GALESBURG, Illinois—The Prairie Fire men's soccer team defeated Monmouth 5-1 on Monday afternoon.
Knox (9-3-1, 4-1-0 MWC) scored right before halftime to take a 1-0 lead into the break. Raphael Adeyemi found the back of the net as he beat a defender down the sideline. The Prairie Fire broke open the floodgates in the second half as James Barrington scored in the 60
th minute and Adeyemi scored another in the 70
th minute. Muzammil-E-Haque Mahmud scored his first goal of the season in the 84
th minute and Siang Hnin found back of the net for his first score of the season in the 86
th minute. The Fighting Scots were awarded a penalty kick in the 89
th minute, but Justin Dunn blocked the attempt. However, Monmouth was able to score on the rebound to put them on the board.
Gavin Douglas picked up a pair of assists and Rocky Plaza and Pedro Moura each assisted on a goal apiece. Justin Dunn narrowly missed out on his eight shutout of the season.
"Monmouth versus Knox is always a date both teams circle on the calendar. It's always a tough physical affair," said head coach Brian O'Connor. "We created plenty of chances in the first half, but only had a goal to show for it. We talked at halftime about capitalizing on our opportunities and did just that in the second half. Our bench really came through for us by scoring four of the five goals. All in all a great performance from top to bottom."
Knox goes on the road this weekend to battle Beloit and Lake Forest.
