2025 Men's Soccer VS North Central College on 8/29/2025
Knox College
Chrisangel Djambazian has every reason to be smiling after the win over Illinois College.
0
Illinois Col. IC (6-2-2, 1-1-0)
1
Winner Knox KNOX (5-2-3, 1-1-0)
Illinois Col. IC
(6-2-2, 1-1-0)
0
Final
1
Knox KNOX
(5-2-3, 1-1-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Illinois Col. IC 0 0 0
Knox KNOX 0 1 1

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Late Djambazian Goal Lifts Knox to 1-0 Victory

The sophomore defender could not have picked a better time to score his first collegiate goal

GALESBURG, Ill. — In a rematch of last year's Midwest Conference Tournament semifinals, the Knox College men's soccer team avenged its shootout loss by defeating visiting Illinois College on Wednesday afternoon at Jorge Prats Field, 1-0. Sophomore defender Chrisangel Djambazian tallied his first career goal in the 77th minute to break the scoreless deadlock that gave the Prairie Fire (5-2-3, 1-1 MWC) the victory over the Blueboys (6-2-2, 1-1 MWC).

Some crisp passing and excellent vision led to the goal. Junior Apostolos Karemperis had the ball and connected with sophomore Joao Gaspar, who hit junior Kestervens Dera in stride as the pushed upfield to the left of the box. Dera then sent an expertly guided cross to the opposite goal post where Djambazian quickly put the ball in the back of the net past the diving keeper for the tally.

Illinois College frantically tried to score the equalizer, getting four shots off in the final 12 minutes, but its best opportunity came with under four minutes to play. Jacob Pelletier fired a shot on goal (one of only two for the Blueboys) that sophomore keeper Diogo Pereira punched away. On the rebound, Tyler Lunning blasted a shot from the top of the box that screamed about a foot over the crossbar.

"We needed that after our display to open MWC play [a 2-0 loss at Lake Forest]" Knox Head Coach Tyler Sheikh said after the game. "This was truly a team win and to get a goal from our right back in the run of play is a testament to the effort we had end to end."

  • Not only was the goal the first of Djambazian's career, it was also his first collegiate shot.
  • Knox played more than 330 minutes since its previous goal, which came on Sept. 20 at Blackburn in the 13th minute. That was followed by a scoreless draw and the loss to the Foresters.
  • Although Illinois College had just two shots on goal, the team also had at least four others that were no more than a foot off target throughout the match.
  • The Prairie Fire outshout the Blueboys, 13-11, and 6-2 on goal.

Knox goes back on the road for its next Midwest Conference battle, playing at Beloit (5-5-2, 2-0 MWC) on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. In their two conference games to date, the Buccaneers have outscored their opponents by an 8-1 margin. The match will be streamed live with live stats available through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox College Athletics, courtesy of Beloit.

Print Friendly Version