GAME STATS Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder women's soccer team earned a 3-1 victory against North Park University (7-8-1/3-4-0) on Saturday night at Joe Bean Stadium. Tonight's match was the regular season finale for both teams. Wheaton secured the 2013 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship by finishing the regular season with a league-best 6-1-0 conference record. The Thunder owns a 15-1-2 overall record. Wheaton's conference championship is the program's league-best 16th title in women's soccer.
North Park gained an early lead in the match when the Vikings' Kelsey Taylor headed the ball into the net off of a Mckenzie Wiedermann crossing pass in the fourth minute. The Vikings maintained the 1-0 lead for the majority of the first half. Wheaton senior
Leah DeMoss (PICTURED LEFT) evened the contest at 1-1 in the 43rd minute with her seventh goal of the year. DeMoss collected a loose ball in front of the net and kept it away from NPU goalkeeper Katie Ibarra to score the goal. Wheaton held a 9-7 advantage in shots for the first half of the contest.
Wheaton's
Bailey Wysocki gave Wheaton 2-1 lead with her ninth goal of the season in the 66th minute. A DeMoss crossing pass found Wysocki open and she blasted the ball into the top left corner of the net to give Wheaton its first lead. The Thunder continued to attack North Park throughout the second half and the persistent offense paid off with DeMoss' second goal of the night in the 88th minute.
Annie Wooldridge served a pass to DeMoss who score from about six yards out to give Wheaton the 3-1 lead that would become the final score. Wheaton's offense held more control in the second half as the Thunder out-shot the Vikings 11-2.
Wheaton head coach
Pete Felske noted after the match, "It didn't start out very well, but I liked the way our team fought back. We showed a little bit of character and played a much better second half."
Wheaton goalkeeper
Kelsey Graham made two saves, with one goal allowed. Katie Ibarra made five saves in the North Park net and allowed three goals. Wheaton out-shot the Vikings 20-9 in the match. Wheaton was awarded eight corner kicks, while North Park had three.
Wheaton will be the number-one seed in next week's CCIW Women's Soccer Tournament. The Thunder will host fourth-seeded Augustana on Wednesday November 6 at 7 PM in a CCIW Tournament Semifinal. Number-two seed Illinois Wesleyan will host Carthage on Wednesday in the tournament's other semifinal.
PLEASE NOTE: As a CCIW Championship event Wednesday's match against Augustana will have tickets available at the gate. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for students and free admission for children under five-years-old. Students from CCIW member schools will be admitted free with valid student I.D. card. Faculty/Staff I.D. cards, Thunder season passes, or CCIW parent's passes will not accepted.
