Our Prairie Fire teams have been busy! Here’s an overview of what they’ve been doing in the first two weeks of term:

9/1/22:

The Prairie Fire cross country teams opened their season at the Rock River Cross Country Invitational. The men’s team placed fourth with a total time of 1:36.09. Senior Lance Miller Yates placed third overall (17:09.3). Junior Matthew Lande earned a 12th place finish for the men’s team with a time of 18:05.9. 

The Prairie Fire women’s soccer team lost 2-0 to the Transylvania University Pioneers. Knox and the Pioneers played a scoreless first half until Transylvania scored twice in the 75th minute. The Pioneers outshot the Prairie Fire 20-2 overall, but held a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal.

The Prairie Fire men’s soccer team lost their season and home opener to the Dominican University Stars. Junior Alex White scored just seven minutes into the game. The Stars tied the game just before halftime and then they scored twice in the second half and sealed the victory. Dominican outshot the Prairie Fire 12-5 overall, but held a 6-5 edge in shots on goal.

The Prairie Fire volleyball team lost to the Augustana College Vikings 3-2. Knox took the first two sets 25-21 and 25-21, but dropped the last three 13-25, 19-25 and 8-15. Fifth-year Catessa Duran led Knox with 19 kills for a .176 attack percentage. Fifth-year Katie Anderson racked up 34 assists and 21 digs and sophomore Emme Patton added 13 digs. First-year Abbie Layne tacked on eight kills and fifth-year Autumn Rapp contributed six kills.

9/2/22 

The Prairie Fire men’s soccer team lost a close 2-0 match to the University of Dubuque Spartans. Knox and the Spartans played through the first half with no score, but Dubuque broke through early in the second half to take the lead. The Spartans added another goal on a second chance shot in the 68th minute. Dubuque outshot the Prairie Fire 13-6 overall, including a 10-3 edge in shots on goal.

9/3/22

The Prairie Fire volleyball team lost a pair of matches to the North Central College Cardinals and the University of Dubuque Spartans. Knox fell to the Cardinals 18-25, 15-25 and 12-25 in the morning match. Junior Peyton Balfour racked up eight kills to lead the Prairie Fire. First year Abbie Layne added six kills. Fifth-year Katie Anderson picked up 18 assists, eight digs, a block, and an ace. The Spartans defeated Knox 25-12, 25-20 and 25-20 in the afternoon match. Anderson again led the Prairie Fire with 18 assists. Fifth-year Catessa Duran added seven kills and senior Kaitlyn Kashishian chipped in 10 digs.

The Prairie Fire men’s golf team placed second at the Highland Classic hosted by Augustana College at the Highland Springs Golf Course. Knox shot a 297 in the second round, but couldn’t catch up to first place St. Ambrose University. Senior Brendan Wise (144) and sophomore Jack Wilkie (144) tied for second overall. Junior Eddie Brees (152), first-year Pranav Nandakumar (153), and junior Jake Schabes (153) also placed in the top-20 overall.

The Prairie Fire football team hosted the Westminster College Blue Jays. The game, which the Prairie Fires won 26-0, started out with a kick return by junior Hunter Anderson. After the first half the score was 9-0. Senior Kaile Williams went 8-for-22 with 84 yards passing and 84 yards rushing, with a touchdown each way as well. Anderson also had 51 rushing yards and a touchdown. Fifth-year Ean Rau racked up 13 tackles to lead the defense. Senior Caleb Spinks added seven tackles, including four tackles for a loss and a forced fumble.

9/4/22

The Prairie Fire women’s soccer team fell to the Illinois Wesleyan University Titans 5-1 in their home opener on Sunday. The Titans scored in the third minute of the game to take an early lead. They added two more goals in the first half to take a 3-0 lead into halftime. Knox cut into the lead when junior Autumn Crow connected for a penalty kick goal in the 75th minute, but Illinois Wesleyan quickly scored two more goals to put the game out of reach. The Titans outshot the Prairie Fire 26-1 overall, including a 19-1 edge in shots on goal.

