St. Louis, Mo. – The Wheaton Thunder men's soccer team traveled to Washington University-St. Louis on Friday for a non-conference matchup with the Bears. WashU utilized a first-half goal to defeat the Thunder 1-0 in tonight's contest under rainy conditions at Francis Field.

Tonight marked Wheaton's second-consecutive matchup against a nationally-ranked foe. The Thunder lost a hard-fought 2-0 matchup at fourth-ranked University of Chicago on Tuesday night and WashU entered tonight's matchup ranked 17^th in the most recent NSCAA Division III Coaches Poll.

The weather was a key factor in tonight's contest as the two teams combined for just two shots on goal in the matchup.

The Bears' out-shot the Thunder 5-4 in the first half, with the hosts' lone shot on goal in the in game going in the net when Ryan Sproule tallied a goal at the 36:52 mark of the match. WashU was awarded a corner kick that was taken by Jack West. West's kick found the head of Sproule who headed the ball into the net to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

Wheaton's best scoring opportunity came in the 64^th minute when Andrew Wade's shot on goal was stopped by WashU goalkeeper Nick Tannenbaum. Wade's shot was the final shot in the match for the Thunder. The Bears held a 4-2 advantage in shots in the second half.

WashU held a 9-6 advantage in shots for the match, with each team attempting one shot on goal. The Bears were awarded seven corner kicks and Wheaton had four in the match.
The Thunder will return to action September 27 at 7:00 p.m. in a non-conference matchup at Benedictine University.