LOVES PARK, Ill. ­— It did not take long for first-year Luca Lo Conte to make an impact on the Knox College men's soccer team as the rookie came off the bench to score the lone goal of a 1-0 victory at Rockford University on Friday afternoon at Wedgbury Stadium. The win is the first for the Prairie Fire (1-0) in their fall season opener since the 2017 campaign, while the Regents dropped to 0-1.

The two teams were locked in a scoreless duel for more than 60 minutes when Knox lined up for a corner kick. First-year Ali Kimanthi launched a kick into the box, and Lo Conte rose up above the fray to head the ball into the back of the net.

"I am proud of the team the way the players came together to start the season with a win for the first time in a while," said head coach Kevwe Akpore. "They have been working hard and their performance is reflective of the outcome. We still have plenty to work on, but rest assured we will tend to the imperfections in our game and continue to improve." 

• Fifth-year goalkeeper Nicolas Lantzendorffer recorded his 14th career shutout, with the help of a strong team defensive effort, by turning away the two Regent shots (out of nine total) that were on goal.
• The Prairie Fire were on the attack in the first half, blasting seven shots compared to just three by Rockford.
• Kestervens Dera was the busiest Knox player offensively, taking four shots on the afternoon, two of which were on goal.
• Regent goalkeeper Juan Sarmiento recorded seven saves in a strong showing in net, while the nine shots by the Rockford offense were fired off by a total of just three players.

Knox will vie for a second straight victory to open the season on Sunday when the Prairie Fire play their second of eight straight road matches at Saint Ambrose University at 3 p.m. A video stream of and live stats from the game will be available through the official athletics website of Knox College, PrairieFire.Knox.edu.