APPLETON, Wisconsin - The Knox Prairie Fire women's soccer team soundly defeated the Lawrence University Vikings in Appleton this Saturday, winning by a final score of 4-1. Their fourth consecutive victory, the Prairie Fire find themselves with a perfect Midwest Conference record and a 6-6-1 record on the year as a whole.

Knox got off to a fast start for their second game in a row, with a 5th minute Louise Schoeffel goal giving the Prairie Fire another important early momentum swing. Schoeffel's goal, the first of her career, came off an assist by Lydia Mitchell, and it was evident that Knox's chemistry was going to be the difference in the game. Despite this promising start, Lawrence found a way to equalize in the 35th minute, with a strike from Jackie Blake putting the cap on a threatening sequence for the Vikings. Mitchell had an answer for Lawrence merely 30 seconds later, using positioning to slice through the defense and put her 10th goal of the year on the board. This was the final notable action of the half, as both teams had a tough time creating any opportunities from this point on.

Whatever challenges Lawrence posed to Knox in the first half were not there in the second, as Schoeffel and Ashlynn Lenertz provided pressure that was barely answered by the Vikings. Knox outshot Lawrence 11-2 in the second half, with many of those shots the result of great passing and spacing for the Prairie Fire. After being denied several chances, Emma Art scored a wonderful goal for Knox in the 78th minute, putting the game out of reach. Not to be outdone, Schoeffel scored her second goal of the game less than a minute later, being assisted by Lenertz along the way. This allowed Knox to effectively coast to a final 4-1 score on the day.

"We started the game strong with an early goal. Lawrence fired back quickly, but our team did not let that change our momentum," said head coach Taylor Houck. "I am very proud of how we came back after the goal against us and how we continued to play our game throughout the second half. It was amazing to have three different people score and show our strength up top. It was great to see first-year Louise Schoeffel score her first two collegiate goals after so many close shots in prior games. Overall a great win and great energy moving forward."

The Prairie Fire will attempt to stay undefeated in Midwest Conference play when they host Ripon College next Saturday at 11 a.m.