The Prairie Fire men’s soccer team defeated the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks 1-0. Junior Alex White put Knox on the board in the second minute of the game on an assist from senior Christian Telles. The Prairie Fire defense hunkered down the rest of the game and goalkeeper junior Nicolas Lantzendorffer grabbed a save on the only shot on goal he faced. The Warhawks edged Knox 8-7 in total shots, but the Prairie Fire fired off three shots on goal.

9/6/22

The Prairie Fire women’s soccer team lost a 5-0 non-conference contest to the Simpson College Storm. The Storm scored a little over 15 minutes into the game to take an early lead. They scored two more goals in the first half to take a 3-0 lead into halftime. Simpson scored just 17 seconds into the second half to put the game out of reach. They tacked on one more in the 52nd minute to claim the victory. The Storm outshot Knox 22-1, including a 12-0 edge in shots on goal.

The Prairie Fire volleyball team defeated the Principia College Panthers 3-0. Knox cruised to a 25-14, 25-6 and 25-9 victory in three sets. Junior Emma Curry racked up nine service aces. Fifth-year Autumn Rapp, senior Thao Luong, and sophomore Allie Dockins each tallied four kills. Rapp also picked up a pair of blocks. Senior Kaitlyn Kashishian added 13 digs and two service aces.

The Prairie Fire men’s soccer team dropped a non-conference game to the Simpson College Storm 2-1. Fifth-year KG Mangoegape put Knox on the board in the 20th minute to give the Prairie Fire an early lead. The Storm tied the game early in the second half and then scored the game-winner with just under four minutes left in the game. Simpson outshot Knox 29-7 overall, including a 14-5 edge in shots on goal. Senior Joao Friere racked up 12 saves on the day, but eventually succumbed to the sheer number of shots.

9/8/22

The Prairie Fire women’s soccer team lost a non-conference match 7-0 to the Hope College Flying Dutchmen. Knox held the Flying Dutchmen to just one goal in the first half. Hope scored their second goal early in the second half, but reeled off five more in the last 15 minutes of the game to put the Prairie Fire away. The Flying Dutchmen outshot Knox 46-0, including a 20-0 edge in shots on goal. Senior Carina Escobar played 52 minutes in goal for the Prairie Fire, racking up nine saves and allowing just one goal.

9/9/22

The Prairie Fire men’s soccer team fell to the Luther College Norsemen 4-0. The Norsemen scored their first goal in the 16th minute to take an early lead. They added a second goal in the 31st minute to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. The Norsemen scored two more times in a five minute stretch to put the game out of reach. Luther outshot the Prairie Fire 22-3, including a 15-2 edge in shots on goal. Senior goalkeeper Joao Freire racked up 11 saves for the Prairie Fire.

9/10/22

The Prairie Fire volleyball team defeated the Dominican University Stars 3-0 in the morning match before falling to the Eureka College Red Devils 3-2 in the afternoon match. The Prairies Fire outscored Dominican 26-24, 25-20, and 29-27. Fifth year Catessa Duran led Knox with 16 kills. Fifth year Katie Anderson added 34 assists and sophomore Emme Patton tallied 19 digs. Eureka won the first and second sets 25-23 and 25-19. The Prairie Fires took set 3 with 25-23 and 25-14 in the fourth set, forcing a deciding fifth set. After some back-and-forth, the teams found themselves in a 12-12 tie. Eureka took the next three points to earn the match victory. Anderson racked up 53 assists in the match to break the Knox record for assists in a match. Duran picked up 26 kills and Patton added 38 digs.

The Prairie Fire cross country teams competed at the Spartan Classic hosted by Aurora University on Saturday. Megan Shafar paced the women’s team with a time of 29:39.5. Senior Saxon Alvarez (30:07.9) finished not far behind. Senior Lance Miller Yates finished in the top-40 for the men with a time of 27:38.6. Sophomore Kyle Horn (32:09.7), senior Harsheath Chauhan (33:00.8), sophomore Dakota Robison (34:34.1) and first-year Elliot Varnum (34:59.1) rounded out the Knox top five.

