GRINNELL, Iowa – Knox College's men's soccer team walked onto Springer Field perfect in the Midwest Conference, but Grinnell College made sure the Prairie Fire didn't leave that way.
 
Grinnell battled Knox to a 1-all tie in the key league battle for both teams. Grinnell is now 3-1-1 in the MWC and 7-4-1 overall and broke a three-game losing streak to the Prairie Fire.
 
Knox, 4-0-1 in the MWC and 10-3-1 overall, scored in the 21st minute for its lone goal.
 
It turned out to be a milestone contest for Nick Brule '17, who scored the Pioneers' goal in the 56th minute. That score put him into the Pioneers' career top 10 for goals (21) and points (48).
 
On the scoring play, Mikoto Kobayashi '20 entered the ball from midfield into the right side of the box, where several players made contact with it.
 
Carlos Piedrasanta '20 got his head on the ball as it found the foot of Brule, who pushed it toward the goal. Knox's keeper couldn't possess the ball and Brule fired a short kick past the keeper's hands for his team-high 10th goal of the season. The assist was the first of the year for Piedrasanta.

"I am most proud that the ball went in," Grinnell coach Brian Jaworski said. "But I am also very inspired that OUR guys played to the whistle and THEIR guys hesitated just a little bit.  

The shots battle was even at 11-all, with Artis Curiskis '18 and Piedrasanta taking three apiece.
 
Grinnell keeper Major May '17 had another superb outing, making six saves.

"I'm not sure what happened today," said Jaworski. "We didn't play well, but once again, we found a way to get a decent result. Knox is more than a good team. They are very well-coached, played one of the most difficult preseason schedules in the North Region, were undefeated in the MWC, and a team we have struggled against the last three years. SO, I am pleased we didn't lose, but geez, we were sluggish.

"We are not a perfect team, but we are much better than what we showed today, especially from a mental aspect," he continued. "I thought we were in a mental fog from the first corner kick play we earned, to poor distribution out of the back with a minute to play, and almost every play in between. We were just not mentally ready to walk and chew gum at the same time, so how are you going to deal with the demands of a very intense MWC soccer match if you can't multi-task on the spot? 

"The best thing about soccer, in my opinion, is that it is the ultimate team sport," he added. "We had some bright shining stars when we needed them most. Jeff Li -- what a gritty, smart game he played. Colton also chipped in with HUGE minutes when we were taking fire. Mikoto was also a real spark for us. Mikey (Kamp) gave us good solid discipline.  Personally, I thought Carlos Piedrasanta broke throught today with a great assist and an incredible work-rate.

"My question is, when are our best players going to show up and be our best players?" he concluded. "Going forward, we will continue to expect everyone to be ready and hopefully we get much better leadership by example from all our upperclassman."