Box Score

Galesburg, IL – The Prairie Fire kept two streaks alive by defeating MacMurray College 8-0 on Wednesday at Jorge Prats Field.

The win allows Knox (7-1) to keep possession of the Ferris Trophy, which goes to the winner of the contest between the Prairie Fire and the Highlanders each year.  Knox defeated MacMurray 7-1 in the inaugural Ferris Trophy match last season in Jacksonville.

The Prairie Fire also extended their winning streak to seven, the longest streak by the men's soccer team since the 1988 squad that claimed the Midwest Conference crown won nine in a row.

Sophomore Nathaniel Logie (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Queens Royal College), who was named the Midwest Conference Offensive Performer of the Week on Monday and the Prairie Fire Performer of the Week on Wednesday, gave Knox a 1-0 lead on his 10th goal of the season 12:07 into the match.  Sophomore Charlie Harned (Webster Groves, MO, Clayton), who entered the week leading NCAA Division III in assists, added another to his total on the score by Logie.

The Prairie Fire increased the lead to 2-0 when Logie assisted on a score by first-year Andy Van Buskirk (Overland Park, KS, Rockhurst) at the 19:35 mark.  The goal was the first for Van Buskirk this season.

First-year Yuta Saitoh (Tokyo, Japan, Life Christian School) had his biggest offensive output of the season when he kicked in the first of his three goals against the Highlanders (0-6) for a 3-0 Knox advantage at 35:32.

Sophomore Hadee Ahmadi (Denver, CO, Martin Luther King Jr.) scored off of a corner kick by senior Maxwell Gatyas (Plymouth, WI, Plymouth Comprehensive) about 3:00 after Saitoh's goal for a 4-0 lead that the Prairie Fire would take into the break.

Ahmadi and Gatyas connected for the fifth score of the match for Knox at the 58:52 mark.

The Prairie Fire scored three goals over less than seven minutes to close out the contest and keep the hardware.

Junior Ezekiel Jere (Tema, Ghana, SOS Herman Gmeiner) scored on a pass from Saitoh on the left side with about 12:00 remaining in the contest.  Jere then assisted on a header by Saitoh at 85:46 for a 7-0 Knox lead before Saitoh achieved a hat-trick with his third goal at the 89:13 mark.

The Prairie Fire again displayed their outstanding balance with five different players scoring goals and five credited with assists.

Knox outshot MacMurray 16-3 overall and held an 11-3 shots on goal advantage.

Sean Dockrell (Dublin, Ireland, San Bernadino CC) improved to 7-0 in goal for the Prairie Fire and increased his shutout total to five.  That matches the number of shutouts by the 1992 Knox team, which was also the last squad to finish with a winning record overall and in the Midwest Conference (8-5-1, 6-3-1).

The 1988 team owns the most shutouts in a season with seven and the longest winning streak at nine.

This year's Prairie Fire team passed the 1978 squad for the best start to a season through eight matches.  Knox began the 1978 campaign with a 6-1-1 record.  The 2013 squad's 7-1 start is the best of any men's varsity soccer team at Knox.  The 1968 men's soccer team that finished undefeated at 8-0 was a club sport.

Photos from the men's soccer game with the Highlanders and the 2013 season are online at the Knox College Flickr channel.

The Prairie Fire try to continue their successful run in the Midwest Conference opener at home against Ripon College on Saturday at 1:30.

The Red Hawks (0-5) have struggled to score in the early going.  Ripon has scored just three goals and been shut out three times in the first five matches of the season.

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