Bloomington, Ill. -- The Wheaton men's soccer team won their first road match of the season on Saturday, and they picked a great time to do so. The first fixture of their conference slate came against Illinois Wesleyan, and the Thunder emerged victorious by two goals to one in Bloomington. Harrison Lee opened the scoring for the visitors, before Grant Roney became Wheaton's eleventh different scorer this season when he doubled their lead. The hosting Titans pulled one back midway through the second half but failed to complete the comeback, and the Thunder began CCIW play in winning fashion. The team's record now stands at 4-3-2 on the season. 

Wheaton began the contest with an attacking blitz, firing off five shots in the opening eleven minutes to send a statement of intent. The opening goal arrived two minutes later when Brock Seneff lofted a high floater to the opposite byline and Joey Sopikiotis calmly cushioned it back across goal where Harrison Lee was all too willing to steer it home. The same pattern of play continued after Wheaton's early breakthrough, with the visiting side dominating the match and snuffing out any IWU attacks before they developed into chances. The home side only registered one shot in the opening half, but it appeared as though they would manage to make it into the intermission only trailing by one goal. Wheaton had other plans, however, as they successfully doubled their lead just seconds before the break. Nati Hamilton corralled a bouncing ball and played it through for Grant Roney, who was making a run into the top of the Illinois Wesleyan box. The sophomore showed poise and precision to place the ball past the sprawling goalkeeper and, as a result, earned his first goal of the season in smooth fashion.

With Wheaton extending their advantage at the perfect moment less than a minute before halftime, the second half was always going to be an uphill struggle for Illinois Wesleyan. But the hosts managed to gain some offensive momentum as Wheaton took a more guarded, defensive approach to the second 45. The Titans halved the deficit in the 68th minute and gave themselves hope of a late comeback to avoid defeat on their home turf. But the Thunder showed excellent game management and maturity to see out the win with little trouble, stifling the Titan attack and not allowing another shot on target the rest of the way.

Wheaton enjoyed sizable advantages in both shots and shots on target today at 22-6 and 11-2 margins, respectively. Goalkeeper Jack Krahel only needed to make one save in the win, while his opposite number registered eight of his own. Wheaton earned three corner kicks to their hosts' two. The Thunder saw more of the ball, creating a 58-42% possession split. Three yellow cards were handed out in the contest with two of them being shown to the victors.

Harrison Lee played a key role in Wheaton's offensive outlook this evening, posting team-highs of seven shots and three attempts on frame including his first half goal. Alessandro D'Argento, Jack Jacquet, and Pryse Anderson each registered a pair of shots on goal. Roney scored with his lone attempt of the match, and Michael Anthony accounted for the other Thunder shot on target.

After picking up an important win in their conference road opener, Wheaton will return to Joe Bean Stadium on Wednesday night looking to do the same in their conference home opener. Local rivals North Central serve as the opposition for next week's match.