JACKSONVILLE, Illinois - The Knox Prairie Fire women's soccer team defeated the Illinois College Lady Blues this Tuesday in Jacksonville, needing just a single goal to come out victorious. The win today wraps up another successful regular season for Knox, and puts their conference record at a perfect 8-0.
The Lady Blues put Knox on their back foot early in the game, getting off three shots in the first 16 minutes that required saves from Prairie Fire keeper Carina Escobar. Not to be perturbed, she handled them all with courage, and showed the team that she would not go down without a fight. Knox's defense came together after this to push Illinois College out of their half of the field, giving Escobar a chance to breathe while also putting pressure on the opposing team, as well. Sarah McCracken and Lydia Mitchell both took charge offensively, with their leadership and positioning giving them multiple good looks. As the half neared its end, Mitchell sent home her 14th goal of the year in her final regular season game to give the Prairie Fire the lead.
Having changed the momentum completely with the late first half goal, Knox saw an opportunity to save energy while controlling the flow of the game. While their offense was never fully held at bay, they allowed the Lady Blues to work their way down the field for much of the half, only to thwart their shooting efforts. As a result, despite being outshot 10-7 in the second half, none of their shots allowed were on target. Their closing pressure being too much for Illinois College to handle meant that the Lady Blues also got more physical, resulting in a yellow card and several fouls. Despite this, they could not penetrate Knox's defense, and the final whistle blew with the Prairie Fire in front.
"It was great to be able to end conference undefeated and with only two goals allowed," said head coach Taylor Houck. "A lot of players got to see good time today and everyone stepped up to finish the regular season strong."
Knox returns to action when they host the Midwest Conference Tournament next Friday, November 5.
