GALESBURG, Ill. - Homecoming weekend brought generations of Prairie Fire men's soccer alumni back to campus on Saturday, and the current squad delivered a performance worthy of the occasion with a commanding 4-0 victory over Monmouth at Jorge Prats Field. Among those in attendance were members of Knox's 1988 Midwest Conference Championship team, who watched the Prairie Fire put together one of their most complete performances of the season.

The celebration was fueled by a standout performance from senior Kestervens Dera, who was at the center of three of Knox's four goals. The senior assisted the opening goal just 2:52 into the match, setting up Jayden Plancarte for the early 1-0 advantage and giving the Prairie Fire the momentum they would never relinquish.

Knox carried that lead into halftime before erupting in the second half. Just over four minutes after the restart, Dera again created the opportunity, finding Ethan Rodriguez for a goal that doubled the Prairie Fire lead to 2-0.

The signature moment of the afternoon belonged to the senior himself. After taking a defender on one-on-one, Dera created space and unleashed a rocket into the upper right corner in the 56th minute, extending the Knox lead to 3-0 and bringing the Homecoming crowd to its feet. The goal capped a Player of the Match performance that included a goal and two assists.

The Prairie Fire added one more goal in the closing minutes when Goncalo Antunes scored off an assist from Joaquim Goncalves to complete the 4-0 victory.

Knox controlled the match throughout, outshooting the Fighting Scots 13-8 and placing seven shots on goal. Defensively, goalkeeper Diogo Pereira and the Prairie Fire back line recorded the shutout while limiting Monmouth to just one shot on goal. Pereira finished with one save in the clean sheet effort.