GALESBURG, Illinois - The Prairie Fire men's soccer team defeated Cornell 2-0 in the Midwest Conference Tournament final this afternoon. They earn the conference's automatic qualifier and await their assignment in the NCAA Tournament.

Luis Silva sent one home for Knox in the 17th minute to give the Prairie Fire an early lead over the Rams. Alex White added a goal just three minutes later to give Knox an early 2-0 edge. The score remained the same heading into halftime.

Cornell outshot the Prairie Fire 14-11 on the game, but both teams managed seven shots on goal. Goalkeeper Nicolas Lantzendorffer was up to the task as he finished with seven saves.

"It was a well deserved win," said head coach Brian O'Connor. "Cornell is a very tough team and they came at us all day. We played our game and were able to execute when we really needed it."

The men return to the NCAA Tournament for their second time in the last three seasons.. The Prairie Fire fell to Luther 1-0 in overtime in their previous trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2018.

Knox will learn their NCAA Tournament assignment on Monday, November 8, during the NCAA Selection Show. The men's soccer NCAA Selection Show will be at noon (CST). You can view this broadcast by visiting the NCAA.com webpage and watching the show live. Following the selection show we encourage you to visit the Prairie Fire website where all details will be posted as they become available.