The Prairie Fire football team lost their conference opener 33-6 to the Ripon College Red Hawks. The Red Hawks struck first with 12:35 left in the first quarter with a 72-yard rushing touchdown. Ripon scored again late in the first quarter on a three-yard passing touchdown. Ripon reeled off three more scores in the first 11 minutes of the second quarter, a 22-yard passing touchdown and a pair of field goals to take a 26-0 lead. Senior Kaile Williams put Knox on the board with just over a minute to play in the first half on a one-yard rush set up by a 65-yard reception by junior Tyler Elfering. The Red Hawks added another score, a three-yard rush, with 11 seconds left in the half to take a 33-6 lead. Williams completed 4-of-17 passes for 88 yards. He rushed for a team-leading 46 yards and a score. Elfering’s 65 yards led the receiving corps and junior Hunter Anderson rushed for 29 yards and caught a pass for 9 yards. Fifth-year Trevor Geggie racked up 73 return yards on three attempts. Fifth-year Lucas Cruz led the Prairie Fire defense with seven tackles, including two tackles for a loss. Cruz and senior Caleb Spinks each picked up a sack. Senior Kendall Ballman and first-year Cade Cosson also added five tackles apiece.

9/11/22

The Prairie Fire men’s soccer team lost 4-2 to the Wartburg College Knights. The Knights struck first with a goal in the 22nd minute to take a 1-0 lead heading into halftime. Wartburg scored twice in the first 26 minutes of the second half to take a commanding 3-0 lead, but Knox answered with a pair of goals in the last 10 minutes of the game to bring the score within one. The Knights tacked on one last goal in the 88th minute to seal the victory. First-year Sasha Esper scored the first goal for the Prairie Fire with an assist by fifth-year Lucas Piqueras. Junior Alex White added the second goal. Wartburg outshot Knox 19-9 overall, including a 10-6 edge in shots on goal.

9/12/22

The Prairie Fire men’s golf team competed at the IC Fall Preview at the Rail Golf Course. The two Knox teams placed fifth (310) and tied for sixth (313) out of 10 teams. Shubham Nain paced the Prairie Fire with a 73 to tie for fourth overall. First-year Pranav Nandakumar (77), junior Jake Schabes (77), senior Brendan Wise (78), and junior Eddie Brees (78) also finished in the top-20.

9/13/22

The Prairie Fire men’s soccer team dropped a close 4-3 match to the Illinois Wesleyan University Titans. The Titans struck first with a goal in the 28th minute, but Knox responded with a score of their own less than two minutes later to tie the game. Fifth-year Martin Garcia converted on a penalty kick for the goal. Illinois Wesleyan scored again in the 37th minute to take a 2-1 lead into halftime. Junior Alex White scored twice in the first twenty minutes of the second half to give the Prairie Fire the lead. The Titans tied the game in the 77th minute and then scored in the final minute of the game to avoid a draw. Knox outshot Illinois Wesleyan 15-10 overall, but the teams both managed seven shots on goal.

The Prairie Fire volleyball team defeated the Blackburn College Battlin’ Beavers 3-1 to move to 3-4 on the season. Knox won the first set 25-22 before falling to the Beavers 25-21 in the second set. The Prairie Fire won the final two sets 25-22 and 25-18. Fifth-year Catessa Duran racked up 21 kills to lead Knox. First year Abbie Layne added 12 kills of her own. Fifth-year Katie Anderson tacked on another 40 assists after a record breaking performance last Saturday. Sophomore Emme Patton tallied 24 digs, while Anderson added 21. Junior Peyton Balfour picked up three blocks on the night.

9/14/22

The Prairie Fire women’s soccer team dropped a non-conference contest 2-0 to the University of Dubuque Spartans. The Spartans broke through with a goal in the 37th minute to break the tie. Dubuque then converted a header off of a corner kick just before halftime to take a 2-0 lead at the break. Overall, the Spartans outshot Knox 14-6 in the game. Dubuque held a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal. Senior Carina Escobar picked up six saves for the Prairie Fire in goal.

