Waukesha, Wis. -- After reeling off six-consecutive victories in conference play, the Thunder men's soccer team traveled north to Wisconsin on Wednesday night knowing that a seventh league win would see it clinch at least a share of this year's CCIW regular season title. Wheaton got the result it was looking for with a 2-1 victory at Carroll University, and coupled with Illinois Wesleyan's draw at North Central, tonight's outcomes were enough to see the Orange and Blue clinch a second-consecutive regular season trophy and a record-extending 22nd title for the conference's most successful men's soccer program. Wheaton's win streak stands at eight games, and the team now owns an overall record of 11-2-3, matching the squad's highest number of wins in a season under head coach Steve McCrath. Wednesday's victory also marked the second time under McCrath's guidance that the Thunder won all four of their CCIW road matches, last doing so in his first campaign at the helm in 2022.

Wheaton secured this year's trophy with a game to spare despite being picked to finish second in the league in August's preseason coaches' poll and not receiving a single first-place vote. The Thunder topped the preseason favorites, North Park, 1-0, in Chicago on October 4th and now sit an impressive 12 points ahead of their old rivals in the current standings.

In addition to the regular season title, Wheaton has locked up the #1 seed for the 2025 CCIW Men's Soccer Championship and will host a semifinal match at Joe Bean Stadium on Wednesday, November 5th, marking the fourth-consecutive year that the Thunder have earned the right to host a conference tournament semifinal. Wheaton will face the winner of a quarterfinal match between the #4 and #5 seeds, and more details about the fixture will be announced in the coming days.

Wednesday's visitors played like a team on a mission, creating advantages in all the box score statistics against a scrappy Carroll outfit. Wheaton out-shot its Wisconsin host by a decisive margin of 15-6 and put seven efforts on target compared to only three by the Pioneers. The Thunder carved out five corner kick opportunities to Carroll's three and logged a 53-47% possession advantage across the 90 minutes of play. The home side employed a physical approach tonight and were whistled for ten fouls while being shown both of the game's yellow cards.

Jack Kern (pictured right) netted for the second-straight game and led all players with three shots on goal this evening. Craig Rusin powered the Thunder attack again just as he did in Saturday's 
victory over Millikin, picking up an assist on Kern's opener and scoring the game-winner early in the second half. Luke Vander Kolk tallied a joint conference-high 27th point of the season with his assist on Rusin's strike, while Cooper Falling moved into second place in the league's assist table with his team-leading seventh of the campaign on Kern's goal. Three-time CCIW Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week Jack Krahel saw his three-match shutout streak end on Wednesday, but the graduate goalkeeper still got to enjoy a fairly straightforward outing, only being called upon to make two saves in helping the Thunder earn their eighth-consecutive win.

Wheaton's last visit to Waukesha in 2022 resulted in a memorable 5-4 thriller, but the same amount of fireworks were not required this time, as the Thunder grabbed a goal in each half and put in a stout defensive performance to notch tonight's crucial victory. Vander Kolk logged the game's first shot on target at the 15-minute mark, and the Thunder opened the scoring two minutes later, as Rusin collected the ball in the defensive midfield position and sprayed a 53-yard pass up to Falling on the right wing. The sophomore wasted no time in centering the ball perfectly into the path of the advancing Kern, who lifted a stylish one-touch chip shot from the top of the box over the out-rushing Carroll goalkeeper to put Wheaton in front.

The Pioneers had no immediate response and were unable to even attempt another shot until the 44th minute thanks to the Thunder's controlled approach. But Wheaton failed to extend its advantage before halftime, and the hosts got back on terms just before the break from a rare defensive lapse. A return pass from a Carroll throw-in was launched into the penalty area, and the two Thunder defenders in the vicinity allowed the ball to bounce, giving an opportunistic attacker the chance to turn and fire off a first-time shot at goal. Krahel was quick to jump off his line to deny this initial effort, but his block sat up nicely for the same Pioneer player to have another swing, and the second attempt was buried in the bottom right corner to tie the score at 1-1 against the run of play. Wheaton managed to create one more chance before the intermission from a free kick on the right flank, but Falling saw his diving header denied at the near post, and the teams entered the locker rooms level.

Despite this frustrating end to the first period, the Thunder did not have to wait long to regain their lead after halftime. A sharp and quick passing sequence in the midfield brought the ball to the feet of Vander Kolk, and Wheaton's leading goalscorer drove inside from the right wing before playing an intelligent 10-yard pass into Rusin at the top of the box. The sophomore (pictured left) took one touch to wrong-foot the nearest Carroll  defender before rifling a fierce driving effort into the lower right corner to stun the Pioneer defense and restore Wheaton's advantage. The goal marked his third strike of the season, joining Wednesday's first goalscorer on three for the year, with Kern and Rusin each netting in consecutive games. 

The visitors again asserted control over proceedings in the following minutes and did not allow any rapid response from the home side, as Wheaton looked to close out its title-clinching victory. Carroll tested Krahel midway through the frame with two looks at the near post, but the Georgia shot-stopper was alert to the danger and smothered the ball before any lurking Pioneers could stab it home. The hosts had one last chance to snatch a draw and put Wheaton's outright title celebrations on hold, but a 90th-minute reaction shot inside the box was blasted over the goal, and the Thunder held on for their most valuable three points to date.

Having wrapped up a dominant regular season title win, the Wheaton men now get to enjoy the upcoming weekend away from the pitch, as the team has its bye in the conference schedule rotation. The Thunder will return to play next Wednesday in their regular season finale, with Wheaton hosting North Central College in a 7 PM match at Bean Stadium. The Thunder are looking to become the first side since North Park in 2021 and just the third overall since 2015 to complete a perfect regular season conference slate by winning all eight of their CCIW fixtures.