BELOIT, Wis. — Two Beloit goals scored in the final five minutes of the first half turned out to be all the scoring in the game as the Knox College men's soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to the host Buccaneers in Midwest Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Strong Stadium. The Prairie Fire (5-3-3, 1-2 MWC) outshot Beloit (6-5-2, 3-0 MWC) by an 18-13 margin (10-7 on goal), but the Buccaneers remained perfect in league play.
Eight different Knox players put a shot on goal, but none were able to get one past Beloit keeper David Staats, who had nine saves, with another provided by his defense early in the second half. Six of his saves came in the first half, four in the first 20 minutes alone as Knox controlled the action early.
The tide started to turn when the Buccaneers put their first shot on target about 28 minutes in. Beloit broke through in the 41st minute on a Norniella Bel Varela tally in the 41st minutes, and with just 33 seconds until the intermission, Eziah Hernandez snuck one into the net.
- Leading scorer Kestervens Dera attempted a team-high four shots, two on target, to no avail.
- Sophomore keeper Diogo Pereira finished the match with five saves.
- Knox had not lost to Beloit since 2012, going 9-0-2 before today's defeat.
Knox returns home to play the first-ever night game at Jorge Prats Field following the installation of lights at the facility. The Prairie Fire will host rival Monmouth College (3-4-2, 0-2 MWC) on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. for the historic game, which will be streamed live through Knox portal on Hudl — watchmidwestsports.com/knox — with live stats also available on the official website of Knox College Athletics, PrairieFire.Knox.edu.
