Bloomington, Ill. – The Wheaton men's soccer team faced the host Titans of Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon in the final match of the regular season for the Thunder. Illinois Wesleyan (9-2-3, 5-1-2 CCIW) defeated Wheaton 6-2 in the contest.
The Titans scored the first of four first-half goals in the 12
th minute as IWU's Gavin Young scored the first goal of the day. The hosts increased their lead to 2-0 approximately 10 minutes later as Ben Lyons scored off of an assist by Young in the 22
nd minute. Daniel Smazil scored for IWU in the 29
th minute and Faheem Mujahid added a goal in the 38
th minute as Illinois Wesleyan led 4-0 at halftime.
Young scored his second goal of the match just four minutes into the second half to increase the Titans' lead to 4-0. Wheaton senior
Luke Vander Kolk scored for the guests in the 70
th minute. Mujahid scored the hosts' sixth goal of the day in the 72
nd minute. Wheaton's
Christian Kim scored his first collegiate goal in the 89
th minute to account for the 6-2 final score.
The Titans out-shot the Thunder 25-19, including a 15-8 advantage in shots on goal. Illinois Wesleyan had an 11-2 advantage in corner kicks, despite Wheaton's narrow 51%-49% advantage in possession. .
Wheaton goalkeeper
Luke McGuire allowed four goals and made three saves in 45 minutes in the Thunder net.
Oli Piasecki played 45 minutes in Wheaton's net, and he recorded six saves with two goals allowed. IWU netminder Owen Boukalik played for the first 70 minutes in goal as he made four saves with one goal allowed. Reid Monken played for the final 20 minutes with two saves and one late goal allowed.
Today's results throughout the league established the six teams that compete in the upcoming CCIW Men's Soccer Tournament that begins next Saturday with two quarterfinal matches. Wheaton (3-3-2, currently fourth) has secured a spot in the tournament. North Park (5-0-2) and North Central (5-0-2) were the first teams to lock up a postseason bid. Illinois Wesleyan (5-1-2), Carroll (3-3-1), and Augustana (2-2-3) have also secured a berth in the tournament.
The CCIW regular season schedule concludes on Wednesday as North Central hosts Augustana and North Park travels to Carroll. Those matches will determine seeds for the upcoming tournament as teams look to earn the quarterfinal byes that go to the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the tournament. The No. 3 seed will host the No. 6 seed next Saturday in one quarterfinal contest, while the fourth seeded team will host the No. 5 seed in Saturday's other quarterfinal matchup.
