Platteville, Wis. -- The Wheaton men's soccer team traveled north on Tuesday evening looking for their first win away from home in the 2022 season, but the UW-Platteville Pioneers denied them that achievement with a 4-1 victory in Wisconsin. Drew Beamer opened the scoring on the night with an impressive solo effort, but four unanswered goals for the hosts either side of halftime proved too much for the Thunder. Wheaton drops to 2-3 on the year as a result of tonight's defeat and are now halfway through their four-match road gauntlet.

Tonight's game got off to a fast start with both sides registering a shot within the first five minutes. Just as the clock ticked over into the sixth minute, Wheaton's center back collected the ball near his own penalty area and dribbled it virtually unchallenged into the Pioneers' attacking third. Beamer punished the hosts for backing off by unleashing a low pile driver from at least 30 yards out into the bottom corner of the net. The stunned defense and goalkeeper were relegated to bystanders as the Thunder veteran's shot found its target, and Beamer opened his scoring account for the season in beautiful fashion. 

Unfortunately, this was as good as it got for the visitors on Tuesday. Twelve minutes later, UW-Platteville found the equalizer with another effort from range through a crowd of bodies that appeared to take a slight deflection on its way into the Wheaton net. Fortuitous or not, it proved to be the turning point in the course of the match, as the Pioneers flipped the scoreline around before halftime and never took their feet off the gas. Two more efforts in the space of a minute early on in the second half doubled the hosts' advantage and put the game out of reach for the Thunder.

UW-Platteville enjoyed a sizable edge in shots in the contest, posting twelve efforts to just three from their guests. The Thunder put two of their attempts on frame as Kyle Johnson registered the only shot on target for Wheaton after Beamer's goal, while the Pioneers had five looks at goal. Both goalkeepers made one save this evening, and the teams combined for just three corner kicks. 22 fouls were called and either side received one yellow card booking. 

Next up for Wheaton is a unique weekend combo of matches. The Thunder head to Abilene, Texas, where they will face McMurry University on Friday night and Hardin-Simmons on Saturday in a pair of nonconference tests. Then it's back home to Joe Bean Stadium the following weekend, as Wheaton hosts WashU in their final nonconference matchup before CCIW play begins.