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Match Previews – July 8

By USLLeagueOne.com Staff, 07/07/23, 3:30PM EDT

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One Knox clash with North Carolina highlights four-game night of action across the league


One Knoxville SC will try to reverse its defeat to North Carolina FC when the sides first met this season as the League One leaders come to Regal Soccer Stadium on Saturday night. | Photo courtesy One Knoxville SC

HAILSTORM NEAR SUMMIT IN RED WOLVES VISIT

Matchup: Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (3-9-3, 11th) vs. Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (7-1-4, 2nd)
Venue: CHI Memorial Stadium
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Storms, 84°
Broadcast: ESPN+
Hashtag: #CHAvNCO
Series (First Meeting): 1-1-2, Even (2022)

WHAT MATTERS

In Sight of the Summit: In extending its undefeated streak to eight games with Tuesday night’s 3-2 victory against the Charlotte Independence, Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC moved within a point of claiming the top spot in League One. With games in hand on its primary rivals, first place should come sooner rather than later, but in a game against a struggling Red Wolves side a victory could vault Hailstorm past North Carolina FC, which has a road test at One Knoxville SC.

Home Sweet Home?: The Red Wolves are winless in their last four games, and have only one win in their last 10 games overall, but they have been a much tougher proposition at CHI Memorial Stadium this season than on their travels. All 12 of Chattanooga’s points have been earned on home turf, the side earned a 0-0 draw with Hailstorm when it last visited in March, so if there’s a moment to stop the rot it’s here.

Brace Yourself: Trevor Amann’s goalscoring exploits have been key to Hailstorm’s success this season with his pair of goals against the Independence on Tuesday night pulling the side to victory. League One’s leading goalscorer has now notched a brace four times this season, equaling the single-season best in the league’s regular season history set by the Richmond Kickers’ Emiliano Terzaghi two years ago.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Carlos Avilez, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC: The 22-year-old posted an eight-save shutout when these teams met for the first time and should be the starter on Saturday night with Ricardo Jerez remaining on international duty with Guatemala at the Concacaf Gold Cup.

AVAILABILITY REPORT

CHA: Richard Renteria (probable), Ualefi (probable), Yahir Paez (questionable), Moe Espinoza (questionable), Alex Tejera (out), Manuel Madrid (out, hamstring), Marios Lomis (out, international clearance)

NCO: Irvin Parra (questionable, personal)

TEAM MATCH PREVIEWS

Chattanooga

Northern Colorado

NCFC SEEKS REPEAT RESULT IN KNOXVILLE

Matchup: One Knoxville SC (5-4-6, 7th) vs. North Carolina FC (8-4-2, 1st)
Venue: Regal Soccer Stadium
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Cloudy, 85°
Broadcast: ESPN+
Hashtag: #KNXvNC
Series (First Meeting): 1-0-0, North Carolina (2023)

WHAT MATTERS

Back On Top: North Carolina FC regained first place in the League One standings with its victory in the Dogwood Derby last Friday night against the Charlotte Independence and now will look to maintain that position. NCFC claimed victory when it visited Knoxville in June as Jaden Servania’s goal in first-half stoppage time proved the difference, a result the visitors would love to emulate this time around.

Draws Are Death: One Knoxville is undefeated since that last meeting with North Carolina FC but has come away with three draws in a four-game run that has seen the side drop below the playoff line during its bye a week ago. Picking up results is fine to a point, but getting back into the win column is going to be important for the side as it plays four of its next five games at home, giving One Knox an opportunity to make a drive up the standings.

Power Trio: The attacking trio of Oalex Anderson, Garrett McLaughlin and Rafael Mentzingen have been central to North Carolina’s resurgence this season. With a combined 16 goals and six assists, the teammates are the only trio in League One to have each recorded at least five goals on the same team so far this season. For One Knox to come away with a positive result, it’ll have to keep these guys in check more successfully than others have this year.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Jordan Skelton, One Knoxville SC: The former North Carolina FC player wasn’t at his best in what has been a strong season overall for the 26-year-old, and he’ll want to change that while helping the hosts keep the back line tight in a crucial game for his side.

