Wheaton, Ill. -- The Wheaton men's soccer team returned to Joe Bean Stadium on Saturday for its penultimate home game of the regular season, welcoming local rival Elmhurst University for the Thunder's Senior Night contest. Tonight's matchup was an even and hard-fought battle, as two late goals saw the teams play to a 1-1 tie. Wheaton's current unbeaten run was extended to four games as a result, and the Thunder now own a conference record of 3-1-2 this fall. Wheaton is currently in a three-team tie for second place in the
CCIW standings heading into the final week of the regular season, although North Park has a game in hand and a head-to-head tiebreak edge over the Thunder.
Prior to kickoff, the seven seniors on this year's roster were honored in a special ceremony.
Ashur Eshw,
Ben Foulk,
David Huber,
Jack Kern,
Jonathan Michael,
Luke Vander Kolk, and
Caden Yamada were all recognized for their contributions to the program over the last few years.
Wheaton enjoyed most of the possession in the opening stages of Saturday's fixture and forced Elmhurst to play on the counter. But it was the Bluejays that carved out early looks at goal, drawing a save from
Luke McGuire on nine minutes and striking the post shortly thereafter. The first half was a period of few chances, as the two squads matched each other's intensity and defensive organization. Elmhurst managed to cause the Thunder back line a few issues, but McGuire was not required to make another stop until denying a header on the very last play of the half. Meanwhile, Wheaton's best opportunity in the first 45 came when
Isaac Lucas (
pictured left)
made an instant impact off the bench by forcing an impressive kick-save by the Bluejays' goalkeeper in the 38th minute. The cagey first frame came to an end with the two sides still deadlocked.
The game's physicality notably increased after the break, with 12 fouls being called and four yellow cards shown by the head referee as the two sides looked to disrupt any attacking momentum built by the other. Both teams tallied a number of set piece opportunities from corner kicks, but the first attempt on target of the second half did not arrive until the 68th minute when McGuire made an excellent sprawling stop to reject an Elmhurst shot from a promising position in front of goal. Vander Kolk then drew a one-armed save from the opposition keeper on 78 minutes via a close-range header.
Just as the prospect of a scoreless draw started to enter the minds of everyone inside Bean Stadium, the Thunder finally found the breakthrough thanks to Lucas and Vander Kolk. The former picked up the ball on the right sideline with just over ten minutes remaining and drove past two Elmhurst defenders before whipping a promising cross into the box from near the corner flag. Vander Kolk managed to shake himself free of any would-be marking defenders and correctly timed his run into the middle of the penalty area. The senior applied a trademark first-time sweeping finish that evaded the Bluejays' shot-stopper and nestled in the lower left corner to put Wheaton ahead. (
VIDEO)
The home crowd's elation lasted only ten minutes, however, as Elmhurst spoiled the occasion with a last-minute equalizer to snatch a draw on the road. A hopeful cross-shot from the left flank was initially denied by McGuire with a fingertip save around the far post. But a nearby defender's instinctive attempted clearance ricocheted off of the goalie and fell kindly for an on-rushing Elmhurst attacker, who swept the ball into the bottom corner to claim a valuable point for his team. Wheaton managed to create one final chance and almost grabbed a thrilling walk-off winner at the other end when Yamada's impressive knock-down header from a corner kick led to an acrobatic volley by
Sam Brown. But the Bluejays' goalkeeper was alert to the danger and scrambled the ball away to keep the score at 1-1.
The full match statistics reflected the balanced nature of the contest, as Elmhurst fired off 16 shot attempts to Wheaton's 14 and put one more effort on goal at a 5-4 count. But the Thunder held advantages in corner kicks and possession at 8-6 and 53-47% measures, respectively.
Vander Kolk's goal was his sixth of the season, moving him level with
Cooper Falling for the team lead in 2026. The Connecticut native paced Wheaton with two efforts on frame this evening, while Brown and Lucas each contributed one in addition to Lucas' assist. McGuire played all 90 minutes in goal and tallied four saves.
Wheaton will go from hosting one local rival to another on Wednesday when it welcomes North Central College to Bean Stadium for the team's final home match of the regular season. Kick-off between the Thunder and the current conference leaders is scheduled for 7 PM.
