CHICAGO, Illinois - The Prairie Fire men's soccer team dropped a close 2-1 non-conference matchup to No. 6 North Park University on Saturday.

The Vikings scored a goal in the fourth minute of the game to take an early lead, but Knox kept them off the board for the remainder of the first half.

North Park struck again early in the second half to expand their lead, but again the Prairie Fire defense held steady afterwards. 

Joel Sanchez found the back of the net late in the game to give Knox a chance, but the comeback fell just short.

The Prairie Fire outshot the Vikings 10-8 overall and 4-3 on goal.

"This might be the most complete game we have played all year," said head coach Kevwe Akpore. "We played with one of the best teams in the nation for 90 minutes and actually had more shots than they did. We allowed the two goals in the early portion of each half, but really made very few mistakes otherwise."

Knox returns to action as they host Cornell on September 24 for the conference opener.