Midwest Conference Tournament Update

Saturday, November 5:

The Prairie Fire women's soccer team is Midwest Conference Tournament Champions! The Prairie Fire defeated Grinnell with a score of 1-0.

Friday, November 4:

The Prairie Fire women's team defeated St. Norbert in the first round of the tournament with a score of 2-1. They play Grinnell for the conference tournament championship at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 5, at Jorge Prats Field. Watch the game live.

The Prairie Fire men's team fell to St. Norbert 3-2 in the first round of the tournament at Lake Forest, ending their season.

For the second year in a row, the Prairie Fire women's and men's soccer teams qualified for the Midwest Conference (MWC) Tournament.

The women, who won the regular season conference title, will host the tournament at Knox. The men, who placed second this season, will travel to Lake Forest for the tournament.

Both tournaments will take place November 4 and 5.

Women End Season With Perfect Conference Record

The Prairie Fire women finished the regular season with a perfect record in the conference (9-0-0), clinching the number one seed and hosting honors for the MWC Tournament.

In last year's tournament, the fourth-seeded Prairie Fire came within a single overtime goal of winning the championship. "They had a taste of success in 2015 but wanted to achieve more and win the conference this year," said head coach Paul Lawrence of the 2016 team, which returned 27 of last year's 30-member squad. "I think it comes down to the team playing to their potential this season and realizing just how good they can be when they focus in on the smaller details that win games at this level."

Knox leads the nation in shutout percentage and goals against average as well as being ranked in the top five nationally in won-lost-tied percentage and save percentage. They are currently ranked fourth in the North Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

The Prairie Fire will play number four seed St. Norbert at 2:00 p.m. Friday at Jorge Prats Field.

Watch the game live.

The winner of the game on Friday will face off against the winner of the Lake Forest (second seed) and Grinnell (third seed) game on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at Prats Field.

Men Make Fourth Appearance in Conference Tournament

This is the fourth trip to the conference tournament in as many years for the Prairie Fire men's soccer team. They go into the tournament as the second seed, traveling to Lake Forest on Friday for a rematch with number three seed St. Norbert at 1:30 p.m.

Watch the game live.

Knox (7-0-2) finished just one point behind Lake Forest (8-1-0) in the standings, despite beating them earlier in the season. "It's been a very competitive Midwest Conference this season" said head coach Tyler Sheikh. "The top three teams all did very well in their out of conference games and the race for first place came down to the last game."

Knox is ranked first in the Midwest Conference in points per game and goals allowed per game. They are also ranked third in the conference in scoring average and goals scored.

"I was proud that the guys went undefeated in conference play, which I believe is a first or certainly has not happened in a long time," said Sheikh. "Our ability to compete day in and day out in training has helped us push the envelope."

The winner of the game on Friday will face off against the winner of the Lake Forest (first seed) and Grinnell (fourth seed) game on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at Lake Forest.