AVAILABILITY REPORT

KNX: None

NC: Nick Holliday (out, ankle), Nick Croll (out, lower body)

TEAM MATCH PREVIEWS

Knoxville

North Carolina

FLAMINGOS LOOK FOR CLUB FIRST AS FUEGO VISIT

Matchup: Forward Madison FC (7-4-4, 3rd) vs. Central Valley Fuego FC (3-10-1, 12th)
Venue: Breese Stevens Field
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 78°
Broadcast: ESPN+
Hashtag: #MADvCVF
Series (First Meeting): 3-0-1, Central Valley (2022)

WHAT MATTERS

Flock, Beware: Forward Madison FC will return home after a win and a loss on the road last week saw them slip out of first place in the League One standings, and while the side has experienced regular success at Breese Stevens Field this season it will be looking for its first win in club history against Fuego FC. The visitors were the last team to hand the Flamingos defeat on their home turf on June 3 in a 2-1 win that saw Central Valley rally with two goals in the final 16 minutes, a result that will have stung for FMFC, with Fuego now undefeated in four meetings between the side overall.

New Man at the Helm: Fuego FC’s victory in Madison was the last time the side claimed a result of any kind in league play, and the four-game losing streak that followed resulted in the departure of Martin Vasquez as the club’s Head Coach this past Monday. Taking the reins is the familiar figure to many Central Valley soccer fans of Adam Smith, who will lead the side for the first time in this contest as he tries to find the right combination to pull the side out of the basement in the League One standings.

Set Up The Showdown: As eager as Madison will be to start another winning streak after its four-game run came to an end against Greenville Triumph SC last Saturday, a victory against Fuego FC would set up a massive game next weekend against North Carolina FC. With this game the first of five of the next seven at home for the Flamingos, we should be looking for a big performance by Head Coach Matt Glaeser’s side here to set up an even bigger game to come.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Nazeem Bartman, Forward Madison FC – The attacking midfielder was underwhelming in his side’s loss to Greenville Triumph SC after two goals and an assist in the prior three games and will need to get on the ball more to make an impact for the hosts this time around.

AVAILABILITY REPORT

MAD: Julio Benitez (out, lower body), Lionela Bessi (out, pulled calf)

CVF: Cherif Dieye (out, knee), Villyan Bijev (out, groin), Ofek Antman (out, knee), Mouhamed Dabo (out, hamstring)

TEAM MATCH PREVIEWS

Forward Madison

Central Valley

BUHOS, KICKERS LOOK TO KEEP MOMENTUM

Matchup: Union Omaha (4-3-7, 8th) vs. Richmond Kickers (6-4-6, 4th)
Venue: Werner Park
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 77°
Broadcast: ESPN+
Hashtag: #OMAvRIC
Series (First Meeting): 3-1-3, Richmond (2020)

WHAT MATTERS

Building Up: Both Union Omaha and the Richmond Kickers are coming off victories last time out that saw their key marksmen find the net. For Omaha, Noe Meza bagged his eighth goal of the season in a 1-0 win against Central Valley Fuego FC as the side won its second in a row and moved to four games undefeated. For the Kickers, Emiliano Terzaghi scored his seventh from the penalty spot in a 2-0 win against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC that moved the side back into the playoff places. With a win, one side will get to keep momentum, but a win feels more essential here for Los Buhos as they sit below the playoff line and have failed to defeat Richmond in their past four contests.

Nils By Feet: Terzaghi still leads the Kickers in front of goal this season, but Nils Vinyals has been arguably the most influential player for the side and that was reflected in last week’s win. The Spaniard’s first goal of the season came from the penalty spot, but he also rang up nine chances created – a single-game high in League One this season. Vinyals’ creative efforts haven’t quite been rewarded yet with one assist on 26 chances created and 1.95xA, but how he pulls the string here could hold the key for the visitors.

Another Thriller?: There were good moments in the first meeting between these sides this season, but ultimately it ended up in a scoreless draw at City Stadium in May. What we’d love to see is another game like the one these clubs delivered when they last played at Werner Park, a five-goal thriller that saw the Kickers emerge on top on a penalty kick by Vinyals in the seventh minute of stoppage time, capping a run of four goals in the final 15 minutes and added time. Give us that level of drama and entertainment and may the best team win.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Luis Gil, Union Omaha: The veteran playmaker has notched three assists this season and is among the league-leaders in chances created and Expected Assists at 3.2xA. What he hasn’t provided yet is finishing, and with Noe Meza in need of scoring support this would be a great moment for Gil to break out.

AVAILABILITY REPORT

OMA: Stefan Mueller (questionable), Eddie Gordon (questionable)

RIC: Ethan Vanacore-Decker (out, injury)

TEAM MATCH PREVIEWS

Omaha

Richmond

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Tag(s): News  Spotlight  Union Omaha  Chatt Red Wolves SC  Forward Madison FC  Richmond Kickers  North Carolina FC  Central Valley Fuego FC  Hailstorm FC  Game Previews  One Knoxville SC 

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