioutchenkov then scored his 10th goal of the season in the 54th minute to make it 3-0.
The result keeps the defending champions in the hunt for a top-four finish, which would guarantee at least one home playoff game. Knoxville hosts Spokane Velocity FC on Sunday, Oct. 11, and closes the regular season on Oct. 17 on the road against the New York Cosmos, a team already eliminated from postseason contention.
Two first-half goals did most of the work for a strong overall attack, and the win gives Knoxville the opportunity to defend its USL League One title when the postseason opens later this month.
The playoffs begin the weekend of Oct. 31, with eight teams playing a single-elimination, fixed-bracket format in which the higher seed hosts each match.
One Knox won the league championship last year in front of a league-record crowd of 7,500 at Covenant Health Park, becoming just the fourth club in league history to claim both the title and the USL Players Shield in the same season.