GAME STATS Dubuque, Iowa- It was a case of too little, too late for the Thunder men's soccer team on Saturday night.  Wheaton fell behind early and couldn't get their offense on track until the final minutes of match in falling to the Loras Duhawks by a score of 2-1.  With the loss, Wheaton ends their season one game shy of their first trip to the National Semifinals since 2006.

Wheaton outshot the Duhawks 18-10 and also held a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.  Ryan Seager (PICTURED RIGHT) allowed two goals and made five saves in 90 minutes for the Thunder.  Dylan Milkent made three saves and allowed one goal for Loras.

Loras took advantage of their first true opportunity early in the match.  Off their first corner kick, Kevin Cavers found the head of Johnny Rummelhart in traffic in front of the net and Rummelhart headed it inside the near post to give Loras a 1-0 lead just 8:37 into the match.

Wheaton would see opportunities later in the first half as Josh Clark and Stephen Golz each had promising opportunities thwarted by Milkent.

In the 68th minute, Loras built an attack down the left wing that was served into the box by Forrest Olson.  Olson's pass found the head of Erik Berkowitz who headed it perfectly into the right side of the net giving the Duhawks a 2-0 lead.

With time running out on their season, Wheaton's desperation opened up opportunities, but it was a slight hiccup by the Loras defense that opened the door for the Thunder.  Pushing forward in the 88th minute, Stephen Golz found Adam Blackman (PICTURED LEFT) loose inside the six-yard box and Blackman deposited the ball into the net to cut the score to 2-1.

The Thunder continued to desperately push for an equalizer and found their opportunity in the closing seconds.  With just eight seconds remaining in the match, Loras' Sean Lewis was cautioned, stopping the clock and setting Wheaton up with a free kick from their own side of midfield.  Seager thumped the ball into a scrum of 21 bodies in the box and Nathan Jasperse was able to elevate to get his head on the ball, but the ball sailed just over the crossbar as the final seconds ran off the clock and the Duhawks punched their ticket to San Antonio with a 2-1 victory.

Wheaton's season ends with a record of 18-4-3. The Thunder were the CCIW regular season and tournament champions and made their deepest tournament in head coach Mike Giuliano's six-year tenure.