La Crosse, Wis. -- The second straight matchup against an opponent ranked in the top 20 of the latest United Soccer Coaches national poll ended in the same result for the Wheaton women's soccer team: a one-goal defeat. But the story of Wednesday's 1-0 nail-biting loss to the University of Chicago was very different than today's 4-3 rollercoaster defeat at UW-La Crosse. While the Thunder will be disappointed to have conceded four times on Saturday, the finishing touch in front of goal that has been largely absent from their season thus far arrived in style in today's match. After another competitive loss against strong opposition, Wheaton's record now sits at 1-3-1.

Despite the close scoreline, the box score statistics reflect a noticeable disparity in favor of the home side in this afternoon's match. UW-La Crosse registered a hefty 25 shot attempts, 14 of which were on frame, while Wheaton managed 14 overall and five efforts on target. The Thunder edged their hosts in possession, 52-48%, but the Eagles piled on the pressure when they did get their feet on the ball, earning five corner kicks and forcing ten saves while Wheaton generated two of each. 29 fouls were called in the 90 minutes of play, and one yellow card was administered to the hosts.

Audrey Sexson was the offensive dynamo for the Thunder today, posting team-highs of four shots and three efforts on target to go with her brace of goals. Sophie Lindquist and Tori Seeland both fired off two shots and put one on frame, with the former scoring a goal and the latter earning one assist. Mia Blair also collected an assist in this afternoon's fixture. The UW-La Crosse attack kept Lauren Ketchum busy in the Wheaton net, and the veteran goalkeeper made 10 saves today.

Five shot attempts, three of which were put on target, and a wonder strike from outside the box for the home side in the opening ten minutes likely had the Thunder worrying about a long day at the office. Wheaton did not post any attempts on frame in the first half, and a 2-0 cushion for the Eagles at the intermission gave the impression that the nationally ranked team were in for a smooth win at home. But the second 45 began in the best possible way for Wheaton, as the visitors were awarded a penalty kick just three minutes after the restart. Sexson stepped up to take it, and while the junior saw her initial effort saved by the Eagles goalkeeper, she was the first to react to the bouncing ball and steered in the rebound to give Wheaton a lifeline in the contest. 

Unfortunately for the visitors, UW-La Crosse needed only four minutes to restore their two-goal advantage. Once again, it seemed as though a positive result was out of reach for the Thunder. But ten minutes after falling behind by two goals, Sophie Lindquist got on the end of a pass from Mia Blair and directed the ball into the net to bring Wheaton back into the game. The Thunder reclaimed the momentum but did not manage to put up another shot attempt before their hosts doubled their lead once again with 20 minutes left to play. A seesaw second half featured no shortage of attacking prowess, and just when the Eagles must have thought that the game was done and dusted, Audrey Sexson popped up with her second goal of the contest to plant a seed of doubt in the home side's minds. Unfortunately for the Thunder, they only had seven minutes in which to find a dramatic late equalizer and apart from one effort on frame by Seeland in the closing moments, the Eagles were able to hold on for the win without too much cause for concern. While Wheaton did not leave Wisconsin with the result they would have begun the day hoping for, there were noticeable bright spots for the team to draw on moving forward, particularly in the final third.

The road ahead does not get much easier for the Thunder, as Wheaton's next opponent is likely to be ranked in the next edition of the national poll. The Thunder face a trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan on Tuesday night to meet the unbeaten Calvin Knights. Kick off is scheduled for 6 PM CT.