Kenosha, Wis. -- For the second season in a row, the Thunder men's soccer team left the state and headed north to Carthage College for a mid-October road match. And just as it did last year, Wheaton secured a high-scoring victory over the Firebirds tonight to maintain its pursuit of a regular season CCIW title. The visitors scored seven times in a wild ten-goal encounter to claim a decisive three points and improve to 4-1 in conference play this season. Wednesday's thrilling matchup marked the first time since September 2021 that the Wheaton men's soccer program notched seven goals in a single game, and the team was led by the potent attacking duo of Pryse Anderson and Kyle Johnson, who combined for four goals and two assists in the win.

The Thunder conveyed their offensive intent right from the first whistle on Wednesday and scored just four minutes into the match to claim an early advantage. After the Carthage keeper had to make a sprawling kick-save, Luke Vander Kolk nodded down the short clearance for Mason Louth, who directed his touch into the path of Anderson. After some effective movement in the six-yard box, the senior striker was all too happy to nudge the ball home from close range to provide an early harbinger of what was to come. The hosts needed less than a minute to equalize via a sharp near-post strike, but Wheaton did well to immediately reclaim its lead before the six-minute mark in a rip-roaring opening few minutes. The team with the most corner kicks taken in the CCIW this season earned its first of the night, and the ball made its way to Wesley Seneff, who steered it to the left side of the box where an eager Johnson was waiting to thump it into the goal with a powerful first-time hit.

Even after this three-goal flurry to begin the contest, neither side was in the mood to step off the gas pedal, and the following exchanges were full of attempts on target and corner kicks won as a result of steady offensive pressure at both ends. With just under 20 minutes played, the Thunder doubled their lead from another set piece routine. A second corner kick in quick succession was steered on frame by Johnson, and while neither his or Anderson's touches were put in the back of the net, Louth turned scorer himself by alertly pouncing on the rebound at the back post to make it 3-1. Once again, the Firebirds found a quick response to match the scoreline from last season's meeting in just 23 minutes this time around. But continuing with the see-saw pattern of the game, Wheaton again doubled its lead before the break when Anderson converted a goal all of his own making to push the score to 4-2. The Texan forced a Carthage giveaway in the 29th minute and carried the ball from his own half of the field to the opposing penalty area while shrugging off two defenders before slotting the ball into the bottom right corner as he was falling down in an impressive display of strength and composure. Somewhat surprisingly, the last 15 minutes of the opening period did not see any scoring, and the Thunder held a two-goal advantage at the end of a breathless first half.

Forced to chase the game, the home side did most of the attacking in the first 15 minutes of the second half, but Wheaton only allowed two shots on goal during this stretch, and a Carthage own goal on 62 minutes effectively wrapped up the Thunder 's win at 5-2. Anderson was once again involved, feeding the ball out to Cooper Falling on the right side of the field, who cut inside and fired a low cross into the box, where Vander Kolk executed a clever step-over to surprise the unfortunate Firebirds defender marking him into directing the ball into his own net. This mishap finally took the wind out of the hosts' sails, and Carthage registered just two more efforts on frame in the remainder of the contest. Wheaton made it six with 15 minutes left to play when Garrett Belcher zipped a pass from the left wing into the feet of Vander Kolk, who once again showed great awareness in the box and played a reverse layoff into the path of Johnson. The junior attacker wasted no time in rifling his shot from the left side onto the underside of the crossbar and into the top corner to claim his second strike of the night and team-leading eighth goal of the season. Cameron Hoober then put his name on the scoresheet in the 87th minute with the tenth and final goal of the match when Noah Penner floated a lovely pass from his own half for the senior to run onto. Hoober picked it up 25 yards from goal and held off the Carthage defender in pursuit to calmly slip the ball underneath the out-rushing goalkeeper to put the bow on a memorable Wheaton win.

The Firebirds attempted three more shots than their guests on Wednesday and enjoyed 59% of the possession, but the Thunder made their shots and time on the ball count, putting an impressive 14 of their 18 efforts on goal compared to just nine for Carthage. Despite the high energy and intensity of Wednesday's contest, it was a relatively clean affair with less than 20 fouls called and no cards handed out to either side.

Wheaton's front two had a night to remember, and Johnson's brace moved him into second place on the current conference top scorers list. His 19 total points on the year are currently the second-most in the league. Anderson is just behind his strike partner on 18 points, and the senior was the most efficient attacker on the field tonight, as he put all four of his attempts on target. Louth and Hoober got in on the fun with their third and second strikes of the season, respectively. Vander Kolk provided a pair of assists in the victory, while Anderson, Belcher, Johnson, Louth, Penner, and Seneff each contributed one assist in the lopsided result. Mason Escalante made six saves en route to his eighth win of the year.

After a stunning offensive performance and a seventh win from their last eight fixtures, the Thunder men will look to keep their strong form going when their road travels continue on Saturday. Wheaton will head south to Decatur for a key matchup with the Millikin Big Blue at 7 PM.