Kenosha, Wis. -- It was the late late show from Wheaton men's soccer on Wednesday night, as the Thunder came back to win on the road against Carthage in overtime. The victory saw Wheaton halt their three-match winless skid in conference play and improve to 7-3-1 overall on the season.

Wheaton arrived in Kenosha for a CCIW clash that had been billed as a blockbuster fixture only a couple weeks prior, but one that now felt like a must-win after both teams got off to rocky starts in conference competition. Before Wednesday, the Thunder had only won once at Carthage in their previous five attempts. The team knew that securing a road victory would not come easily, and this proved to be the case over the course of the 97 minutes played.

The match started with two early attempts on goal from the Firebirds, quickly forcing Hasten Biddlecome into action in the Wheaton net. It took the visitors eleven minutes to register their first shot of the match, and when it sailed wide of the opposition goal, it set the tone for a frustrating first half for Wheaton. The early stages of the game proved to be a physical battle, with the two teams combining for 11 fouls inside the opening 30 minutes. After exchanging a number of corner kicks, blocked shots, and fruitless attacking moves, the hosts opened the scoring just shy of 24 minutes into the first half when Carthage's Danny Eloyza found Mason McCaw, who stuck the ball in the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season.

The Thunder sought an immediate response and quickly generated two shots on target from Michael Martens and Alessandro D'Argento but were unable to find an equalizer in the second half of the first 45. Despite no shortage of action at both ends of the field, the two teams entered their halftime huddles with the score at 1-0.

Baker Avinger, Joey Sopikiotis, and Silas Galvao all tried their luck in the opening minutes of the second half, but these efforts were in vain, and it increasingly felt like the Thunder would slip to their third consecutive conference defeat. After a first half which saw Carthage boast a 10-6 advantage in shots, the second half proved to be a dramatic reversal of the trend, with Wheaton outgunning their hosts by a 13-3 margin. But the Thunder were learning a harsh lesson that shots only count for so much, and Carthage's players were happy to sit back and defend their lead in the closing stages. Just when it looked as though the Firebirds would see the game out at a simple 1-0 decision, Michael Martens pounced on the ball 14 yards out from the Carthage net and placed it clinically in the bottom right corner to restore hope for the traveling side. His fourth goal of the campaign proved to be the last notable play for either team in regulation. All of a sudden, Wheaton found a chance to not only snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but also to wipe away the sting of their recent overtime loss to Illinois Wesleyan, as well.
 
The extra period started with another flipping of the script, as the hosts emerged from their defensive shell to seize the attacking onus of the match. Carthage won a corner kick just one minute into extra time, and though this was successfully defended by Wheaton, three Firebird shots and an additional corner followed immediately thereafter. It was not until the 96th minute that the Thunder were able to create an attacking opportunity themselves, as Sopikiotis fired left of the goal. Less than two minutes later, the senior forward was involved in the attack once again, as he played the ball to AJ Moyes, who in turn laid it off for the on-rushing Shane Kopplin. Despite only having one goal to his name so far this season, the midfielder kept his cool and swept it home into the middle of the net to spark wild celebrations from the Thunder players after claiming a dramatic and well-earned victory. 

Full match statistics show Wheaton edging Carthage 21-16 in shots across the three periods of play. Seven of these efforts were on frame for the Thunder, while five of Carthage's attemps were on target. Wheaton finished the match with the slimmest of corner kick advantages, 6-5. Christian Lekki made five saves in goal for Carthage, while Biddlecome tallied four of his own. There were 27 fouls called over the course of Wednesday's contest, but only one yellow card issued, coming to a Wheaton player in the first half. Martens led the way for Wheaton going forward with three shots on target, while D'Argento, Michael Groza, Jack Jacquet, and Kopplin all contributed one, as well.

Next up for the men's soccer team is a nonconference trip to New Jersey, where they will play two matches over the fall break period. Then the team returns to face the Elmhurst Bluejays in the Thunder's regular season home finale on October 23rd.