Wheaton, Ill. -- The 36th season of Wheaton women's soccer and the 18th annual Bob Baptista Invitational for the women's program kicked off on Friday evening, as the Thunder began their 2024 schedule with a match against the Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders. This was the first-ever meeting between the two programs, and it will not soon be forgotten, as the sides combined for nine goals to begin their respective seasons in exciting fashion. MSOE eventually claimed a decisive 6-3 result in the highest-scoring game that the Thunder have been involved in since Wheaton defeated North Park, 9-0, in November of 2019. Both teams will return to Joe Bean Stadium for another match on Saturday evening to close out the 2024 Baptista Invite.

Friday's curtain-raiser was a tale of two halves, with Wheaton looking the stronger side for a majority of the first half and the scoreline standing at 1-1 heading into the break. But the Raiders came out of the intermission on fire and bagged three goals in the first six minutes of the second period to seal a stylish road win. The hosts logged six shots to MSOE's three in the first half and limited their Wisconsin visitors to only one attempt on frame, but MSOE ended the match with 15 shots to Wheaton's 11 and two more efforts on target. The Thunder earned four corner kicks while MSOE took just one, and Wheaton also fashioned out a 56-44% split in ball possession. No cards were handed out in the 90 minutes of play, but 17 fouls were called in a physical encounter.

Grace Crowder and Mia Blair helped lead the offensive effort for Wheaton on Friday, with the former scoring the first goal of the Thunder's season and helping set up the second, and the latter directly assisting Wheaton's first two goals of the night. Lily Lindquist grabbed her first collegiate goal in the second half and joined Emily Setran on a team-leading two shots on target. Noella Taylor also opened her Thunder account with a buzzer-beating header at the very end of the match, and Julia Tallungan picked up the assist for Taylor's score.

Both halves began in rip-roaring fashion, as MSOE opened the scoring after just 34 seconds and later took a 2-1 lead less than two minutes into the second period. Wheaton responded perfectly to the opening goal in the fourth minute, as Setran found Blair cutting towards the byline on the right side of the box and the senior midfielder rolled the ball back into the path of Crowder, who positioned herself well in front of goal and calmly stroked her shot into the bottom left corner from a few yards out. The remainder of the first half was not as action-packed, with clear-cut chances proving few and far between for both sides. But the Thunder absorbed the Raiders' pressure in the opening 20 minutes and did well to turn the momentum of the game in their favor against a talented opponent that won 20 matches last year in a program-best campaign. With less than four minutes left in the half, it looked as though Wheaton had taken the lead when Blair sumptuously flicked the ball into the path of freshman Abi Edwards, who lifted her shot past the sprawling Raider goalkeeper. But the linesman's flag went up and a marginal offside decision was given against the hosts, denying them the chance to take a 2-1 advantage into the locker room.

MSOE did not waste any time capitalizing on this fortuitous break, sprinting out of the halftime pause with an energy not seen in most of the first half and showing why they are once again expected to be NCAA tournament competitors this fall. Opportunistic attacking play, a committing of more numbers forward, and some precise finishing on goal all combined to see the Raiders pounce on three chances to establish a 4-1 cushion in double-quick time. The visitors were determined not to allow the Thunder back into the contest as they did in the first half and put the scoreline out of reach in the opening minutes of the second period. Just seconds after MSOE added their fifth goal on a quickly-taken free kick, Blair was found by Crowder in the middle of the field and slipped a through ball into the path of Lindquist, who beat her MSOE marker to the ball and toe-poked a sharp finish into the net from the top of the box for her first score in Orange and Blue. The guests completed their scoring haul with 18 minutes to play, but Wheaton got to celebrate the final goal of the night. The Thunder earned a corner kick in the last ten seconds of the game, and Tallungan got it off with just enough time to find the head of Taylor, who leaped past the MSOE keeper to direct the cross into the goal as the final horn sounded (pictured right). It was not enough to prevent defeat on the night, but it underlined Wheaton's admirable spirit against strong opposition. 

The Thunder will look to shake off the sting of Friday's result and claim their first win of the new season when they take on the YellowJackets of LeTourneau University at 7 PM on Saturday. LeTourneau suffered a 4-0 defeat against the Carroll Pioneers in the first match of this weekend's invitational on Friday afternoon.