Wheaton College Athletics

Wheaton, Ill. -- After opening the Bob Baptista Invitational on Friday with its first home game of the season, the Thunder men's soccer team played the second of two weekend fixtures tonight, welcoming Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to Wheaton for the very first time. The hosts scored once in each half and were en route to an impressive victory before a late rally by the California visitors saw the match finish 2-2. Wheaton's record after the first two weeks of the new campaign is 1-3-1, while CMS is now 3-1-1 on the year.

The Stags came into this year's four-team tournament with a win over #2 Trinity University already under their belt and a reworked roster full of talent. CMS's high ceiling was reflected in the box score statistics from Saturday's encounter, as the SCIAC program out-shot Wheaton by a 27-13 margin and put ten efforts on target compared to the home side's six. Claremont enjoyed two-thirds of the possession and tallied 11 corner kicks while surrendering three. There were 23 total fouls called and two yellow cards handed out to each team in tonight's physical battle.

Isaac Lucas was the standout performer for Wheaton on Saturday, netting his second and third goals of the season to establish the Thunder's lead on the scoreboard. Jack Kern and Patton Johnson tallied assists on Lucas' strikes, while Craig Rusin joined the goalscorer on two shots on frame this evening. Johnson and Luke Vander Kolk each posted one attempt on target, and Luke McGuire made eight saves on a busy night between the sticks.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps fired off the first three shots of the match and struck the post four minutes into the opening 45 in an early signal of its attacking intent. Rusin responded with a whipped free kick that was well-saved by the visiting goalkeeper just before the seven-minute mark to establish an interest for Wheaton. The next 30 minutes would be controlled by the Stags, however, as their sharp ball-movement and tactical discipline made life difficult for the invitational hosts. CMS registered eight shots without reply and drew three saves from McGuire before the Thunder broke up this wave of momentum with an attempt of their own in the 33rd minute.

Wheaton finally generated some attacking thrust in the closing stretch of the first half, and a throw-in situation caused chaos in the Stags' penalty area that the Thunder were able to convert into the opening goal. Johnson won the initial header from the long throw into the box, and his flick made it through untouched, drawing a quick reaction save from Claremont's keeper. But his claw-out only found the foot of the on-rushing Kern, who blasted a close-range effort that struck the crossbar not once but twice before being coolly dispatched into the top right corner by Lucas with his head. (VIDEO)

Despite being under pressure for most of the period, the Thunder nearly doubled their advantage before the break when Johnson tested the Stags' shot-stopper on a corner kick opportunity. Wheaton's defense held firm through the first 45 minutes, and the hosts entered the locker room with a 1-0 lead.

The Orange and Blue did find their second goal ten minutes into the second half thanks to a turnover that made its way to Lucas for a very different type of finish. Successful on-ball pressure from David Vezza forced a misplayed pass in the Stags' midfield, and Johnson reacted well to win the loose ball and tap it into the path of Lucas 30 yards from goal. The England-born sophomore collected this pass, took another progressive touch to set himself up, then blasted a shot from outside the box into the top of the Claremont net to stun the guests and get the home crowd on its feet. (VIDEO)

Wheaton's clear daylight on the scoreboard only lasted for ten minutes, however, as the visitors' pressure finally paid off to halve their deficit. A searching cross into the box from the right wing made its way to CMS's striker, who buried an impressive first-time shot to get the Stags back into the contest. From this point on through the last 25 minutes of the game, the California squad dominated the ball and created most of the attacking opportunities as the Thunder sought to protect their lead. 

McGuire was called into action four times and did his best to preserve his team's advantage. But CMS found the equalizer they were pushing for with just four minutes to spare when a corner kick was nodded down in a dangerous area in front of Wheaton's goal. The ensuing shot attempt was repelled by the sprawling McGuire, but there was too much speed on the ball for him to successfully secure it in his grasp, and a well-placed Claremont finisher was there to punch it home from on the doorstep.

The Thunder had one last chance to steal the win with just under a minute remaining on the clock, as some excellent hold up play from Vander Kolk allowed the senior to chip the ball into Lucas' path for a potential walk-off hat trick. But a perfectly-timed recovery run by an opposing defender led to a headed clearance that took the ball away from the Wheaton man at the last second and confirmed the game's 2-2 scoreline following a pulsating second half.

Wheaton is now halfway through a four-game home stand. The Thunder will be back at Bean Stadium next week for 7 PM non-conference matches against Trine University on Tuesday and Greenville University on Friday.