GALESBURG, Ill. — Defense was the name of the men's soccer game on Tuesday afternoon at Jorge Prats Field as neither Simpson College (3-3-5) or host Knox College (4-1-3) could muster much offense as the two teams battled to a scoreless draw.
Both teams managed to attempt a mere four shots each, two of which were on goal for the visiting Storm and just one for the Prairie Fire. The best scoring opportunity came with less than 15 minutes to play when Simpson's Iain MaCrae fired a shot from point-blank range, only to have Knox sophomore keeper Diogo Pereira stonewall the shot. The carom ended up at the feet of the Storm's Brayden Sithonnorath, but his shot was deflected just above the crossbar.
Pereira finished the game with two saves to earn his second straight shutout and third of the season. Two Simpson keepers combined for the shutout, the team's fifth of the year, needing to save just one shot on goal, provided by junior Apostolos Karamperis.
- The two teams only began playing in 2021, and the series is all tied at 2-2-1.
- It has been 10 years since the Prairie Fire suffered just one loss in their first eight games of the season, starting the 2015 campaign, 6-1-1.
- Head coach Tyler Sheikh was the head coach then as well, in his first of three years in his first tenure at Knox.
Knox next plays its Midwest Conference opener at undefeated Lake Forest College (8-0) on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. The game will be streamed live with live stats available through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox College Athletics.