9/17/22

The Prairie Fire football team lost a conference matchup to the Lake Forest College Foresters 44-14. Knox fell to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in MWC play. The Foresters scored two touchdowns in the first quarter to take an early 14-0 lead. Senior Kaile Williams put Knox on the board late in the first with a 26-yard rush. Senior Preston Lade converted the extra point. Lake Forest added on another score in the first quarter and two more in the second to take a 34-7 lead into halftime. The Foresters scored again in the third and fourth quarters before the Prairie Fire tacked on a final touchdown when sophomore Anthony Vazquez ran for 46 yards. Williams finished 8-of-15 passing for 102 yards to lead Knox. He added 56 yards rushing with the score. Vazquez added 49 yards rushing along with his touchdown. Junior Tyler Elfering hauled in four receptions for 36 yards. Senior Davis Brumbaugh led the Prairie Fire defense with 13 total tackles, including a half tackles for a loss. Senior Kendall Ballman added nine tackles and fifth year Ean Rau nabbed an interception. Senior Caleb Spinks, junior Jonathan Sarich, and junior Jacob Etienne each earned sacks.

The Prairie Fire volleyball team split a pair of non-conference matches at the Loras Tournament. Knox won the first two sets against the St. Mary’s College Belles 25-19, 25-19 before falling 25-16, 25-15 in the next two to force a fifth set. The Prairie Fire came out on top 15-11 in the deciding set to claim the 3-2 victory. Fifth year Catessa Duran racked up 21 kills and three blocks to lead Knox. Fifth year Anderson tacked on 39 assists and sophomore Emme Patton added 28 digs. Junior Peyton Balfour also had 10 kills. The Prairie Fire defeated the Webster University Gorloks 25-11 in the first set, but they bounced back to win the second set 25-21. Knox took the advantage once again with a 25-21 victory in the third set, but Webster took the final two sets 25-22 and 15-4. Duran tallied another 19 kills, while Anderson picked up 37 assists and 26 digs. Patton also added 21 digs.

The Prairie Fire men’s soccer team lost a close 2-1 non-conference matchup to the North Park University Vikings. The Vikings scored a goal in the fourth minute of the game to take an early lead, but Knox kept them off the board for the remainder of the first half. North Park struck again early in the second half to expand their lead, but again the Prairie Fire defense held steady afterwards. Sophomore Joel Sanchez scored late in the game, but the comeback fell just short. The Prairie Fire outshot the Vikings 10-8 overall and 4-3 on goal.

The Prairie Fire men’s golf team competed in the Fighting Scot Invitational hosted by Monmouth College. Knox (604) defeated Iowa Wesleyan (611) by seven strokes. The Prairie Fire’s other team also placed third (613). Gabe Newman also took home medalist honors with a two round score of 147. Junior Jake Schabes placed fourth (150) and first-year Pranav Nandakumar (151) and junior Hunter Webb (151) tied for fifth.

9/18/22

The Prairie Fire women’s soccer team dropped a non-conference game to the North Central College Cardinals 5-1. The Cardinals scored in the second minute of the game to take an early lead. They scored again in the seventh minute as well as the 27th and 30th minutes. Junior Sarah McCracken scored at the 35:38 mark to send the Prairie Fire into halftime trailing 4-1. North Central tacked on one more goal in the 78th minute to earn the victory. The Cardinals outshot Knox 46-1 overall, including a 21-1 edge in shots on goal. Senior Carina Escobar racked up 14 saves in goal for the Prairie Fire.

9/19/22

The Prairie Fire men’s golf team competed at Illinois Central College (the Blueboys) on Monday. Knox placed second in a strong field of eight teams. First year Gabe Newman tied for sixth place overall (149) in the 36 hole event. Senior Harry Phillips (150) and senior Brendan Wise (150) tied for eighth place and junior Jake Schabes (151) tied for 10th place.

9/23/22

The Prairie Fire volleyball team fell to the Cornell College Rams 3-0 in the Midwest Conference opener. The Rams cruised to a victory with 25-4, 25-13 and 25-12. Fifth-year Catessa Duran led Knox with six kills on the day. Fifth-year Katie Anderson added 13 assists and nine digs.

*Data sourced from prairiefire.knox.edu