Decatur, Ill. -- The Wheaton men's soccer team's hopes of securing the program's first regular season conference title since 2015 ended in heartbreaking fashion on Wednesday night, as the Millikin Big Blue upset the Thunder, 3-1, to hand Wheaton their first CCIW loss of the year. The visitors scored the opening goal of the contest to put one hand on the trophy, but Millikin came roaring back to net three without reply and end Wheaton's eight-match unbeaten run. As a result of Wednesday's setback, the CCIW regular season title belongs to the North Central Cardinals for the second year running, and Wheaton will enter the upcoming conference tournament as the #2 seed. The Thunder conclude the 2023 regular season with an overall record of 11-5-1, the program's best mark since 2015.

Wheaton out-shot their hosts 15-7 this evening and put one more attempt on frame than the Big Blue. The Thunder also held slight edges in corner kicks at 6-5 and possession of the ball at 53-47%. Each side drew one yellow card caution from the referee.

Mason Escalante made two saves in the Wheaton net, while Pryse Anderson was the busiest attacker on the night for the guests, firing off four shot attempts, putting a team-high two of them on target, and earning an assist. Harrison Lee scored Wheaton's goal on his only shot of the night, while Kyle Johnson, Noah Penner, and Caedmon Gross each registered one effort on goal.

Lee's opener was the first attempt on target from either team as he swept home Anderson's cut-back pass to the top of the box in the 11th minute. Wheaton increased their offensive pressure in the following sequences, generating three corner kicks and taking three efforts at the Millikin goal. But the Big Blue scored the crucial next goal in the 29th minute to draw level at 1-1, and this equalizer energized the underdogs to put in one of their best performances of the season. Six minutes after halftime, the same Millikin player bagged his second score of the night and pushed the hosts into the lead. Wheaton dominated the subsequent stretch of the match and twice came close to equalizing themselves: first from a penalty kick situation in which the Big Blue goalkeeper made an impressive stop, then from a shot off the crossbar. But as the Thunder committed more numbers forward to rescue their chances of a CCIW title, Millikin struck on the counterattack with eight minutes left to double their lead and effectively end the contest. A wonderful run of form in conference play by Wheaton was ended in dramatic style, and the wait for a CCIW trophy was extended as North Central won their simultaneous match to pip the Thunder to the summit with 20 points in CCIW competition.

But even with tonight's disappointment, the Thunder men's squad still has a conference tournament semifinal to look forward to. Thanks to their 6-1-1 mark in CCIW play this year, Wheaton secured a first round bye in the conference tournament, which will begin with a quarterfinal round of matches on Saturday. The Thunder are set to face the winner of North Park and Illinois Wesleyan at Joe Bean Stadium next Wednesday night, and the victor of that semifinal will advance to the CCIW Championship.