GALESBURG, Ill. — Fifth-year Alex Halleck scored a goal from about 25 yards out in the opening half and first-year goalkeeper Bri Mahoney turned away nine shots as the Knox College women's soccer team played to a draw with Carthage College (5-3-4) on Saturday afternoon at Jorge Prats Field. The Prairie Fire (1-9-2) have earned a tie in each of their last two contests.
"Carthage is a great team, and today we showed that we are, too," Knox head coach Annie Gerdes said after the game. "It was a great game for us, and we are excited to build on this momentum for the rest of conference play."
In the first half, the Firebirds owned a 5-2 edge in shots (4-1 on goal), but it was that one Prairie Fire shot by Halleck that found the back of the net. First-year Asia Ling threw the ball in deep in Carthage territory, and when the throw was thwarted, first-year Natalia Nuño came away with the ball and found Halleck well outside the box. That did not matter to the veteran, who place a perfect shot from the right side all the way to the top left corner over the outstretched arms of the Firebird keeper for a 1-0 lead.
After the intermission, the Firebirds turned up the heat, firing off nine shots, including six on goal. Although one did slip past Mahoney on a well-placed cross from Jadynn Kramer to Emma Arberg right in front of the goal in the 62nd minute, Mahoney and the Prairie Fire defense would not let another get through.
- Halleck's goal was the first for Knox since an 8-0 win over Eureka on Sept. 21, and her second of the season.
- Nuño leads the team with three assists on the season.
Knox (0-2-1 in the Midwest Conference) finishes out the 2024 season with its last five MWC games, starting with a road affair at Beloit College (3-8-3, 2-1-1 MWC) next Saturday, Oct. 19 at 3:30 p.m. Live video and stats will be available through the official athletics website of Knox College, PrairieFire.Knox.edu.
