Naperville, Ill. -- Riding a five-game unbeaten streak and having already secured its place in this year's CCIW Tournament, the Thunder women's soccer team took the short drive over to North Central College on Wednesday night for the final match of the regular season. The hosting Cardinals earned a 2-0 victory tonight to claim an outright regular season conference title, marking the second time in the last three years that NCC has won the trophy with a perfect 8-0-0 record in league play. Wednesday's result, combined with 1-0 victories for both Carthage and Illinois Wesleyan in their matches, saw Wheaton finish in fifth place in the CCIW standings with a conference record of 3-2-3, narrowly missing out on the opportunity to host a quarterfinal fixture this weekend. The Thunder head into the postseason with an overall record of 6-5-6 and will travel to Bloomington on Saturday for a first round contest against fourth-seeded IWU.
Neither side found the back of the net in the first half of this evening's matchup, but the flow of the game was controlled by the hosts, as North Central tallied eight shot attempts and enjoyed 57% of the possession while not allowing a single effort at goal from the visitors. Wheaton defended well against the regular season champions, however, as the guests surrendered just two attempts on target and the same number of corner kicks in the opening 45 minutes.
The Cardinals' offensive pressure paid off almost immediately after the restart, as North Central took the lead less than 30 seconds into the second frame. The home side doubled its advantage on the scoreboard eight minutes later when the same NCC attacker bagged her second goal of the night to put her team within touching distance of a perfect conference record. Wheaton did not register its first shot of the match until the 69th minute, but the Thunder were able to establish an attacking threat from that point on, firing off six more efforts in the final 20 minutes, five of which were on target. Both goalkeepers were required to make five saves following North Central's second goal, and sharp shot-stopping from each keeper meant that the scoreline remained at 2-0 when the final whistle sounded.
The Cardinals posted 18 shots in Wednesday's fixture and put eight of their attempts on goal, compared to respective tallies of seven and five for the Thunder. Each squad took five corner kicks, and Wheaton saw considerably more of the ball in the second half, ultimately finishing the game with a 51-49% possession edge. North Central employed a physical approach tonight, being whistled for 11 fouls and drawing both of the match's yellow cards.
Lily Lindquist led the Thunder with two shots on goal, while
Marissa Davis,
Hannah Lindberg, and
Lauren Walmer each contributed an effort on target, as well.
Leah Roe made six stops in the Wheaton net.
The Thunder women's team now faces a short turnaround ahead of its CCIW Tournament quarterfinal match on Saturday, with kick-off between Wheaton and Illinois Wesleyan set for noon in Bloomington. Victory in this weekend's match would see Wheaton head right back to Naperville, as the winner of the quarterfinal contest will play top-seeded North Central in next Wednesday's semifinal round.
