Wheaton, Ill. -- They may not have scored six goals this time, but the Wheaton women's soccer team enjoyed the same winning outcome as their recent victory over Elmhurst again tonight in a 1-0 win over Carroll University. The Thunder opened the scoring early at Joe Bean Stadium, then relied on a firm defensive performance to shut out a high-scoring Pioneers attack. With their second straight clean sheet win, Wheaton's CCIW record now stands at 2-1-1 halfway through their conference slate.
The lone goal of Wednesday's contest arrived just six minutes in when
Rebekah Max impressively steered a header into the back of the Carroll net following a Wheaton free kick.
Sarah Max, fresh off of her recognition as the CCIW Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week, turned provider with her set piece delivery to earn the assist on her sister's goal. Both teams had chances to further enhance the scoreboard's tally, but a windy night in Wheaton saw the defenses control proceedings and the Thunder eventually claimed the narrow result.
Carroll out-shot Wheaton by a 17-4 margin over the 90 minutes of play, but only six of the visitors' attempts were on target. Wheaton earned two corner kicks to Carroll's one, and the hosts forced one save from the Pioneer goalkeeper. A total of 21 fouls were called in a scrappy and competitive contest.
Rebekah Max generated two of Wheaton's four shots on the night, while
Lauren Walmer, another player who earned her first goal of the season in the win over Elmhurst, accounted for the Thunder's only other shot on target.
Lauren Ketchum tallied six saves in the Wheaton goal but was rarely threatened by the Carroll forwards as the Thunder back line equipped themselves well throughout the match.
Wheaton's early goal was an obvious setback for a Carroll team that has thrived on scoring in the first half so far this season, but the visitors from Wisconsin reacted well and generated three shots on target before halftime in an attempt to level the score. The second half was largely controlled by the guests, as Carroll saw more of the ball and ramped up the pressure, firing off 11 shot attempts. But the equalizer was not forthcoming, and the Thunder defense was calm and assured in their duties and enjoyed a well-earned clean sheet win as a result.
After back-to-back home shutout wins, Wheaton will look to keep the positive momentum going when they host Carthage in Saturday's Senior Day matchup. Kickoff is set for 4:30 PM at Joe Bean Stadium.
