Wheaton, Ill. (11/4) – The Wheaton College women's soccer team used a goal early in the second half to earn a 1-0 victory against Augustana College on Saturday in the Championship Match of the 2006 CCIW Women's Soccer Tournament. Wheaton, ranked 12th in Division III by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) is now 18-2 on the season. Augustana is 14-2-3 on the season.

Less than a minute into the second half, Wheaton junior Sarah Richardson blasted a shot from 20 yards out that went between the legs of Augustana goalkeeper Keri Hess as Richardson scored her team-best 17th goal of the year 45:31 into the contest. The Wheaton defense held strong for the remainder of the match in recording the shutout.

Wheaton out-shot the Vikings 28-8, with a 7-4 edge in corner kicks. Wheaton goalkeeper Kristin Eggert  made seven saves in the Wheaton net to record her sixth shutout of the year. The win in the championship match gives the Thunder the CCIW's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament, which will begin next week. The NCAA will announce tournament pairings on Monday morning.

Thunder head coach Pete Felske said of the victory, “This game wasn't pretty, but we told the team at halftime that it doesn't have to be pretty it just has to be a win.” He added, “It is good to get into the NCAA Tournament on a win.”