GALESBURG, IL - In the conference season opener, the Prairie Fire shut out the Red Hawks of Ripon and took advantage of an own goal on their way to a 1-0 victory.
Diogo Pereira and the Knox defense were put to work throughout the contest as they faced four shots and four corner kicks in the first half. Pereira was tasked with making two saves as well.
In the second half, Pereira had to make another trio of saves including some incredible ones to keep his team tied.
In the 82nd minute, Knox whipped a ball into the box that was headed into the back of the net from a Ripon defender which gave the Prairie Fire a one goal lead late in the match.
Knox held on for the remainder of the match and went on to win 1-0 and grabbed the win in the conference schedule opener.
Pereira made five saves in the afternoon and really kept Knox in contention. Ethan Thomas had a tremendous game as he knocked away plenty of services into the box from Ripon.
Knox will return to the pitch on Tuesday night when they take on Grinnell at home at 6:00 p.m.
