St. Louis, Mo. - Something had to give on Friday night in a Sectional Semifinal match between two of the best defenses in Division III women's soccer. Wheaton entered the Sectional rounds of the NCAA Tournament allowing an average of 0.59 goals per match. Their opponent, Centre College, took the field Friday night riding a 15-match shutout streak and allowing just four goals all season. However, it would be the Thunder (19-3-1) moving on as Wheaton held off the Colonels (21-1) by a score of 3-2 to advance to Saturday night's Sectional Final match against #1-ranked WashU with kickoff scheduled for 6 pm.

With defenses suffocating the attack through a first half that saw only six total shots, Wheaton finished the game with a 12-9 edge in shots including an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal, marking the first time all season that Centre had been outshot.  Lauren Ketchum made three saves and allowed two goals for the Thunder. Her counterpart, Sarah Stodghill allowed three goals and made five saves for the Colonels.

It was the sixth shot of the first half that finally brought a change to the scoreboard on Friday night. After an uneventful opening 35 minutes, Wheaton's attack began pressuring the Centre defense, drawing the first corner kick of the game in the 38th minute that led to a shot by Jensen Ellis that was turned away by Stodghill. Several minutes later, Anna Saunders played a long ball into the box that found Sara Bakke, who one-timed it past Stodghill, giving the Thunder a 1-0 lead with just four minutes remaining in the first half.

Wheaton's momentum would not last long following the halftime break as Centre leveled early in the second half when Jessie Turner's long cross found Keeghan Francis, whose shot to the near corner beat Ketchum, tying the score at 1 in the 49th minute.

Six minutes later, a corner kick opportunity for the Thunder provided the lead that they would not relinquish when Carney Blake's corner kick Nicole Wright, who converted on her second goal of the season to put Wheaton ahead 2-1 at the 54:48 mark. Early in the 60th minute, Wheaton would add to its lead after Bakke's initial shot attempt was blocked and landed at the feet of Jensen Ellis. Ellis quickly blasted a left-footed shot to the upper corner of the net, putting Wheaton ahead 3-1.

Centre would close the gap at the 65:35 mark when Francis converted on a penalty kick opportunity, but the Thunder defense would hold Centre to just two more shots over the final 24 minutes, to close the book on Centre's storybook season and hand the Colonels their first loss of the season.

Wheaton will face a familiar foe in Saturday night's Sectional Final. The Thunder fell to WashU 2-1 earlier this season at Joe Bean Stadium. The Bears (20-0) advanced via a 3-0 victory over UW-La Crosse, posting their 16th shutout of the season. This is the second time in program history that Wheaton will face WashU with a bid to the Final Four on the line. Wheaton defeated the Bears 4-2 in 2011, rallying from a 2-0 deficit with four goals in the final 20 minutes. Wheaton is 13-7-2 all-time against the Bears.