GAME STATS PICTURED ABOVE: Sophomore Kevin Skinker scored his second goal of the year on Tuesday.

Box Score

Wheaton, Ill. - Kevin Skinker scored in the first two minutes of the game to lead the Wheaton College men's soccer team to a 1-0 win over Aurora University on Tuesday.

The Thunder won its third-straight match to improve to 6-5-1 on the season. The Spartans fell to 4-6-1 on the year.

It was off to the races at the match's onset. Wheaton made several runs on goal in the first two minutes and it paid off quickly. Jordan Golz and Chad Musgraves combined to send the ball into the mouth of the goal where Skinker touched it in towards the right post. The Thunder goal came just 2:21 into the game.

With both Drew Golz and brother Jordan spearheading the attack early, Wheaton found good offensive flow going up the middle. The Thunder possessed and moved well as a unit, pressing up on runs with plenty of options ahead of them. Aurora, meanwhile, tried to get its opportunities on counter attacks but couldn't get the same kind of quality looks.

The second half played more physical with Wheaton trying to dictate the aggression. A golden scoring opportunity for the hosts came with at 63:56 as Aaron Brown came up with the loose ball in the box and an open net. But his shot was turned away due to an Aurora defender's quick-reaction save on the goal line.

Play became chippy in the final 15 minutes with three yellow cards handed out to the Spartans. But Aurora began to press the offensive, won the balls in the air and started to earn a long string of throw-ins and corner kicks. However, the Wheaton defense held and kept the shutout intact.

Thunder goalkeeper Derek Babb earned his first collegiate shutout by making one save in 90 minutes of net action. Aurora goalie Ethan Cashed took the loss with three saves to his credit.

The hosts owned a 15-13 shot advantage, but the Spartans led in corner kicks 6-4.

Wheaton opens up its conference schedule at home against North Park University at 7:30 PM on Saturday.