Asheville City is set to host One Knoxville in the Smoky Mountain Series in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup on March 31.
“Certainly when One Knox entered we split the first two meetings,” Asheville City SC Chief Operating Officer, Sporting and Club Operations, Mathes Mennell, said. “They went to USL One, done a great job, USL One champions last year. So, certainly a familiar opponent and organization we have a ton of respect for.”
Asheville increases the quality of their opponent in this second round matchup. The success of One Knoxville gives this game extra meaning for Asheville City.
“It’s certainly a big challenge for us playing the defending League One champions. Anytime you play pro teams it’s gonna be a challenge when they play a pro team, especially a League One team with their pedigree. It just kind of adds the stakes a little bit. But what a greater opportunity for our players. What a great opportunity for our fans,” Mennell said.
Asheville City looks to pull another cupset against One Knoxville. Asheville looks to raise the standard with a victory that will progress the club into the next era of soccer in Asheville.
“This is just the next step for us. Like we talked about, our next step was winning a first round match, and now the next step is, can you find success in the second round,” Mennell said. “I think it’s just a huge opportunity.”
A win in this game will not only help achieve Asheville’s goals. A win likely means a meeting with a team from Major League Soccer, which is the top tier in American soccer.
“The next round would be most likely against a MLS team on the road, and that would be a whole other challenge, and one we’re certainly super excited about,” Mennell said.
A cupset would allow Asheville to expose itself to a higher level of competition over what is available in their league. This would allow Asheville and their fans to get a good look at what it takes to play at a higher level.
“I think that for us exposing ourselves as an organization to this type of experience, playing against this level of competition and then also exposing our fans to what the next level can kind of look like. I think that’s probably more of stuff that is pertinent to today,” Mennell said.
Asheville City’s focus in this tournament is not the money that can be made off of success. Instead, Asheville is focused on using this tournament to put on its best performance.
“Anytime you can enter into a competition like this, and there’s financial gain, that would be a fantastic benefit, but that’s not our focus,” Mennell said. “The number one thing here is, can we put a good product on the field. Can we put a good show in terms of our match production. That’s kind of our real focus.”
A win for Asheville City would likely give them the opportunity to have their players on display against MLS talent. This would allow Asheville to show that they belong on the world stage.
“This roster approach which is mainly players that are looking to get that next jump, maybe they’re using us as a trampoline effect, and that’s great,” Mennell said. “No better way to put yourself in the shop window than to put a really good performance on against a pro team, and for them to do that potentially at an MLS level, that’s awesome. We’ve already seen, just with players from our win on the 18th [March, 2026]. Some of those guys have gotten opportunities, and that’s exactly what this is all about.”
Asheville City hosts One Knoxville at Greenwood Field on March 31 with the kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
