GALESBURG, Illinois—The Knox College Prairie Fire men's soccer team suffered a close defeat on Saturday, losing to the St. Norbert Green Knights by a score of 3-1. The game was marked by physical play throughout and was generally a defensive struggle.
 
The first half was very evenly matched, as both sides struggled to pull away. Knox (7-3-2, 2-1-0 MWC) struck first though, as Adetayo Oluwasegun passed a through ball that Nick Janulis got to right before the St. Norbert keeper, resulting in an early Prairie Fire lead. Five minutes later, however, the Green Knights struck back with a goal of their own to knot up the game at one. That was the extent of the action in terms of goals for the first 45 minutes, as evidenced by Knox and St. Norbert combining for only five shots and 11 fouls.
 
St Norbert, ranked #23 in the nation, appeared to come out with an attacking approach in the second half, and it showed. Knox's defense tenaciously fought back against the St. Norbert attack for over 20 minutes, sending back wave after wave of attack. Unfortunately, the Green Knights consistent presence in the Knox half led to a goal off of a corner kick in the 70th minute, one of eight corners that Knox conceded.
 
In the 77th minute, St. Norbert struck again, this time off of a long shot that rifled into the net from far out. Knox's offense attempted to get back into the game, using their persistent physical attack to draw several direct free kicks. However, St. Norbert's defense and keeper held strong, denying Knox from having very many good looks on goal. Time ran out on the Knox comeback, and the score of 3-1 became final.

"I thought we started brightly and got off to a great start," said head coach Brian O'Connor. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to sustain it. St. Norbert are a top-25 team and they proved it. They finished their chances when they had them and ultimately were the better team on the day."
 
Knox's men's soccer team next plays at Grinnell College on October 6.