Wheaton, Ill. -- The Thunder women's soccer team returned to Joe Bean Stadium on Saturday evening after three consecutive non-conference road matches, but the opposition did not get any easier with home field advantage as the unbeaten UW-La Crosse Eagles came to town. Wheaton put up an admirable resistance in the first half of today's contest, keeping the high-scoring 13th-ranked team in the country out of their goal. But a quick flurry of three scores early in the second half by La Crosse put the result beyond reach for the hosts, who slipped to their fourth-straight defeat against tough opposition. Grace Crowder opened her collegiate scoring account for the Thunder this evening to deny the visitors a clean sheet.

The guests from Wisconsin earned a sizable advantage in shots taken and attempts on frame in the match at 27-8 and 15-5, respectively, but until the Eagles broke the deadlock after halftime, the quality of those chances was fairly even between the teams. La Crosse also posted three more corner kicks than the Thunder at a 7-4 split. The away side won the possession battle, but Wheaton did well to earn 44% of the ball as the defensive-minded underdogs in the game. The hosts also forced four saves out of the Eagles' goalkeeper.

Myah Schoolman hit double-figures in saves for the first time as Thunder shot-stopper, tallying 13 this evening in a busy and focused performance. Katherine Ashley, Maddie Grinstead, and Danie Nishiyama each registered one shot on goal in the contest, while Crowder scored from one of her team-high two efforts on frame. Audrey Sexson collected her first assist of the season on the freshman's goal.

The Eagles came into Saturday's matchup with a season goal differential of +15 and had only conceded in one of their opening five fixtures, but the Thunder created the first attacking chances of the contest. Katherine Ashley accounted for the opening shot on goal just shy of five minutes in, and this was followed by a succession of Wheaton corner kicks and efforts at the La Crosse goal as the home side sought a surprise early lead. It took the visitors 13 minutes to earn their first attempt on frame, but Schoolman did not put a foot wrong in the opening 45 and made seven saves to keep out the high-powered La Crosse attack. Wheaton's offensive spark cooled down after the opening exchanges, but their defensive unity and wisely-applied possession nullified the guests' attacking strength. UW-La Crosse struck the crossbar with ten seconds remaining in the half, but this was the closest they came to grabbing a halftime lead.

Wheaton began the second half in similar fashion, drawing two saves from the opposition keeper in the first three minutes of play. But La Crosse jumped out in front when their leading scorer popped up to turn home a shot from close range following an impressive stop by Schoolman that Wheaton failed to clear away in time. This was an obvious blow to the hosts' momentum, and the Eagles doubled their lead just five minutes later via an unfortunate own goal situation. Shortly after going up 2-0, it was three for La Crosse in a case of deja vu as Schoolman made another good reflex save that was bungled home at the far post by an in-rushing Eagles attacker. 

This rapid fire three-goal stretch prematurely ended what had been a competitive contest, but the hosts showed good spirit and barely let their energy drop after falling behind. Their persistence was rewarded on 75 minutes when Sexson collected the ball outside of the La Crosse box, juggled it a few times to maintain possession, then slipped a sideways pass to Crowder near the top of the area. The rookie executed a perfect spin-turn on the ball to shrug off one defender before using the momentum of another pressing Eagle to rifle the ball into the bottom right corner from distance. The long-range strike kissed off the post on its way past the diving La Crosse goalkeeper and drew a loud roar from the Wheaton crowd as it was a deserved point of consolation for the team's performance on the whole.

Wheaton welcomes another talented non-conference opponent to Bean Stadium on Wednesday night. The Thunder and the Hope Flying Dutch are scheduled to face off under the lights at 6:30 PM.