Box Score

Wheaton, Ill. - In a battle of nationally-ranked conference opponents, the Wheaton College women's soccer team made good use of its set pieces to beat Augustana College 4-1 on Wednesday.

The No. 12-ranked Thunder improved to 14-2 overall and 4-0 in the CCIW. The No. 5-ranked Vikings dropped to 12-1-2 overall and 3-1 in conference.

After an evenly-played first couple minutes, Wheaton struck first at the 19:33 mark as Ali Kopelman knocked in a header off a Katelyn Kishkunas corner kick.

The score stayed 1-0 Thunder for the rest of the half. But Augustana quickly found the equalizer early in the second half. A handball in the box led to Taylor Moesle's penalty kick goal that tied the proceedings 1-1 at the 49:35 mark.

The Wheaton corner kicks proved potent again only four minutes later. Kopelman tallied her second goal of the night off the corner, with a double assist coming from Kishkunas and Jaime Orewiler to give the hosts a 2-1 lead.

A pair of insurance goals in the 83rd and 86th minute assured the Thunder victory. Kopelman completed the hat trick off another Kishkunas corner kick, and Kristen Clark's header score gave Kishkunas her fourth assist of the night.

"It is good to see the things that we are doing in practice integrating themselves into games," Wheaton head coach Pete Felske said. "We've spent a lot of time on the little things and that's what worked for us tonight. The team has been seeing that and they are gaining confidence."

The Thunder held a 16-8 shot advantage and an 11-2 corner kick edge in the game. Maddie Allen tallied two saves in net to earn the victory. Kayla Radloff made three saves in taking the loss. The Augustana defense had come into the game having only allowed three goals in its first 14 games of the year.

"As the old cliche goes, we can't look too far ahead," Felske said. "We're looking forward to getting back to practice tomorrow and to keep building on this. It's a big step, but it's still just one step towards where we want to be at the end of the year. We have to continue to remember that the small things are what got us there."

The Thunder return to the home pitch with a 1:00 PM game on Saturday versus Elmhurst College.