Wheaton, Ill. -- After three-consecutive road matches, the Thunder men's soccer team returned to Joe Bean Stadium tonight to welcome the tenth-ranked team in the country, the North Park Vikings, to renew the two sides' annual conference rivalry. Saturday's match served as this year's Homecoming game for Wheaton and the team's conference home opener, having begun the CCIW slate with a victory at Elmhurst last weekend. For the second time in the last three seasons, an unranked Wheaton outfit pulled off the upset over a top-ten North Park squad and threw down an early marker in the conference title chase. The hosts earned a hard-fought 1-0 win thanks to a first-half own goal and a second-half penalty save to collect their fifth-consecutive victory and third-straight shutout. Wheaton's record now stands at 6-4-1 and 2-0 in CCIW action, while North Park slips to 7-1-4 and 1-1-1 in conference play, as the Thunder snapped the Vikings' 11-match unbeaten run to start the season.

The two teams combined for 27 shot attempts in Saturday's meeting, but clear-cut attacking chances were few and far between, reflected in the total of just two efforts on goal for the hosts through 90 minutes of play. Some of the best scoring opportunities of the contest, including the game's only goal, came through deflected shots, unexpected bounces, and scrappy forward play. While the Thunder only forced two saves from their Windy City visitors, North Park put the Wheaton back line under pressure and drew nine stops from the reigning CCIW Goalkeeper of the Year. The Vikings also held a 10-6 advantage in corner kicks. Possession of the ball was virtually even, with the Thunder barely edging it at 51-49% in the competitive contest. Saturday's rivalry game was a typically feisty affair, with 35 fouls called and five yellow cards handed out by the busy official.

Mason Escalante stood on his head multiple times in tonight's match to keep out a talented North Park offense, and one of his nine saves on Saturday was a penalty kick denial to preserve the Thunder's slim lead. His impressive 54th-minute rejection marked his second penalty kick save of the season and the fourth of his collegiate career in regulation. It was also his second time denying a North Park player from the spot at Bean Stadium in successive seasons, having also stopped a penalty kick in the final moments of last year's 3-1 home win over the Vikings. Pryse Anderson was the only Wheaton player to put a shot on target in tonight's win, accounting for both of the team's efforts on goal in the second half, and the senior led all players with three attempts from open play on Saturday.

With both teams employing a cautious approach in the early exchanges of the matchup, it took 11 minutes for the first shot on goal to arrive, and Escalante logged his first stop of what would prove to be a lively night. The Thunder fashioned out three corner kicks either side of the 17-minute mark and fired off two attempts in between but failed to trouble the North Park defense with this flurry. After the home keeper notched another pair of saves, the opening and ultimately decisive goal arrived in strange fashion on 35 minutes. Immediately following a throw-in that was lofted into the Vikings' penalty area, John Hearn looped a hopeful pass towards the top of the box and Cameron Hoober was on hand to cause confusion between the North Park center backs who failed to successfully clear their lines. An unfortunate Viking defender tried to kick the ball backwards over his head to alleviate the danger but only managed to strike it off of his knee and ended up floating the ball perfectly over his shot-stopper into the net for an own goal. This proved to be the only attempt on the visitors' net in the first half, and Wheaton defended well in the final minutes of the period to claim a slim lead against the odds heading into the break.

Each side began the second half with more offensive urgency, and after North Park drew a fourth stop from Escalante, Anderson answered back with the hosts' first effort on target of the game in the 50th minute. The pivotal moment of the match arrived four minutes later when a North Park attacker was pulled down near the top of the penalty area and Wheaton surrendered just its second spot kick of the season so far. The Vikings' captain stepped up to take it and backed himself to equalize at 1-1 with a powerful left-footed strike, but Escalante was up to the challenge and sprung down to his left to make a superb save that kept the hosts' 1-0 lead intact (VIDEO).

Rejuvenated by their captain's contribution, the Thunder pushed numbers forward in the following minutes and registered three shot attempts and a corner kick, including Anderson's second effort on goal. But Wheaton was not able to penetrate a Vikings back line that has only conceded eight goals all year, and the final 20 minutes became an exercise in game management for the underdogs. North Park forced Escalante to make four more stops, including an impressive reaction save on which the senior saw the bouncing ball late and tipped the shot away from the top left corner to which it was headed. But for all of the Vikings' offensive talent and their determination to preserve their unblemished record in 2024, the veteran goalkeeper and his fellow defenders successfully kept their shutout streak alive with a clutch performance and gave their large Homecoming crowd something to celebrate in the last sporting event of the weekend.

After earning a gritty and noteworthy result in front of the home faithful tonight, the Thunder men will host another unbeaten team at Bean Stadium on Wednesday night. The Illinois Wesleyan Titans (7-0-2, 1-0) come to town for a 7 PM matchup with two perfect CCIW records on the line.