GALESBURG, Ill. — Coming off a 2-2 draw against 2024 CCIW champion North Central College last week, the Knox College men's soccer team had another strong opponent on Saturday afternoon and the result remained the same. The two teams ended the 90 minutes tied at two, leaving the Prairie Fire 0-0-2 on the season while putting a dent in the Titans' perfect record, which is now 2-0-1 on the young campaign.
The way IWU came out of the gate, it looked like it might a long day for Knox as the Titans were the aggressors early and scored barely seven minutes into the contest. But 15 minutes later, sophomore Ethan Thomas knotted the game at one off a free kick by junior Tomás Ramos that was headed by junior Carlos Rebello da Silva to Thomas right in front of the goal for an easy score, his second of the season.
Even though Illinois Wesleyan dialed up the pressure in the second half, putting 14 shots on goal after the intermission, it was the Prairie Fire who broke the 1-1 deadlock in the 74th minute. A pass into the box was sent back out by a Titan defender, straight to Ramos. He dribbled to his left then lofted a shot from 25 yards out to the top left corner of the goal over the surprised IWU keeper for a 2-1 lead.
But that Titan pressure broke through little more than five minutes after Ramos' goal off a perfectly placed free kick from 35 yards out that was batted by Knox goalkeeper Diogo Pereira as it hit the cross bar. The carom went straight to IWU's Cristian Schmidt who did not miss his opportunity. The Titans fired off four more shots before the second half ended, two on goal, but were rebuffed each time to keep the score tied at two.
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| A look at each of the Prairie Fire goals. |
"We're still looking to put together a full 90 minutes," Knox Head Coach Tyler Sheikh noted. "But in our first two games, we have played very athletic and effective teams. I'm proud that we stood tall both times to get something from the games. Our best is still to come."
- Ramos' goal in the second half was the lone Knox shot of the stanza.
- Pereira finished the game with eight saves, the most by a Prairie Fire keeper since last Sept. 21 when they stopped 13 shots by … Illinois Wesleyan in a 1-0 defeat.
- This was the 13th game in the series but the first tie with IWU holding a 9-3-1 edge.
Knox will continue its four-game season-opening home stand on Tuesday, Sept. 9 when Augustana College travels down I-74 from Rock Island for a match at 4 p.m. The game will be streamed live with live stats available through the official website of Knox College Athletics, PrairieFire.Knox.edu.
