Chicago, Ill. -- The Wheaton women's soccer team continued their winning ways on Wednesday evening by taking down North Park on the road. The match, which finished in a 2-0 scoreline, saw Wheaton improve to 3-0 in conference play on the season and move into joint-first place with the North Central Cardinals.

Right from the opening kick-off, it was clear which of the two teams was going to be the stronger on the night. It took the Thunder less than two minutes to register the first shot of the match, a blocked effort from Grace Hermanson. In fact, so intense was the visitors' pressure on the Vikings net that Wheaton had already picked up five efforts at goal and two corner kicks before North Park mustered a shot themselves. Sara Bakke produced two shots on goal and Myah Schoolman added a third right before the halftime interval, but the first 45 minutes ultimately proved frustrating for the Thunder, as they were unable to find the breakthrough. Despite a significant advantage in the major statistical categories, including a 17-1 domination of shot attempts, the guests had to settle for a 0-0 halftime scoreline.

Wheaton had two disallowed goals in the first half. The first one came from a free-kick situation when Wheaton poked the ball home, but the scorer was adjudged to have been standing in an offside position when the initial ball was played. The second goal to be waved off was a less straightforward decision and was only confirmed when the head official went over to consult with his linesman, who informed his colleague that a Wheaton player had fouled the North Park goalkeeper in the sequence immediately preceding the goal. These two incidents underlined the Thunder's disappointment at not securing a halftime lead after controlling the first period.

The second half began in similar fashion, with Bakke firing a shot high over the goal just 39 seconds after the restart. Fortunately for the visitors, they were not made to wait much longer for their deserved opener. Bakke played a pass back to midfield teammate Zoe Lipke, who touched the ball into the path of the oncoming Mia Blair. The freshman midfielder struck the ball from a distance comparable to her hometown of Flagstaff, Arizona and lofted a beautiful shot over the diving North Park keeper. While the flow of the game suggested that this goal might lead to an opening of the floodgates, North Park responded just four minutes later with their first shot on target. But there was to be no comeback in Chicago for the home side, who only tested Lauren Ketchum twice in the Wheaton net. It was a quiet day at the office for the reigning CCIW defensive player of the week, thanks in large part to a lock-down performance from the defensive players in front of her, who forced the North Park attackers to feed on scraps throughout the entire match.

As the 88th minute approached, and it began to look like the Vikings might escape with a respectable 1-0 result, Sophie Lindquist tried her luck from long range and forced the goalkeeper into an uncomfortable save. The ball was parried right into the path of Hermanson, who calmly fired it in at the far post and ensured that Wheaton got what they came for.

Full match statistics from the box score show a mammoth 35-4 shooting divide in favor of Wheaton, with the Thunder putting 14 on frame. North Park was forced to make 12 saves on the night and blocked an additional 10 Wheaton efforts. Unsurprisingly, the visitors also commanded a 10-1 advantage in corner kicks. Wheaton picked up nine fouls across the 90 minutes, while their hosts had 13.

After three straight road matches to open conference play in 2021, the women's team finally returns home on Saturday, October 9th, where they will take on fellow CCIW unbeatens, Illinois Wesleyan. There is reason to expect a more evenly-matched contest than the one the Thunder were treated to on Wednesday.