Waukesha, Wis. -- Four nights after a 1-0 home victory over Carthage College, the Thunder men's soccer team traveled north of the state border to take on Carroll University. Wheaton secured a season sweep of the two Wisconsin programs with another one-goal win on Wednesday, topping the Pioneers, 3-2. Tonight's result extends the Thunder's win streak against Carroll to five games and maintains the program's all-time unbeaten record against the Pios at 11-0-1. Three different goalscorers contributed to the midweek victory, and Wheaton's season record is now 5-7-2 with a 3-1-1 mark in conference play. Carroll owns a 2-2-1 tally in CCIW action.
The possession and shooting statistics from tonight's matchup were relatively balanced, as the visitors registered 13 total attempts and put six efforts on target, while the home side fired off 11 shots and directed seven on frame. Carroll earned a marginal 51-49% edge in ball possession across the 90 minutes. The Pioneers took six corner kicks, while the Thunder had just two set piece opportunities from corners. 25 total fouls were given, but no cards were handed out in Wednesday's meeting.
Jack Kern,
Craig Rusin, and
Reuben Bos all scored from their only shot on goal this evening, with the latter pair opening their scoring accounts on the year.
Noah Luther led the team with two attempts on target, and
Cooper Falling chipped in with a shot on frame, as well.
Garrett Belcher and
Luke Vander Kolk earned the assists on Kern's opener. Even with the two goals that Wheaton allowed, goalkeeper
Luke McGuire played an important role in the victory by making five saves and coming up with multiple impressive diving stops to deny the Pioneers' attack.
Falling tested the opposing shot-stopper two and a half minutes after the kick-off, as he sought to replicate his early goal from last Wednesday's match at Augustana. But it was the second attempt of the night that would produce the opening goal, as Wheaton went long and direct from a free kick to beat the Carroll back line. Belcher launched a 53-yard delivery towards the left side of the Pioneers' box, and Vander Kolk peeled away from his marker to knock down a header in Kern's direction. The Texan (
pictured right) reacted sharply to jump in front of a nearby defender and win the ball before twisting his body in mid-air to get an acrobatic chip shot off from 10 yards out. His impressive effort looped over the surprised goalkeeper into the right corner of the net to put Wheaton in front. (
VIDEO)
Carroll needed less than six minutes to answer back, however, with a similarly noteworthy finish that tied the score at 1-1. A dangerous low cross was played into the penalty area from the right wing, and a Pioneers forward attacked the near post with a diagonal run and executed a clinical back-heel flick to steer the ball into the left side of the goal.
Neither squad showed interest in slowing down in the subsequent exchanges, as Luther came close to restoring Wheaton's advantage before McGuire was called on to make two big stops in a two-and-a-half minute span. After a high-octane start to the game, both sides finally allowed themselves to breathe in the closing minutes of the first half, and the opening period ended without any further fireworks.
But the Thunder would pull back ahead eight minutes after the break, as a free kick from the right sideline was whipped in by Rusin (
pictured left).
The junior's powerful, curling blast deceived the Carroll goalkeeper, who misjudged the flight path of the ball and could only palm it backwards off of the underside of the crossbar.
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Wheaton doubled its lead six minutes later in similarly surprising fashion courtesy of the sophomore Bos. Falling fed him the ball on the left flank, and Bos drove 20 yards down the sideline, beating his covering defender for pace before ripping a strong kick into the box. What initially looked to be a cross turned into a superb finish, as it flew over the head of the hapless keeper and buried in the right side of the goal to make it 3-1 in the visitors' favor. (
VIDEO)
With plenty of time still left on the clock after this strike, the result had not yet been decided. But the following 20 minutes did not see the same level of attacking excitement, as each team drew one save at either end and Wheaton managed its lead well. Carroll found a late route back into the contest, however, when it rippled the net again on 80 minutes. A pair of accurate headers off of a throw-in made their way to the same goalscorer, who doubled his tally on the night with some neat touches after finding himself in a 1v1 position in front of goal.
Any fears of a late comeback and dropped points were put to rest, though, as the Thunder confidently saw out the final nine minutes of regulation and did not allow another shot attempt in sealing their important road win.
Wheaton will look to make it three wins on the spin when the team returns home to face Elmhurst University at Joe Bean Stadium on Saturday. This weekend's Senior Night match is scheduled to begin at 7 PM, with a ceremony honoring the seven seniors on the roster immediately preceding kick-off.
