LAKE FOREST, Ill. — What appeared destined for a scoreless tie turned into heartbreak for the Knox College men's soccer team as the Lake Forest College Foresters made their homecoming game a special one by scoring a goal off a free kick with five seconds remaining to shock the Prairie Fire, 1-0. Lake Forest improved to 3-6-3 on the season and 2-0-1 in the Midwest Conference, while Knox dropped to 3-6-2 and 0-1-1 in the MWC.
With the final seconds ticking away, a foul was called on the Prairie Fire outside the right side of the box, and the referee stopped the clock, giving the Foresters one last opportunity to dent the scoreboard. Nico Lomanto lined up his kick and sent the ball to the front of the goal where Gio Diaz soared into the air and headed it past the Knox keeper for the game-winning goal with a mere five seconds showing on the clock.
Lake Forest finished the game with twice as many shots (12-6) as well as shots on goal (8-4) and had 12 corner kick opportunities to just two for the Prairie Fire. The Foresters turned up the pressure in the second stanza, firing off eight shots while obtaining nine corner kick opportunities. Knox managed to turn away every one until the very end.
- Four different Knox players had the shots on goal — juniors Emmanuel Mariano and Luka Bagi, sophomore Galgallo Waqo and first-year Thomas Sánchez Madden.
- Fifth-year keeper Nicolas Lantzendorffer denied seven shots, matching his second-highest total of the season.
- Knox has managed to score just two goals in its last five games, both coming in a 2-0 win over Coe College.
The Prairie Fire have four of their six remaining games at home after playing just one on Jorge Prats Field to this point of the season. On Wednesday, Oct. 9, Knox will host Illinois College (7-3-1, 1-0 MWC) with an eye on earning its first conference victory. The game will start at 4 p.m. with live video and stats available through the official athletics website of Knox College, PrairieFire.Knox.edu.
