Jacob Kapitaniuk's corner kick set-up Peter Whallon for the only goal of Wednesday's 1-0 victory over Millikin.

Wheaton, Ill.- The Thunder men's soccer team wrapped up its stretch of four-consecutive home matches on Wednesday night with a crucial 1-0 victory over Millikin University. The victory gives Wheaton a key tiebreaker against the Big Blue as the two squads battle for a spot in the upcoming CCIW Tournament. Wheaton ends the home stand unbeaten, winning its fourth-straight match by a final of 1-0, moving the Thunder to 9-4-1 overall and 4-2 in the CCIW. Millikin falls to 8-5 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
 
The Thunder dominated the run of play, outshooting Millikin 16-5 including a 5-1 edge in shots on goal. Hasten Biddlecome registered his third straight shutout, making one save. The shutout was Wheaton's eighth of the season. Isaac Hopper made four saves and allowed one goal for the Big Blue.
 
Peter Whallon gave Wheaton an early edge rising above traffic in front of the net for a powerful header off a Jacob Kapitaniuk corner kick (VIDEO), giving Wheaton a 1-0 lead. The Thunder went on to outshoot the Big Blue 7-1 in the first half, but were held off the scoreboard by three saves from Millikin goalkeeper Isaac Hopper to keep the spread at one goal through the first half.
 
Hopper came to the Millikin rescue again early in the second half, turning away another Whallen opportunity and charging off his line to stop a Wheaton break after Shane Kopplin broke free behind the defense. Chad Miller came inches away from adding to the lead with 16:52 to play with a long blast that flew inches over the crossbar.
 
Millikin's best chance to score came with seven minutes to play when Patrick Dolan drove a long shot that barely cleared the crossbar above the reach of Biddlecome. A late push from the Big Blue led to a dangerous throw-in opportunity in the final minute with a loose ball in the box finding the foot of a Millikin attacker. However, the Thunder defense was up to the task and blocked the shot and cleared the ball away to preserve the shutout.

Wheaton will step away from conference action on Saturday, when the Thunder travel north for a 7 pm kickoff at UW-Whitewater. Wheaton conclude its regular season schedule with road matches at Carthage and North Park.