In a game that saw both teams hold a lead, Lake Forest needed an 88th-minute goal to equalize against Knox.
Lake Forest honored six seniors prior to today's final regular season match, and all six started for the Foresters. However, sophomore
Jimmy Cirbo had the game's first chance in the third minute as he fired high on a shot. The two sides settled into a physical first 15 minutes, as the Foresters and Prairie Fire combined for five fouls in that span. Cirbo tested the Knox goalkeeper again in the 25th minute. Knox took the lead in the 31st minute after a long throw led to a scramble in front of the net. The Prairie Fire took that 1-0 lead into halftime.
The Foresters came into the second half and immediately found success on offense, as
Elijah Khaldun and
Rocky Rabago combined to find
Nathan Kostovetsky, who leveled the score at one. Fifteen minutes later,
Jimmy Cirbo latched on to another ball from Khaldun, giving the Foresters a lead in the 60th minute.
However, Knox responded well after the two home goals, and scored twice in two minutes to take a 3-2 lead in the 75th minute of play. The Foresters pressed on offense to find Kostovetsky in the 88th minute, who capitalized in front of goal to level the game late.
Lake Forest finishes the regular season with a 7-7-3 record, with a 5-2-2 mark in the Midwest Conference. The Foresters earned the 4 seed in the MWC tournament and will host a quarterfinal game on November 3.
