Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (11/24)—Joe Bean extended his men's collegiate soccer career victories record with his 607th win and the Wheaton College men's soccer team advanced to the NCAA Division III National Championship game by defeating Ohio Wesleyan (15-1-4) 1-0 on Friday night in the NCAA Division III National Semifinal. Wheaton will face the winner of Friday's other National Semifinal between Messiah College and New York University. This will be the fourth Championship Game appearance for Wheaton, who won the 1984 and 1997 National Championship and lost in 1999 in its other appearance.

Retiring Thunder head coach Joe Bean, who extended his coaching career for one final match, noted after the game, “It means a lot to me that my last team will be the one that I remember the most.”

Wheaton jumped out early as Joel DeLass (LEFT) scored his 11th goal of the season off an assist from Ben Theimer in the 10th minute.

Thunder goalkeeper Ryan Souders made one save and recorded his 11th shutout of the season. Souders noted after the match, “Even after we scored the first goal we kept pressing them.” He added, “Our back four did a phenomenal job tonight.”

Wheaton's improbable run through the NCAA tournament came following a resurgence that began in late October. With a disappointing 8-7-3 record, the Thunder turned it around and now hold an 8-0-1 in their last nine matches, including the last two matches of the regular season, the CCIW Tournament and the NCAA tournament. Bean said of his team's remarkable season, “When you are 8-7-3 you just hope that you can stay above .500. What these kids have done is phenomenal.”

Senior Steve Rigby (RIGHT) noted of tonight's win, “This hasn't really sunk in yet. I don't think it will really hit us for awhile.”

Earlier in the day, the Thunder women's team defeated Virginia Wesleyan 2-0 in the National Semifinal to advance to the Division III Women's Soccer National Championship Match. Bean noted of the accomplishment for Wheaton to have both teams in their respective championships, “It is really exciting, especially for me since [head coach] Pete Felske and [assistant coach] Tim Daniels are my boys. They played for me and this just means a lot to me.”