GALESBURG, Illinois – The Prairie Fire punched their ticket to the championship match of the Midwest Conference tournament with a 1-0 semifinal win over Illinois College Friday at Jorge Prats Field.

Knox, the top seed in the tournament after winning the regular season MWC title, defeated #4 seeded IC for the second time in nine days.  The Prairie Fire also beat the Blueboys 4-2 on October 29 at home.

Bolstered by the biggest crowd at Prats Field in recent memory, and possibly ever, Knox was energized and on the attack from the outset.  The Prairie Fire (15-3) dominated on both sides of the field against IC, outshooting the Blueboys 16-3 overall and 4-0 on goal.

First-year player Shu Kitamura (Hong Kong, Hong Kong) sent a shot past Illinois College goalie Scott Workman 79:07 into the match that turned out to be the game-winner.  Kitamura also scored the winning goal in a 1-0 double overtime win by Knox at home against St. Norbert College on October 25.

The Prairie Fire improved to 9-0 at home this season, and senior goal keeper Sean Dockrell (Dublin, Ireland) recorded his 10th shutout of the year.

Knox will face #3 seeded Carroll University (9-8-2), which made a 2-1 lead at the half stand up against #2 seeded Lake Forest College in Friday's second semifinal game.  The Foresters (7-10-2) ended the Prairie Fire's season last year with a 2-1 win on their home field in the MWC tournament semifinals before topping Carroll in the championship.

Knox will try to make it two wins against the Pioneers this season after posting a 1-0 win at home on October 18.

The winner of this year's championship match between Knox and Carroll, which begins Saturday at 12:00 p.m., earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The Midwest Conference men's soccer tournament page is available by clicking here