Wheaton, Ill. -- The final non-conference match of the 2022 regular season was a successful one for the Wheaton men's soccer team, as the Thunder dispatched WashU by a score of 3-1 at Joe Bean Stadium on Saturday evening. With this win, Wheaton improves to 3-3-2 on the year and maintains their perfect record at home. Alessandro D'Argento ran the show for the hosts tonight, dishing out two assists and scoring a penalty kick to ice away the win for Wheaton. Jack Jacquet and Kyle Johnson each notched their first goal of the season in a successful outing in front of a large and vocal home crowd.

The visiting Bears began the contest on the front foot, posting two shots on target and winning a corner inside the first ten minutes. The Thunder took a little while to settle in to the flow of the game, but a shot off the WashU post from Pryse Anderson got the crowd on its feet and helped break up the opposition's attacking momentum. As the clock hit 28 minutes, the breakthrough happened thanks to Jack Jacquet. A Wheaton corner kick was whipped in by Alessandro D'Argento, and Jacquet was the first player to arrive on the end of it, deftly directing the ball with his head into the side of the net to give the Thunder a first half lead. Harrison Lee came close to doubling the hosts' advantage a few minutes later, but Wheaton were unable to pad their edge before the visitors struck back. WashU's leading scorer, Owen Culver, collected the ball inside the Wheaton half and skillfully maneuvered through several defenders before planting his shot from distance into the bottom corner to tie the game at one goal apiece. Unfazed by this setback, the Thunder ramped up the pressure at the other end. Kyle Johnson registered a shot on frame and Wheaton earned two corner kicks in the closing moments of the first half, but WashU's defense held out and the scoreboard read 1-1 at halftime.

Coming into tonight's match on the back of consecutive 1-1 draws last weekend, the thought of that third straight result had to be creeping into the minds of the Wheaton players as the second half got underway, but they played like a team that was determined to get back to winning ways. Their guests put an attempt on goal less than a minute after the restart, but this proved to be one of the only times WashU looked dangerous in the final third after halftime. Chances went begging for both teams in the first 15 minutes of the second period, but the deadlock was broken for the second time as D'Argento curled an excellent pass into the path of the charging Kyle Johnson. The freshman showed patience and poise to collect the ball in stride and slot it past the stranded goalkeeper to restore Wheaton's advantage. In doing so, he became the tenth Thunder player to net in the opening eight matches of the season.

Less than ten minutes later, Wheaton made sure that the Bears could not find a quick reply as they did in the first half. A handball in the box resulted in a penalty kick for the hosts, and D'Argento powered home his team-leading fourth goal of the campaign to double Wheaton's lead and effectively tie the ribbon on the squad's third home win. WashU generated two more shots on target in the final stages but never truly threatened to mount a comeback, and Wheaton saw out the 3-1 result in professional fashion.

D'Argento and Johnson each posted two shots on target with one goal in tonight's win, with the former earning the assist on Wheaton's first two strikes. Jacquet and Grant Roney also contributed an effort on frame to help spur on the Wheaton attack. Jack Krahel is still waiting for the first clean sheet of his collegiate career, but the freshman put in a solid shift this evening, earning five saves and looking confident in his penalty area.

The two teams registered identical shooting figures tonight with 14 attempts and six shots on target. WashU's goalkeeper tallied three saves, and Wheaton held a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks. In a fixture with plenty of history and edge to it, it came as little surprise that 18 fouls were whistled in the latest Wheaton-WashU meeting. Four yellow cards were handed out with two going to either side in a chippy affair.

After a positive conclusion to the first half of their season, the Thunder can now turn their attention to CCIW play. Wheaton's conference opener comes at Illinois Wesleyan next Saturday afternoon.