2004 Women's Soccer Team – 2004 NCAA Division III Champions In 2004 the Wheaton College women's soccer team opened the season with a loss. It would be the only blemish on the team's record. Head coach Pete Felske's squad put together 25 consecutive wins, including a 2-1 victory thanks to a win in an overtime shootout against Puget Sound in the NCAA Division III Championship Match in Greensboro, North Carolina. Felske's team was 25-1 in 2004 as the team won the program's first-ever National Championship and Wheaton's first Division III team championship in a women's sport.
The team only allowed eight goals all season, as the Thunder never allowed more than one goal in any of its 26 matches that year and the squad posted 18 total shutouts on the season. The goalkeeper tandem of Brita Nelson and Ashley Vratil teamed to keep opponents at bay as the duo split time all season. Vratil posted a 0.42 goals against average on the year, playing in 22 matches as she allowed just five goals. Nelson allowed just two goals in posting a 0.16 goals against average that is still the eighth-best mark in NCAA Division III history.
Jessica Elsen proved to be a dominant force, particularly at the Final Four in Greensboro as she earned the "Defensive Player of the Tournament" award at the 2004 Division III Championship. Elsen was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division III Player of the Year for her effort. Colleen McAndrews was another defensive force for Wheaton, earning All-Region and All-CCIW accolades in 2004.
The Thunder offense was as potent as its defense was stingy in 2004. The team scored a school-record 108 goals, averaging 4.15 goals per match. The 108 goals that season was the ninth-highest single-season goal total by a Division III women's soccer team at the time.
Jennifer Binger, the 2004 CCIW Player of the Year, joined Elsen as a NSCAA All-American. Binger tallied a team-high 23 goals, with 10 assists. Sarah Johnson was a First Team All-Region and All-CCIW performer, tallying 18 goals with eight assists Freshman Laura Koontz earned All-Tournament honors for the NCAA Championship and was an All-CCIW pick in the first of her four standout seasons with the Thunder. All-Conference performer Ashley Wiersma was second on the team with 19 goals and she was joined on the All-CCIW team by Nelson, Bethany Barton and Laura Rauh.
The cohesive unit was a perfect 7-0 during the CCIW's regular season schedule and won the CCIW Tournament with wins against Augustana and Illinois Wesleyan. The squad received a first-round bye in the NCAA Division III Tournament and opened its tournament run with a 5-0 win at home against Hope College in the tournament's second round.
The Thunder went on to host the Division III Sectional and shut out University of Chicago 3-0 in the opening day to advance to the Sectional Final. Wheaton won a 4-0 decision against Christopher Newport University on the Sectional Final to advance to the National Semifinal for the second time in school history.
The Thunder faced Wheaton College of Norton, Massachusetts in the 2004 Division III National Semifinal. The Thunder and the Lyons played a scoreless first half, but goals by Wiersma (56th minute) and Binger (58th) minute gave Wheaton a 2-0 lead. A goal by Wheaton (Mass.) in the 64th minute cut the Thunder lead to 2-1, but Johnson clinched the win with a goal in the 89th minute to send Wheaton to the Division III Championship Match for the first time in school history.
Wheaton faced Puget Sound in the 2004 Division III Championship Match. The Loggers pulled ahead with a goal in the 36th minute to give UPS a 1-0 lead at halftime. Mary Doleshal registered the game-tying goal for the Thunder in the 62st minute to tie the match at 1-1. Neither team was able to register a go-ahead goal in the final 25 minutes of the match as the contest went into overtime. Following a scoreless overtime the National Championship was to be decided in a penalty kick shootout.
The first shootout attempt for UPS was converted and Wheaton's Erin Wingerter followed with a conversion for a 1-1 result after one round. Vratil stopped the second Puget Sound attempt and Koontz converted the next Thunder attempt to give the 'Orange and Blue' a 2-1 advantage. Each team converted in the third round of the shootout as Elsen made Wheaton's attempt for a 3-2 edge for the Thunder. Following a made shot for the Loggers to open the fourth round, Wheaton's Hannah Tan scored to keep Wheaton in the lead 4-3. The final round of the shootout opened with a goal by Puget Sound's Cortney Kjar, the tournament's Most Outstanding Offensive Player. Barton, a Thunder freshman coolly put her shootout attempt in the back of the net to give Wheaton the 2-1 victory and the National Championship.
| 2004 Wheaton Thunder Women's Soccer Team |
| No. | Player | Yr. | Hometown |
| 00/23 | Ashley Vratil | Jr. | Prairie Village, Kan. |
| 0 | Sarah Anderson | Fr. | Park Ridge, N.J. |
| 01 | Kristin Eggert | Fr. | Glen Ellyn, Ill. |
| 1 | Brita Nelson | Sr. | Littleton, Colo. |
| 2 | Hannah Tan | Jr. | Ridgefield, Conn. |
| 3 | Mary Doleshal | Jr. | Hartland, Wis. |
| 4 | Erin Wingerter | Sr. | Avon, Ind. |
| 5 | Melinda Lowry | Fr. | Westlake Village, Calif. |
| 6 | Jennifer Binger | Jr. | Belvidere, Ill. |
| 7 | Bethany Barton | Fr. | Wheaton, Ill. |
| 8 | Jessica Elsen | Sr. | Winnebago, Ill. |
| 9 | Laura Koontz | So. | Kernersville, NC |
| 10 | Sara Johnson | Sr. | Glenview, Ill. |
| 11 | Keren Jezequel | Fr. | Miami, Fla. |
| 12 | Michelle Linton | Fr. | Woodbury, Minn. |
| 13 | Crystal Molenhouse | Sr. | Carol Stream, Ill. |
| 14 | Carrie Peters | Fr. | Champaign, Ill. |
| 15 | Katie Fichera | So. | Wayne, Ill. |
| 16 | Ashley Wiersma | Sr. | Grand Haven, Mich. |
| 18 | Sarah Richardson | Fr. | Marshall, Mich. |
| 19 | Janelle Wise | Jr. | Bloomington, Minn. |
| 20 | Natalie Cooney | So. | Lombard, Ill. |
| 21 | Colleen McAndrews | Jr. | St. Charles, Ill. |
| 22 | Kira Davis | Fr. | Solana Beach, Calif. |
| 25 | Laura Rauh | Sr. | Edmond, Okla. |
Head Coach: Pete Felske
Assistant Coaches: Tim Daniels and Cesar Gomez
Athletic Trainer: Kate Jetter, ATC
