Men's Soccer vs Coe College on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024.
Knox College
Junior Arito Nakamichi
1
Cornell College CC (4-8-1, 2-1-1)
2
Winner Knox KNOX (4-7-2, 1-2-1)
Cornell College CC
(4-8-1, 2-1-1)
1
Final
2
Knox KNOX
(4-7-2, 1-2-1)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Cornell College CC 1 0 1
Knox KNOX 1 1 2

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Nakamichi Goal Lifts Men to 2-1 Victory Over Cornell College

The junior posted his third career game-winning goal

GALESBURG, Ill. — When the ball trickled to Arito Nakamichi in the box with his back to the goal, the Knox junior quickly whipped around and snapped off a quick left-footed shot from 14 yards out that found a home in the lower right back corner of the net to give the Prairie Fire (4-7-2, 1-2-1 Midwest Conference) a 2-1 victory over visiting Cornell College (4-8-1, 2-1-1 MWC) on Tuesday afternoon at Jorge Prats Field.

After Nakamichi buried his shot with 21:27 to play, the Rams amped up the pressure offensively with a pair of shots in the next four minutes, the first of which Knox goalkeeper Nicolas Lantzendorffer made a diving stop to his left. But after that initial surge, the Prairie Fire defense denied the Rams any more scoring chances time and again to secure their first league victory of the season.

Knox did not wait long to take the lead as sophomore Luis Magalhaes dribbled his way through traffic into the box and deftly found first-year Thomas Sánchez Madden at the penalty line. The rookie did not miss his opportunity as he drilled a shot into pretty much the same spot Nakamichi would later in the game for 1-0 lead in the ninth minute of play.

But late in the first half, a Cornell player was fouled in the box, allowing George Archer to take a penalty kick and score what turned out to be the lone Ram tally, knotting the game at one.

  • This was Nakamichi's first game-winning goal of the season and third of his career.
  • The game was played evenly across nearly all the statistics with Knox holding a slim 10-9 lead in shots (6-4 on goal)and Cornell a 5-4 advantage in corner kicks.
  • The victory was the first for the Prairie Fire in MWC play in almost exactly a year (Oct. 17, 2023), snapping a seven-game winless stretch.

Knox will look for a second straight win when it travels to Beloit (2-12-0, 1-3-0) on Saturday, Oct. 19 for a showdown with the Buccaneers on Strong Complex Soccer Field at 1 p.m. Live video and stats will be available through the official athletics website of Knox College, PrairieFire.Knox.edu.

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