BOXSCORE

Wheaton, Ill. - The Thunder men's soccer team secured a berth into the upcoming NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament with a 3-0 win against Elmhurst (14-5-2) on Saturday in the Championship Match of the CCIW Men's Soccer Tournament. With tonight's victory Wheaton (13-6-1) earns the CCIW's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA will announce tournament pairings on Monday morning at 10 (CST). The pairings can be seen online at http://www.ncaasports.org. Information on Wheaton's participation in the tournament will also be posted on the Wheaton Athletics Website by 10:30 AM.

Mike Giuliano, in his first year as head coach of the Thunder, noted of the win and opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament, “It means the world to me.” He added, “The tournament is a great experience and once you get into it anything can happen.”

Wheaton took a 1-0 lead, 35:26 into the match when junior Ben Theimer (PICTURED RIGHT) moved through traffic and booted the ball into the bottom right corner of the net for his fourth goal of the year. Wheaton remained a 1-0 leader at halftime.

Matt Swartz scored Wheaton's second goal, from the top of the box, off of a Steve Poppe assists at the 71:43 mark of the match. Senior Strider Elass made it a 3-0 Wheaton lead at the 78:45 mark of the match. Elass' goal was setup by an assist from Swartz in a two-on-one situation.

Wheaton goalkeeper was excellent in the Thunder net, posting his third shutout of the year. Dons made six saves, including a brilliant stop on an Elmhurst penalty kick. Giuliano noted of his netminder, “BJ is playing with a lot of confidence right now. He is a big part of our success in our last few matches.”

Wheaton out-shot the Bluejays 21-8 and held a 6-5 edge in corner kicks. Elmhurst goalkeeper Britt Blackwell made six saves and allowed three goals.