One Knox announces women’s soccer team that will play at the new stadium starting in May

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• One Knoxville SC announced Saturday it is starting a women’s team.
• The professional soccer club will have its home games at Covenant Health Park, the new multiuse stadium in the Old City.
• At five big home games this season, One Knoxville SC will shut down Central Street between Jackson and Willow Avenues for pregame block parties.

One Knoxville SC has added a women’s team and ‒ surprise! ‒ the players will take the field this spring at the new downtown Covenant Health Park.

The inaugural home game for One Knoxville SC Women is May 10.

The team will compete in the W-League of the United Soccer League, whose USL League One has included the men’s One Knox club since the team jumped to the pro ranks after its inaugural 2022 season. The men will debut at the downtown Knoxville stadium, whose primary tenant is the Knoxville Smokies baseball team, with its first home soccer match of the season April 26.

One Knox introduced the women’s team March 8 at a preseason block party that closed down part of Central Street near the Old City stadium for live music, player appearances, food trucks, beer, yard games and an auction of signed jerseys.

“This new addition (of a USL W-League team) will further enhance One Knoxville SC’s position as a community-driven sports organization, emphasizing youth development and equal opportunities for athletes of all genders,” the team said in a news release.

One Knox Collective, the nonprofit arm of One Knox SC, runs the One Knox Youth Club with a mission “to one day offer free soccer to every kid in East Tennessee” as the internationally loved sport has experienced a new wave of popularity in the United States in recent decades.

There’s also Two Knox, a men’s “B team,” as well as the One Knox Academy development program that provides high school players with training sessions and off-field development modules while giving them experience participating in USL-affiliated matches in preparation for college and the pros.

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville does not have a men’s soccer team. UT’s women’s team plays at Regal Soccer Stadium, which has been the home to One Knoxville SC home matches.

The April 26 home opener for the men’s One Knox team is against Tulsa SC and is two Saturdays before the women’s home opener May 10. The men will play the night before on May 9 while the Smokies are away, meaning only one field conversion is expected for soccer that weekend.

Carson Newman University’s women’s soccer coach Simon Duffy, who’s been tapped to lead Knoxville’s USL W-League team, said the women’s expansion is “an amazing opportunity for the youth players in the Academy and players in the Knoxville area.”

“May 10th can’t come soon enough,” he said in a news release.

With the preseason block party and big announcement behind them, One Knoxville SC plans to shut down Central Street five times during the season, according to a news release. The selected games coincide with the “High Five Pack,” a package starting at $99 for tickets to what One Knox has identified as the team’s five best games.

Here is the block party schedule:

• April 25 – Home Opener
• May 9 – Night Before Party
• June 13 – Knoxville’s Biggest Happy Hour
• July 19 – America Night
• Aug. 2 – Vols Night

Go to oneknoxsc.com for details on the club and tickets.

Joanna Hayes is the restaurant and retail reporter. Email: [email protected]. | Sign up for the free Eat65 newsletter

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