GALESBURG, Illinois—The Knox College Prairie Fire men's soccer team delivered for their seniors on Senior Day and beat the Cornell College Rams by a score of 2-1 at Jorge Prats Field. Knox played a persistent defense that nagged the Rams and never allowed them to set up many opportunities.
 
Knox began the game on fire, as Gavin Douglas sprinted down the field with the ball and rocketed a shot home to give Knox the opening score of the game in the first 30 seconds. Douglas, a senior, scored his first goal of the season on the play, and his fast pace in scoring set the tone for the Prairie Fire the rest of the game. While there would be no more scoring for either side the rest of the half, Knox's defense held strong and allowed the offense to be creative in looking for shots.
 
When the Prairie Fire came out for the second half, their aggressive tempo continued to bother Cornell, as evidenced by the six fouls and two yellow cards committed by them in the second 45 minutes. However, the Knox offense could not take advantage and score a goal until the 81st minute, when Nick Janulis slotted home a goal to double the Knox lead. This goal would ultimately be some very good insurance, as Isaiah Jones scored his first goal of the season to draw the Rams within one. Fears of Cornell tying up the game would not come to pass, as Knox notched their 14th win of the season.
 
"It was an unusual day since we already know we will be seeing them again on Friday in the Midwest Conference semi-final and today they demonstrated just how tough an opponent they will be," said head coach Brian O'Connor. "With that being said it was a great way to send the seniors out with a win on Prats. The second season begins tomorrow and all of our focus will be be on preparing for the MWC Tournament."
 
The Prairie Fire men's soccer team's regular season is now over, and they will get a rematch with Cornell in the first round of the Midwest Conference Tournament at St. Norbert on November 2.