GAME STATS PICTURED ABOVE: Dan Pavlak scored the first goal on a header in the second half.

Box Score

Wheaton, Ill. - A strong start to the second half propelled the Wheaton College men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Carthage College on Wednesday.

The Thunder improve to 7-6-1 overall and 1-1 in conference. The Red Men lost for the first time in almost a month, falling to 7-5-2 and 1-1-1 in CCIW play.

Wheaton began the contest with good ball possession on offense and got some chances on free kicks. Jordan Golz almost put the hosts up in the third minute but Carthage goalkeeper Milan Tijanic dove to make the save.

Meanwhile, Carthage closed off the middle of the field on Wheaton runs and looked to turn it around quickly for counter attacks. Both teams saw several good chances in the box stall out, and the score remained 0-0 at the half.

The start of the second half was all Thunder. The hosts played good pressure and owned possession for the first 20 minutes of the half. Tijanic continued to stonewall Wheaton with a variety of impressive saves.

Wheaton finally broke through at 59:27. Jason Lollar's low shot through the box was saved by a diving Tijanic and the rebound hit the post. With the spinning ball sitting in play, Dan Pavlak raced through and booted it in to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead.

The finishing Thunder touch came courtesy of the Golz brothers. With under 20 seconds remaining in the match, Drew Golz volleyed the ball out of his defensive third up to the mid line. Jordan Golz (PICTURED RIGHT) raced past his defenders on a breakaway, caught up to the ball, and put it past Tijanic one-on-one with eight seconds left.

Wheaton ended up with a 21-15 shot advantage, while Carthage led in corner kicks  5-4. Thunder goalie Ryan Seager made two saves to earn the shutout. Tijanic collected seven saves for the Red Men.

The Thunder continues its conference homestand against North Central College at 7 PM on Saturday.