LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Prairie Fire battled to a 3-3 draw against Lake Forest on Saturday afternoon, closing out the regular season and securing a spot in the Midwest Conference Tournament.
Knox struck first in the 31st minute when Santiago Henriques put one in the back of the net off assists from Carlos Rebello da Silva and Apostolos Karamperis. Knox was able to take the one goal lead into halftime.
Lake Forest responded quickly after the break, with a 47th minute strike to even the score. Just 13 minutes later the Foresters found another goal to take the lead, 2-1.
The Prairie Fire responded with two goals just over two minutes apart. Kestervens Dera scored his ninth goal of the season in the 73rd minute off an assist from Landon Paulson to tie the game at 2-2. Rebello da Silva followed suit, scoring off a pass from Dera to put Knox back in front, 3-2.
The Foresters managed one final response in the 89th minute as they knotted the score a three apiece, forcing a draw.
Dera and Rebello da Silva each finished with a goal and an assist for the Prairie Fire.
Knox finished the regular season with a 4-7-5 overall record and a 3-3-3 mark in Midwest Conference play. Following the results of Saturday's games around the conference, the Prairie Fire secured the No. 6 seed in the Midwest Conference Tournament.
Knox will travel to face Grinnell at 2:00 p.m. in the opening round of the conference tournament.
