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USL League One Power Rankings – Week 22

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 08/04/25, 5:00PM EDT

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A positive start to a big month has One Knoxville in contention to challenge the frontrunners

August is shaping up to be the moment of truth for One Knoxville SC.

With seven games on the slate – five of which come on home turf at Covenant Health Stadium – it’s the club’s opportunity to make a move and put itself among the challengers for the League One Players’ Shield.

After Mikkel Gøling’s first-half goal paved the way to Saturday night’s 1-0 win against a good Portland Hearts of Pine side to start the month, the side might not be quite where it wants to be, but has the potential to get there as the next four weeks unfold.

“You're always looking at the table and comparing yourself to where you want to be,”  Gøling told the Knoxville News Sentinel. “But for us, it's just one game at a time, three points every single time we play, and then we'll look at the table at the end of the season.”

It’s unsurprising that a team coached by one of the USL’s back line stalwarts in Ian Fuller is among the best defensive units in the league right now. One Knox is one of only two clubs with a goals-against average below 1.00 in the regular season, with Spokane Velocity the other, and that’s not been by accident. Knoxville also leads the league with a 13.87 Expected Goals Against mark in its 15 games.

With half of its regular season games left to play, though, it’s got a sprint to the finish line if it’s going to take advantage of its games in hand to challenge Spokane and in-state rival Chattanooga Red Wolves SC for top spot. As nice as games in hand might be in theory to have – allowing the potential to think about where you could be if you take victories – the potential to drop points is equally as likely.

That’s going to be the challenge now for One Knox as it tries to build on a five-game undefeated streak in the league. Accumulating points is one thing, but accumulating wins is now the order of the day.

Here are this week’s rankings.

Biggest Movers

4 KNX, SPK 6 POR

Rank

 

Team

Change

Summary
1 Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
(8-2-6)
Week 23: vs. MAD
Last Week: 1		 The Red Wolves briefly took first place in the standings before Spokane’s response on Saturday night. Still, with a game in hand, that reward could be close at hand.
2 One Knoxville SC
(7-2-6)
Week 23: @ MAD		 4
Last Week: 6		 Four points from the week was probably a fair return for One Knox. The defensive performance the side put in against Portland was outstanding.
3 AV ALTA FC
(7-4-6)
Week 23: @ SPK
Last Week: 3		 Plenty of possession for not a lot of production by Antelope Valley this weekend. A scoreless draw on the road in Madison isn’t a bad result, though.
4 Spokane Velocity FC
(9-3-5)
Week 23: vs. AV		 4
Last Week: 8		 After the past couple of weeks, it was important for Spokane to get back in the win column. Nil Vinyals helped make it happen, even if Velocity had to dodge some opportunities for Omaha in the second half.
5 Greenville Triumph SC
(5-8-5)
Week 23: @ CLT		 1
Last Week: 4		 If we’re honest, Greenville probably was the more deserving side of a result in South Georgia, but sometimes the soccer gods decide it’s not going to be your night.
6 South Georgia Tormenta FC
(4-9-4)
Week 23: @ NAP; @ WES		 1
Last Week: 7		 A goalkeeper goal to grab a point at home against your longest-standing rival? Tormenta might not have completely deserved a point, but who can say no to that drama.
7 FC Naples
(7-5-5)
Week 23: vs. TRM; vs. TXO		 3
Last Week: 10		 Big win on the road for Naples. Yes, it was against a Kickers side that’s struggling, but that’s seven points from the last nine games and much more solid footing in the top six.
8 Portland Hearts of Pine
(4-4-8)
Week 23: vs. RIC		 6
Last Week: 2		 Saturday was the second time this season Portland was held to one shot on target in League One, and its second-lowest single-game Expected Goals mark (0.27xG). Not the performance they needed.
9 Charlotte Independence
(7-4-7)
Week 23: vs. GVL 		4
Last Week: 5		 The Independence let a pair of leads get away in the past week and have drawn four in a row. When a chance to be tied for first was there to be had, that’s not ideal.
10 Texoma FC
(5-6-6)
Week 23: @ NAP		 1
Last Week: 11		 On one hand, Texoma was probably fortunate not to be in a deeper hole against Charlotte on Saturday. On the other, coming back from two goals down, even against 10 players, is a big plus.
11 Union Omaha
(4-9-2)
Week 23: vs. WES; vs. CHA		 2
Last Week: 9		 Los Buhos could have taken something from its trip to Spokane but couldn’t find a decisive second goal. It’s feeling like one of those seasons.
12 Forward Madison FC
(3-5-8)
Week 23: @ MAD; vs. KNX
Last Week: 12		 You could easily argue Madison deserved better in front of a great crowd at Breese Stevens Field. The club’s lack of consistent scoring punch continues to hold it back.
13 Westchester SC
(3-7-6)
Week 23: @ OMA; vs TRM
Last Week: 13		 JC Obregon Jr. is leading the Golden Boot race after his finish against Chattanooga, but Westchester’s defense just can’t hold up. They’re conceding more than two goals per game in the league.
14 Richmond Kickers
(4-9-4)
Week 23: @ POR
Last Week: 14		 Things continue to go on a downward spiral for the Kickers with four points from their last eight games. At least Landon Johnson’s goal brought some brightness to the night at City Stadium.

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Tag(s): Spotlight  Union Omaha  Power Rankings  Chatt Red Wolves SC  Forward Madison FC  Greenville Triumph SC  Richmond Kickers  So. Georgia Tormenta FC  Charlotte Independence  One Knoxville SC  Spokane Velocity FC  Portland Hearts of Pine  AV ALTA FC  FC Naples  Texoma FC  Westchester SC 

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