BELOIT, Wis. - The Beloit College men's soccer team did nearly everything but score this afternoon, dropping a 1-0 decision to Knox at Strong Soccer Field. The Buccaneers (0-10-0, 0-2-0 MWC) controlled possession at 61 percent, but Knox (3-4-3, 2-1-1 MWC) made its one real breakthrough count.
With the match scoreless deep into the second half, Knox forward Kestervens Dera finished an unassisted goal in the 75th minute, his seventh of the season.
The numbers show how close the Buccaneers were to a different result. They outshot the Prairie Fire, 23 to 14, had 16 corner kicks, compared to just 4 for Knox and as previously stated, maintained possession for 61% of the match.
Beloit pushed the pace in the second half, forcing a run of four corners between the 49th and 51st minutes and later stringing together several more. Knox goalkeeper Alessandro Carlani made five saves to record the shutout.
Marco Jijon (Wilmette, IL) led all players with six shots, two of them on target. He was Beloit's most persistent threat in the first half, forcing saves from Carlani in the 10th and 23rd minutes and sending two attempts at goal that were blocked in the 27th minute. He played 75 minutes.
Michael Berry put up five shots and two on target. Carlani denied him in the 22nd minute and again in the 89th, when Berry tested the keeper in the closing moments.
Ervin Rosas added four shots, one on target. Carlani turned away his attempt in the 20th minute, and he kept probing late with efforts in the 71st and 85th minutes.
Matteo Jijon (Wilmette, IL) took three shots and Max Wilson (Olympia, WA) added two as Beloit kept shooters coming from all over the field.
Ben Borger Germann played all 90 minutes and made six saves, several of them on Knox's Santiago Henriques, who forced stops in the 80th and 85th minutes. Borger Germann was charged with the loss on the lone goal.
The Buccaneers' best looks came from Marco Jijon's repeated first-half attempts, Berry's late save-forcing shot, and Rosas's chances in each half. Of Beloit's 23 shots, five were on target.
The Buccaneers had to Mount Vernon, Iowa and Cornell College on Saturday. Kick off from Cornell Soccer Field is set for 11 am.
