GALESBURG, Illinois – The Prairie Fire scored two goals in the second half against Illinois College and posted a 4-2 Midwest Conference win Wednesday afternoon at Jorge Prats Field.

Knox extended its school-record winning streak to 13 in a row and improved to 8-0 at home.

The Prairie Fire (14-2, 9-0 MWC – 27 conference points) blitzed IC with two goals in the first 15 minutes of the match.

Junior Charlie Harned (Webster Groves, MO, Clayton) gave Knox a 1-0 lead with his sixth goal of the season, assisted by sophomore Terence Lau (Shanghai, China, Shanghai American School), 7:25 into the contest.  Junior Nathaniel Logie (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Queens Royal College), the top scorer in the Midwest Conference, followed with his 12th goal – assisted by Harned -- a little over seven minutes later to stretch the advantage to 2-0.

The Blueboys (9-6-2, 5-3-1 MWC – 16 conference points) answered back with their first goal at the 34:12 mark.  They followed with a successful penalty kick about six-and-a-half minutes later to force a 2-2 tie.

Knox took the lead for good when first-year Jon Brimeyer (Waukee, IA, Waukee) scored on a header, assisted by first-year Sam Tatum (Atlanta, GA, Paideia School), 71:31 into the match.  The goal was the first of the season for Brimeyer.  The Prairie Fire added an insurance goal 10 minutes later by junior Abdulsalam Oganla (Lagos, Nigeria, The International Academy), who connected on a short shot inside the box that was assisted by Logie.  The goal was Oganla's fourth of the season.

Illinois College managed only two shots in the second half against the strong Knox defense, which had not allowed a goal since a 5-1 victory against Ripon College on October 4 at home.  The Prairie Fire finished the match against IC with a 10-7 edge in total shots.

Knox also recognized its two seniors, Sean Dockrell (Dublin, Ireland, San Bernadino CC) and Jacob Polay (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg), before taking the field against Illinois College.

Dockrell leads the Midwest Conference with nine goalie shutouts this season.  He's played in 33 career matches and owns a school-record 18 shutouts in goal.  "Sean's impact on our team over the past two years has been incredible," Prairie Fire head coach Matt Edwards said.  "He brought his passion and desire every day, and he always pumped the team up to win games."

Polay, a versatile member of the squad who has played on both offense and defense, has appeared in 61 matches over his four-year career – including 31 starting assignments.  Polay has been a major contributor to the team's 18 shutouts over the past two seasons.  "Jacob has epitomized our team spirit and has been an integral piece of our team's success," Edwards said.

The Blueboys, meanwhile, are one of six teams still in the hunt for the three remaining spots in the Midwest Conference tournament that Knox will host November 7-8.  The Prairie Fire are the #1 seed in the tourney after winning the MWC regular season title and will play the #4 seed (TBD) in the first semifinal match November 7 at 11:00 a.m.  The second semifinal match between the #2 and #3 seeds (TBD) will follow at 1:30 p.m., and the championship is slated for November 8 at 12:00 p.m.

The other teams fighting for the three other spots in the tournament besides IC are Carroll University (8-7-2, 6-2-1 MWC – 19 conference points), Lake Forest College (6-9-2, 5-2-2 MWC – 17 conference points), Monmouth College (7-9-1, 5-3-1 MWC – 16 conference points), St. Norbert College (10-4-3, 4-2-3 MWC – 15 conference points), and Grinnell College (8-3-5, 4-2-3 MWC – 15 conference points).  All of the teams have one more league match to play.

Knox closes out the regular season at defending Midwest Conference champion Lake Forest on Saturday, November 1 at 12:00 p.m.  The match will be streamed live online at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/knox/