Wheaton, Ill. -- 24 hours after kicking off the 2024 season, the Wheaton women's soccer team returned to Joe Bean Stadium on Saturday night for its second and final match of the annual Bob Baptista Invitational. As was the case in Friday's contest against MSOE, Wheaton faced off against a program it had never met before - the LeTourneau University YellowJackets. Both teams entered the match looking for their first victory of the young season, and the Thunder prevailed, 2-0, in a professional showing to move to 1-1 on the year.

The hosts started the contest on the front foot and fired off four attempts at goal in the opening ten minutes, two of which drew saves from the LeTourneau goalkeeper. The YellowJackets then put two shots of their own on frame, but were mostly limited to counterattacking opportunities and half-chances in the first half. The deadlock was broken 22 minutes in when Lily Lindquist put a cross from the right wing into the box, and Abi Edwards managed to divert the bouncing ball into the path of Mia Blair, who promptly steered her shot into the bottom left corner of the net from inside the area (pictured right). This marked Blair's first goal of the season after picking up two assists in Friday's match and the first collegiate assist for Edwards and was due reward for Wheaton's offensive pressure early on. The Thunder registered three more efforts on goal in the second portion of the opening period but did not manage to extend their lead before the break. LeTourneau grew into the game and finished the half looking considerably more organized and lively going forward, but Wheaton's back line did well to limit them to only one look at goal in the closing minutes of the opening 45.

The invitational hosts hit the reset button at halftime and came out looking the stronger side once more to begin the second period. A three-shot flurry either side of the 54:00 mark finally resulted in the second goal of the evening, as Blair played a well-weighted through ball into the path of Kate Creighton, who placed her shot on target and forced a save from the YellowJacket goalie. But the redirection fell kindly for Emily Setran, and the junior attacker knocked the ball just inside the left post from close range to cement Wheaton's lead and open her scoring account for the season. The last 35 minutes of the contest then became an exercise in game management for the Thunder, who balanced their desire to push forward for more goals with defensive solidity to deny LeTourneau an avenue back into the match. The Texas-based visitors finally forced a pair of saves from Elizabeth Netz in the closing minutes, but Saturday's win was an assured performance from the Wheaton defense, and a comeback never felt likely for the YellowJackets.

Wheaton's control of proceedings on Saturday was reflected in the final stats. The hosts fired off 30 shot attempts and put 13 of them on target, while conceding just five efforts on frame in the 90 minutes of play. The Thunder also enjoyed a decisive 60-40% possession advantage and took five corner kicks to LeTourneau's one.

Netz made five stops in the Thunder goal and enjoyed a relatively drama-free evening to pick up her first collegiate shutout. Just as she did on Friday, Blair helped orchestrate the Wheaton attack tonight, taking three shots, picking up a goal and an assist, and linking play smoothly with some intelligent passes. Setran placed three of her five efforts on target and scored the goal that salted away the win for the home side tonight. Creighton generated a team-high four efforts on frame and earned an assist for Setran's goal while also having a delightful chip shot ruled out for a narrow offside call with 16 minutes remaining in the game. Lauren Walmer, Hannah Lindberg, Lindquist, and Lucie Parrish each contributed at least one attempt on goal in Saturday's win, as well.

After ending its season-opening weekend with a home win, the Wheaton women's soccer team now faces four consecutive road matches as the non-conference schedule continues. The Thunder will play their next three games in Michigan, with the first test coming at Kalamazoo College next Friday. Kick-off for that match is scheduled for 4 PM local time and 3 PM Central.