South Knox battled through a chippy, frustrating Watermelon Cup matchup Saturday night, but a handful of pivotal moments went against the Spartans in a 3-1 loss to the Lincoln Alices. The first half was a chess match as each side looked to get settled, and chances were few and far between as South Knox couldn't quite get the breaks to go their way. The Spartans’ best opportunity of the opening half came in the 26th minute when Levi Loudermilk unleashed a shot that Lincoln’s keeper did well to save. The two sides went to the break locked at 0-0 in what was mostly a defensive arm wrestle. The Alices finally broke through early in the second half, finding the back of the net on a through ball in the 47th minute to take a 1-0 lead. South Knox nearly answered when Jakob Graman fired a shot in the 55th minute, but the keeper again came up with a good save. Following this came a sequence that left the Spartans searching for answers: with 15 minutes remaining, an apparent illegal throw-in went uncalled, and Lincoln quickly sent the ball across the field to find a tap-in at the back post for a 2-0 advantage. Less than four minutes later, the home side added another goal following a play South Knox believed had developed from an offside position, stretching the lead to 3-0. Still, the Spartans refused to fold. With just under 10 minutes left, South Knox was awarded a penalty kick after a foul in the box. Loudermilk stepped to the spot but rang his attempt off the crossbar, leaving the Spartans still searching for their breakthrough. They finally got it with 3:33 remaining. Loudermilk slipped a through ball into the path of Kane Simmons, who calmly finished with his left foot past the keeper to put South Knox on the board and give the visitors a late spark. But Lincoln was able to see out the final minutes and claim the victory, their first over the Spartans since 2014. Despite the frustrating result, South Knox showed plenty of fight after falling behind, continuing to attack until the final whistle. Keepe Mac Harmon finished with 6 saves in goal. Coach's comments: “There were a few questionable decisions tonight that were tough for us to overcome, and unfortunately they came at some pretty crucial moments. But, that’s part of soccer. We have to control what we can control, and we had opportunities ourselves that we needed to finish. Full credit to Lincoln for taking advantage of theirs. We had a nice 12-year win streak against them and they've definitely been gunning for us. The matches between these sides are always fantastic to be a part of. Hopefully we can start another win streak next year." The Spartans will look to bounce back as they return home Wednesday and welcome White River Valley for a 5:00pm matchup.