Naperville, Ill. -- One week after its regular season visit to North Central College, the Wheaton Thunder women's soccer team returned to Naperville to play the Cardinals in the CCIW Tournament semifinals after topping IWU in a penalty shootout in Saturday's quarterfinal round. Tonight's contest was North Central's first tournament match after earning the top spot in the table and a first-round bye thanks to its regular season title win. Wheaton was eliminated from the conference playoffs tonight in a 4-0 loss.
North Central got the scoring started ten minutes in off a corner kick. A Cardinals defender found the head of a forward from the set piece for a shot that was initially saved but rebounded back to another member of North Central, who put it away the second time herself.
In the 27th minute, Wheaton made a run at the NCC net, going from end to end on a shot that ultimately missed wide left but was the best chance the Thunder had garnered in the match to that point.
North Central netted its second goal of the match on 32 minutes coming off a nice counterattack. Their forward delivered a beautiful through-ball, which was in turn crossed into an open area in the center of the box. The ensuing shot attempt found the bottom right corner of the net, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 advantage.
The hosts got their third goal of the game from the same player just two minutes later off a shot from the top of the box. The Cardinals forward planted with her left, spun, and delivered with her right, stretching North Central's lead to 3-0 with a clinical finish.
The tournament's top seed scored again in the 57th minute from a successful crossing opportunity that completed the night's scoreline.
Calah Strong nearly pulled one back for the Thunder five minutes later, but the opposition goalkeeper was up to the task, and North Central repeated its shutout of a week ago.
Wheaton was outshot 28-6 in Wednesday's effort, with North Central tallying an impressive 15 attempts on target to the Thunder's one. NCC also carved out 12 corner kicks and enjoyed a 60-40% possession split in a professional showing.
Leah Roe recorded ten saves for the second-consecutive game, while Strong led the team with four shots and one effort on frame.
North Central advances to face second-seeded North Park University in Saturday's championship match, while the Thunder women's squad finishes its season with a record of 6-6-7 and a 3-2-3 mark in conference play. Wheaton earned the #5 seed in this year's CCIW Tournament and extended the program's 22-year streak of reaching the conference semifinals.
