Wheaton, Ill. -- The Wheaton women's soccer team wrapped up its two-game home weekend with a matchup against Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the final contest of the 2023 Bob Baptista Invitational this afternoon. A much more offensive affair than yesterday's 0-0 tie with Trine, the Thunder twice fought back from a goal down to earn a 2-2 draw with a strong Blugolds outfit on Saturday. Senior midfielder
Audrey Sexson tallied the first and second goals of the season for Wheaton to help the Thunder secure an unbeaten weekend at home.
The visitors had the majority of the attacking chances across the 90 minutes, outshooting their hosts 17-9 and earning four more corner kicks. But the Thunder were more accurate with their finishing, putting six of their nine attempts on frame and forcing four saves from the Blugolds keeper.
Myah Schoolman had to make five saves herself, including a couple of impressive full-extension blocks. Eau Claire enjoyed 60% of the game's possession.
Sexson accounted for half of the hosts' efforts on goal today, putting all three of her shots on target.
Morgan Beamer,
Katherine Ashley, and
Ellen Love each posted one shot on frame, as well, and
Lucie Parrish earned her first collegiate assist on Sexson's first half goal.
The Blugolds made their attacking intent clear early on by registering a pair of efforts on goal in the first ten minutes, and they opened the scoring just before the 15-minute mark with a smooth team move and clinical finish from the top of the box. The Thunder struggled to deal with their opponent's energy and cohesiveness in the opening exchanges, but a heat-dictated water break halfway through the period gave the hosts a chance to regroup and change their approach. A minute after the restart, Parrish found Sexson at the front right corner of the box, and the senior displayed some calm footwork to move around a pair of Blugold defenders and coolly place her shot in the bottom corner past the helpless goalkeeper.
Both teams registered another couple of looks at goal before the halftime whistle, but the period ended with a 1-1 scoreline, as Eau Claire were pinned back into their own half more frequently by Wheaton and the game developed a balanced rhythm. However, it did not take long for the travelers from Wisconsin to reestablish their lead once the second half got underway. Three minutes into the half, Eau Claire played a direct long ball over the top and the receiving Blugold attacker showed great awareness to chip her shot into the net from the top of the box. The away side followed this up with another pair of shot attempts as they looked to double their advantage and pull away from the Thunder for good.
But Wheaton refused to lie down on home soil, and Sexson once again rode to the rescue in the 58th minute, burying a straight-on free kick attempt from 25 yards out by directing her shot through the Eau Claire wall and precisely into the bottom corner. The Thunder were forced to play on the back foot for most of the contest, but the team showed great resolve to find an answer both times they fell behind. After Sexson's second equalizer, the game took on a more cautious style as both sides did their best to avoid a disappointing defeat. Wheaton tallied the final two shots on frame in the game but no more goals arrived, and the two teams earned the right to reflect on a positive weekend.
After registering consecutive ties to begin this fall's campaign, the Thunder women will travel to Rochester, New York next Friday and Saturday for a pair of nonconference road matches against RIT and Nazareth College, respectively.
