Wheaton, Ill. - A defensive battle was decided on a defensive miscue on a crisp evening at Joe Bean Stadium. Wheaton's lone goal came on a penalty kick after Silas Galvao was dragged down in the 18-yard box as the Thunder defeated Illinois Wesleyan 1-0. The victory snaps a two-game skid for the Thunder, moving Wheaton to 7-4-1 overall and 1-2 in the CCIW. The Titans fall to 4-6 and 0-1 in conference play.

Scoring opportunities were hard to come by with the Titans outshooting Wheaton 10-9 and holding a 3-2 edge in shots on goal. Wheaton's defense shined throughout the match, staving off seven corner attempts by the Titans. Hasten Biddlecome made three saves in his third shutout of the season. Alex Ruckstaetter made one save and allowed just one goal.

Defense held the line for Illinois Wesleyan in the first half as Wheaton fired off seven of their nine shots in the opening stanza with just one shot being put on goal.

After a slow start to the second half, Illinois Wesleyan picked up its attack as the half wore on and produced its first threatening chance in the 64th minute when Logan Alexander's dangerous header attempt clipped the crossbar (VIDEO) and hung high in the air around the corner of the net before Biddlecome rose to punch the ball away from his goal.

Wheaton's goal came just minutes later when Galvao was dragged down in the box leading to Stafford Dowling's penalty kick that stood up as the lone goal of the night.

Biddlecome was up to the task down the stretch, smothering several dangerous low shot attempts but the biggest save of the night came with just over two minutes to play when Illinois Wesleyan's ball into the box fell dangerously in front of the goal at the feet of Clayton Anderson. Anderson's shot was blocked on the ground by a diving Ryan Melgar (VIDEO) and cleared away for an Illinois Wesleyan corner kick. The ensuing corner kick by Justin Yaeger came swinging in towards the net and was met by Biddlecome's punch which sent the ball off the crossbar behind him and away from danger.