MOUNT VERNON – Cornell carries momentum from a historic regular season into the Midwest Conference Men's Soccer Tournament, hosted by Knox College this weekend in Galesburg, Ill.
 
Coach Nate Grosse's second-seeded Rams (14-3) square off with No. 3 seed Grinnell (11-7) in a 2 p.m. semifinal match Friday on VanDyke Field at Galesburg High School.
 
No. 1 seed Knox (10-6) plays No. 4 seed Lawrence (8-10) in Friday's other 2 p.m. semifinal at Jorge Prats Field.
 
The championship match will be contested at 2 p.m. Saturday at Knox's Jorge Prats Field for the MWC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
Cornell has already equaled the school record for most wins in a season. The Rams tied Knox atop the MWC standings with a 7-1 mark and 21 points.
 
The Prairie Fire were crowned regular-season champions by virtue of their 2-1 win at Cornell on Oct. 20. That is Cornell's only loss since mid-September.
 
The Rams are in the MWC Tournament field for only the second time since 1991. They qualified as the No. 3 seed in 2018, falling 1-0 to Knox in the semifinals.
 
Cornell is seeking its first MWC championship since 1982. The Rams were co-champions in 1973. 
 
The Rams earned a 4-1 home win over Grinnell on Oct. 6, a match that was tied 1-1 at halftime. Cornell has won 10 of its last 11 contests overall. Grinnell has won four straight, six of its last seven.   
 
Cornell is No. 1 in the MWC in goal differential (+1.29) and goals allowed per match (1.00). The Rams feature two of the league's top scorers in junior Zach Miller (12 goals, third) and freshman George Archer (10 goals, fifth). Miller's six game-winning goals rank third nationally.
 
Goalkeeper Will Bickel has fashioned a 14-3 record with six shutouts in a fantastic freshman season. Eight of Cornell's wins have been decided by a single goal.