Returning to Bob Baptista Invitational hosting duties after taking a break in 2022, the Wheaton men's soccer team faced off against a familiar nonconference foe on Friday night, the Pioneers of UW-Platteville. Having fallen to tonight's guests on the road last year, the Thunder were looking to settle a score on home turf, but the visitors doubled up and captured a 3-1 win to spoil the season-opening party. A late penalty kick goal was not enough for the hosts to salvage a result, but a sizable crowd cheering the team on and a high-energy performance against a quality opponent will soften the blow of the final score as a new season gets underway. 

Platteville generated most of the chances in the first half and equipped themselves well in a tricky opening fixture, but the first half was a relatively even affair in terms of ball possession and attacking sequences. But the game turned on 42 minutes when the away side opened the scoring and took a slim lead into the halftime locker room. The Pioneers wasted no time in doubling their advantage after the break, scoring a bicycle-kick finish from a corner kick scramble in front of the goal, and the Thunder were forced to play catch-up from that point on. The visitors from Wisconsin put the result beyond doubt with a clinical team move in the 80th minute to notch their third goal and wrap up an impressive road victory.

Some good hold-up play in the box from Pryse Anderson yielded a penalty kick opportunity for Wheaton with three minutes remaining, and senior midfielder Jack Jacquet coolly dispatched it in the bottom corner to register the Thunder's first goal of the season. But it was too little, too late on the scoreboard, and Wheaton was forced to rue a second-consecutive loss to the Pioneers.

The box score stats suggest a competitive contest, and Platteville's decisive finishing in front of goal proved to be the difference between the teams. The guests held a 12-11 advantage in shots taken, but each side registered four efforts on frame. The Thunder earned one more corner kick than their opponents and held a 56-44% edge in possession across the 90 minutes. A physical Friday night battle between the squads saw 22 fouls called and seven yellow cards brandished by the referee.

The Thunder will look to earn their first win of the new season and end the Baptista Invitational on a high note when they play host to Principia College at 7 PM on Saturday. The Panthers fell 3-0 to Kalamazoo College in the first matchup of this weekend's four-team event.