Wheaton, Ill. -- The Wheaton men's soccer team's perfect start to the 2021 season came to an end on Saturday night as Concordia-Chicago upset the Thunder on home turf after a hard-fought 90 minutes. Despite leading in all of the statistical categories, Wheaton could not find a way through and the Cougars held on for a 1-0 victory after seizing a first half lead.

Wheaton came into this match with considerably more momentum on their side after a 6-0 drubbing of MSOE on Friday and Concordia-Chicago dropped their first match of the weekend 3-1 to Grinnell. But you wouldn't know it from the way the Cougars started the contest. It took the visitors less than two minutes to win a corner kick, and their lively play on the counterattack set the tone for the remainder of the match. Concordia-Chicago were happy to sit back and let Wheaton have most of the possession, forcing the hosts to try to break down their resolute back line. The Thunder created a number of chances early on, including a couple of shots off the crossbar, but they were unable to force the ball over the line. After goalkeeper Joseph Perez and a host of Cougars players stepped up in defense, it was Concordia-Chicago's turn to make their pressure count, and Samuel Epperly did just that by steering a deflected shot inside the near post after a layoff from Juan Valencia.

The visitors from the big city resisted further examinations from the Thunder, held on until the end of the half, and went back to the locker room with their 1-0 lead intact. There were few incidents of note in a choppy second half of play. Concordia-Chicago did their best to disrupt Wheaton's free-flowing attack by slowing the game down and packing the numbers back on defense. Wheaton struggled to find any sufficient response, and despite loads of possession and a clear advantage in the number of shots taken, only troubled the Cougars' net a few times. While the Thunder ramped up the intensity in the closing minutes, urged forward by a vocal crowd inside Joe Bean Stadium, it just wasn't to be for the hosts, and their cutting edge and incisive finishing that were on full display in Friday night's win was noticeably absent this time around. Concordia-Chicago took a risk in their approach to this match by leaving it up to Wheaton to make most of the plays, but it was a risk that undoubtedly payed off as they held their nerve for an impressive road win.

Full match statistics show a 17-7 advantage for Wheaton in shots taken, 8-2 disparity in shots on target, and eight saves for the two Cougar goalkeepers that saw action tonight compared to only one for Hasten Biddlecome in the Wheaton net. Additionally, Wheaton had three corners to Concordia-Chicago's one and a commanding 64-36 edge in possession. But at the end of the day, the final score is the only statistic that truly matters, and this one showed a 1-0 win for the visitors. Tonight's result is one that will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of the Wheaton players and fans, but well-deserved relief for their opponents.

The 2021 Bob Baptista Invitational has officially concluded, and each of the four teams who participated in this weekend's event leave with a win and at least one performance to remember. Wheaton finished the tournament with the largest margin of victory, but couldn't quite maintain their winning run in their latest match.

The Thunder will return to Joe Bean Stadium on Wednesday, September 22nd to face another Windy City-based team in University of Chicago, but first comes a trip to St. Louis to face WashU next Saturday morning. The Thunder will be looking to return to winning ways right away and banish the disappointment of tonight's defeat.