LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Facing the undefeated Lake Forest men's soccer team, Knox College was unable to pull off the upset on the road in a 2-0 road loss in the Midwest Conference opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon. The Foresters (9-0, 1-0 MWC) got a pair of first-half goals to post all the scoring it would need as they posted their sixth shutout in nine games this fall to defeat the Prairie Fire (4-2-3, 0-1 MWC).
While Knox recorded the first shot of the game, Lake Forest took control, putting three shots on goal in a 10-minute span, each one turned away by sophomore keeper Diogo Pereira and the Prairie Fire defense. But the fourth one, in the 25th minute, snuck through into the net for a 1-0 Forester lead. Barely five minutes later, Lake Forest doubled its advantage with another tally, and it remained 2-0 going into the intermission.
The second half was fairly evenly played as the Knox defense tightened a bit and held the Foresters to one shot on goal. The Prairie Fire had a couple of scoring opportunities, including one with fewer than five minutes to play, but they were denied each time by the Lake Forest keeper.
- Knox has been shut out in each of its last two matches after scoring at least once in every one of its first seven contests.
- Pereira ended the afternoon with five saves while the defense was credited with another.
- The last Prairie Fire victory in the series was in 2021 with Knox going 0-4-1 since (all four losses have been at Lake Forest).
Knox returns home to Jorge Prats Field on Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 4:30 p.m. to host Illinois College (6-1-2, 1-0 MWC), which defeated Ripon today, 5-0. The game will be streamed live with live stats available through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox College Athletics.
