Within a week, the Cyclones faced two nationally ranked conference rivals, holding strong versus both. In their latest battle, they were pitted against a tough No. 3 ranked Prairie State College at home, falling 2-0.

The Cyclones are a young team, but stepped up their game. In the first half, the defense pressed the Pioneers to keep the ball out of the net. Moraine Valley had a few scoring chances and free kicks, but none that found an opening. After nearly 30 minutes of pressure, the Pioneers bounced one past diving keeper Andruw Martinez. The Cyclones continued to press with several near misses from forwards Fernando Barragan and Colin Kroll, but at halftime they were down 1-0.

The second half saw a more offense-oriented fight by the Cyclones, which yielded a number of yellow cards from both teams. Early on, Barragan scorched the ball toward the left side of the net, but was caught by the diving keeper. Ten minutes later, Martinez made a big diving save of his own. With the clock running down, a brief skirmish cleared both benches resulting in three red cards and 10 players on the field for each team. Then Martinez saved another one with 50 seconds to go. The Cyclones continued to battle, but were called on a tripping foul in the box with three seconds left in the game. That resulted in a penalty kick shot in the upper right corner for the final 2-0 loss.

"I'm proud of the level our young group showed today against a very good and experienced team. We were a bit short in the final third, and that was the difference. We'll keep working to close that gap and be ready for the opportunities when they come again," said Head Coach Chris Koloffon. "Hats off to Prairie State today for getting the job done."