DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Prairie Fire women’s soccer team fought valiantly in front of a rowdy and sizable Knox crowd, but ultimately came up short in their bid to extend their season at the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Tournament.
Knox (14-6-2) fell behind when #17 Wheaton found the back of the net in the 20th minute. The Thunder added to their lead with less than a minute to go in the first half to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. The Knox defense stood strong in the second half, but the Prairie Fire could not get much going on the offensive end and the score remained 2-0 at the conclusion. The loss was the first by the Prairie Fire since a 3-0 loss to IIT on October 1.
Knox lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year after winning their second Midwest Conference Tournament in a row. The Prairie Fire are 33-7-3 over the last two years, including an undefeated 16-0-2 in MWC play.They are also currently riding a 19-game unbeaten streak in league play dating back to a 6-0 win over Cornell on October 31, 2015. Knox has 30 shutouts over the last two seasons and the 2017 squad tied their own MWC record of only conceding one goal in conference play while outscoring their opponents 49-15 on the year.
