DUBUQUE, Iowa—The Prairie Fire men's soccer team kicked off their season with a 3-0 loss at Loras on Friday.

The teams battled to a scoreless tie through the first 75 minutes, but the Duhawks found the back of the net in the 76^th minute to break through. Loras added a pair of goals in the closing minutes to earn the victory.

Knox defeated the Duhawks 1-0 in Galesburg last season, but could not repeat on the road to begin the season. The Prairie Fire face a tough non-conference season early with all games on the road until October 12.

"It is definitely a learning experience for us," said head coach Brian O'Connor. "We had 5 or 6 guys making their first college start and we learned some valuable lessons. Most notably, good teams will punish your mistakes. Especially a national power like Loras. Our job after a loss is to learn from it and move forward and that is what we will do."

The Prairie Fire return to action on September 4 when they travel to Millikin.