Elmhurst, Ill. -- The 2024 CCIW Women's Soccer Tournament began on Saturday evening with two quarterfinal matches, and as the #5 seed in this year's competition, Wheaton had to travel to Elmhurst University to take on the fourth-seeded Bluejays for a spot in the next round. For the 14th-consecutive time and second time this season, the Thunder emerged victorious from the meeting of suburban sides, and Wheaton's 3-2 win sees the team advance to the CCIW semifinals for the third-straight year under head coach Patrick Gilliam, who is now 2-0 in CCIW quarterfinal contests as the team's manager. Saturday's result maintains Wheaton's impressive record of participating in the semifinal stage of every CCIW Tournament since the conference introduced the competition in women's soccer in 2002.

The hosting Bluejays finally snapped their six-match scoreless drought against Wheaton tonight, but this was not enough to make their home field advantage count, as the Thunder scored three times in the first half to secure the win. The final score suggests a back-and-forth, evenly matched contest, but the full time statistics paint a different picture, with Wheaton enjoying notable advantages in key areas. The Thunder posted nine more shot attempts than the Bluejays could manage and directed a healthy 12 efforts on target compared to just four for Elmhurst. The visitors also won the possession battle at a convincing 58-42% split over the 90 minutes of play.

Fresh off of being named to the All-CCIW First Team on Friday, Mia Blair put in another commanding midfield performance tonight, scoring one goal and assisting another to direct Wheaton's attacking play. Lily Lindquist opened the scoring on the night with her third goal of the campaign, while Emily Setran became the team's outright leading scorer on the year with her sixth strike in 2024. Grace Crowder set up Lindquist's goal this evening, and Elizabeth Clawson earned an assist on Setran's game-winner to tally the first point of her collegiate career. Ten different Thunder players registered shots on target in a full-team display on Saturday. Katherine Ashley and Marissa Davis both steered two efforts on goal, while Kate Creighton, Crowder, Kylie Houghton, Julia Tallungan, and Olivia Martin each chipped in with one attempt on frame.

Defensively, goalkeeper Elizabeth Netz was only called upon to make two saves in her 90 minutes between the posts, and Wheaton did an outstanding job of nullifying Elmhurst striker Lauren Nevins, who has 11 goals to her name this year. Due to the Thunder's organization and diligence, the First Team honoree was not able to attempt a single shot on Saturday despite playing the full match.

The visitors scored a lightning-quick opener tonight to stun the #4 seed in this year's competition, with Lindquist's finish coming on the first shot attempt for either team. With just 1:45 played in the opening half, Blair controlled the ball out of the air in the midfield and executed a nifty turn to find Davis in space. The sophomore moved it up the pitch with an accurate pass to Crowder, who promptly slipped a pinpoint through-ball to Lindquist, whose well-timed run through the middle broke through the Bluejays' back line. The second-year midfielder took a couple of touches to bring the ball into the box before stabbing her shot past the on-rushing keeper into the bottom right corner.

This sweeping move and early breakthrough filled Wheaton with confidence, and the team promptly earned a corner kick and put another effort on target in the 60 seconds following its go-ahead goal. Four minutes later, this pressure paid off as the Thunder's lead was doubled through Blair with her fifth goal of the campaign. A Wheaton free kick was lofted into the penalty area, and when the Bluejays' attempted clearance only managed to find the senior's feet, she quickly shifted the ball onto her left side and lifted an excellently floated effort from the right corner of the box over the head of the unsuspecting Elmhurst goalie.

The hosts also scored from their opening attempt of the game and immediately halved the deficit with the program's first goal against the Thunder since 2018 through a long-range blast into the top left corner. But this surprise strike did not lead to an equalizer, as Wheaton did well to maintain control of the game and not concede another shot to the Bluejays in the remainder of the first half. After two more Thunder efforts on target were saved, the guests restored their two-goal lead five minutes before halftime via another sharp passing sequence. Lindquist deftly flicked the ball into Ashley's path at midfield, and the central defender took advantage of the space in front of her before passing it up for Clawson on the right wing. The sophomore (pictured right) lulled her solo defender to sleep before whipping a quick pass on the ground across the box. Blair arrived on the scene and got a touch on the ball, diverting it into the space where an alert Setran could pounce. The junior attacker quickly ripped a first-time shot into the right side of the net to reclaim the Thunder's cushion and bag her second goal of the season against Elmhurst, with the All-Conference Second Team member's first against the Bluejays also being set up by Blair in a 2-0 win on September 28th. Wheaton fashioned out two more attempts on goal in the last few minutes of the half, but the score was set at 3-1 heading into the break.

The Thunder did not just sit back to protect their lead in the second period, drawing four more saves from the hosts' shot-stopper after halftime. But with a two-goal advantage and the experience of previous successes against Saturday's opponent, Wheaton could afford to manage the game and simply prevent Elmhurst from finding the pair of points it needed to keep its season alive. The Bluejays did give themselves a glimmer of hope thanks to a tidy cross-and-finish with 1:20 remaining in regulation that brought the game to its final scoreline. But the Thunder avoided a nervy conclusion to the contest and saw out the final 80 seconds with little fuss to seal their place in the next round.

Having returned to winning ways and completed the season double over tonight's opponents, the Wheaton women's squad's focus will now turn to its semifinal game. The Thunder face another repeat road trip in 2024, traveling back to Wisconsin just two weeks after their narrow 1-0 regular season defeat to the Carroll Pioneers. Kick-off in the midweek matchup between Wheaton and the #1 seed in this year's tournament is set for 7 PM.