AC Boise secured its first-ever playoff victory in dramatic fashion on Sunday night, defeating One Knoxville SC 2-0 at Athletic Club Boise Stadium in Garden City. Playing in the club’s initial postseason appearance as an expansion side, No. 3 seed Boise managed to shut out the visiting sixth-seeded squad in front of a record-breaking crowd.
The announced attendance of 7,613 shattered the USL League One playoff attendance record. The home side capitalized on a disciplined defensive performance and clinical finishing to book their place in the USL League One semifinals next weekend, where they will host No. 7 Chattanooga after an upset win over Union Omaha.
Head coach Nate Miller acknowledged the magnitude of the victory for a first-year franchise. When you’re an expansion team and you experience a lot of success, you think this happens every year,
Miller said. But people should understand it’s not normal. They should enjoy it. It’s pretty special. We have a special team. They’ve built a really strong culture and love playing for Boise.
How AC Boise broke down Knoxville
After failing to secure a win against Knoxville through two regular-season meetings, Boise broke through in the 37th minute. Blake Bodily delivered a cross from outside the left side of the penalty area, allowing right wing-back Nick Moon to play the ball back across the goal frame for Tumi Moshobane to finish. The strike marked Moshobane’s team-leading ninth goal of the season.
AC Boise to face off against One Knoxville SC for team's first playoff game pic.twitter.com/sLEWMjiMCl
Moshobane emphasized the tactical importance of the opening score. We spoke about if we can just get one goal — because we know defensively we’ve been good lately — if you get that goal, we knew the chance of us winning the game is pretty good,
he noted.
Knoxville held an advantage in possession, particularly during the second half as they pressed for an equalizer, but struggled to break down Boise’s back line. The visitors managed just two shots on target all evening. Goalkeeper Jonathan Kliewer secured the clean sheet by coming off his line for a crucial diving save in the second half.
Miller utilized a defensive trio consisting of Jake Crull, Jake Dengler, and Jonathan Ricketts. The unit had not played a full 90 minutes together in a back-three formation since May 2. Ricketts pointed to team-wide organization as the key to neutralizing Knoxville’s attack.
We had really good communication,
Ricketts said. I love everything that I saw in front of me. My midfielders blocking passing lanes helps a lot for me. Nick did a great job as well on the right, blocking passing lanes inside. It made it really easy on us center backs.
Stoppage-time clincher and the semifinal path
As Knoxville pushed numbers forward in search of a late goal, Boise exploited the open space in stoppage time. Moon delivered another short cross into the penalty area, finding forward Jesus Barea. Barea slotted home his seventh goal of the season in just his 14th appearance, sealing the 2-0 result and sending the home crowd into celebration.
We did it mainly for the supporters and for this community,
Moshobane said. They’ve been tremendous throughout the whole season for us. The way they’ve shown up from the first game to this game, this performance was pretty much for them.
AC Boise now stands 90 minutes away from a spot in the USL League One final. Miller praised the supporters for establishing an intimidating atmosphere in Garden City.
They’ve been bringing it all season,
Miller said of the fanbase. When the weather changes, it’s playoff time. They really found their voice. I think it plays a big part in how our teams play. They really partake in the game. It’s a privilege for our guys to play in front of them. They really help us in difficult moments.
