The Lawrence men’s soccer team defeated the Knox College Prairie Fire 4-1 last Saturday in Galesburg, Ill.
Tied 1-1 at the end of the first half thanks to a goal by junior Steve Exarhos, the Vikings poured in three goals in the second half. Senior captain Jared Padway found the back of the net for the Vikings’ second goal, picking up assists on the goals by senior Bennett Pang and freshman Charlie Mann that rounded out the scoring for the road team.
Lawrence (6-4-1, 3-1-0 MWC) outshot the Prairie Fire 11-5 and climbed to 3-0 in Midwest Conference play.
On Sunday, the Vikings visited the Pioneers of Grinnell College (5-4-2, 3-0-0 MWC) and walked away with their first loss in conference play.
The Pioneers struck first with a goal in the seventh minute, but 11 minutes later, freshman Cameron Pieper scored off an assist from Exarhos. The Pioneers managed to fit another goal in at the 33-minute mark, leaving the score at halftime 2-1 in favor of Grinnell.
The Vikings fought back, tying the score in the 61st minute on another goal by Pieper. Just seven minutes later, the Pioneers scored a lucky unassisted goal on what was meant to be a crossed ball into the box.
Although the Vikings fought back, outshooting their opponents 10-3 in the second half, the Pioneers stood strong, picking up their third conference win and dropping the Vikings’ conference record to 3-1.
The Vikings are now holding onto the last spot in the Midwest Conference tournament, trailing Ripon, Carroll and Grinnell, but still well clear of fifth-place Lake Forest (6-4-0, 2-3-0 MWC).
Senior forward Paul Senner expressed his frustration with the weekend’s games, saying, “We lost a game Sunday that was very winnable, but we still have time to correct our mistakes and finish the conference season strong.
Men’s soccer splits on road-trip to Knox, Grinnell
