Chicago, Ill. -- The Wheaton men's soccer team headed into the big city on Wednesday night for the first of two matches in Chicago this week and its penultimate non-conference game of the regular season. The Thunder visited the University of Chicago for the latest installment of the two programs' 15-year annual meeting, and the highly-ranked Maroons scored an 83rd-minute winner to claim a narrow 1-0 win tonight. Wheaton's record is 2-5-1 at the halfway point of its schedule, while Chicago now owns a 7-1-0 mark.
The #7 team in the country came into this evening's matchup averaging three goals per game and posted impressive offensive statistics over the 90 minutes of play, racking up 26 shot attempts, nine efforts on target, and 21 corner kicks, as well as a decisive 64-36% possession split. But Wheaton nearly managed to earn a second-successive shutout against the Maroons following last year's 0-0 draw at Bean Stadium thanks to impressive play from goalkeeper
Luke McGuire and a well-organized defensive unit.
The sophomore shot-stopper matched his season-high with eight saves tonight, while the Thunder registered three shots on goal and two corner kick opportunities at the other end.
Reuben Bos led the team with two attempts on Wednesday, and he,
Isaac Lucas, and
Craig Rusin each directed one effort on frame.
Riding a five-match win streak that included victories over fellow CCIW sides Carthage and Carroll, the hosts started the game with plenty of attacking thrust and logged three corners and two shots on target within the opening 15 minutes. Wheaton survived this wave and saw its first opportunity to test the Maroons' defense when Rusin curled a long-range attempt into the arms of the Chicago goalkeeper. This proved to be a temporary respite, and the home side reasserted control in the following minutes. After another long stretch of bend-don't-break defending, the Thunder carved out a corner kick with two minutes left in the half. But no shot attempt came from this, and the two sides entered the locker room still knotted at 0-0.
Wheaton's closest chance on the offensive end came five minutes into the second period, when
Noah Luther's dangerous corner kick delivery was met by the leaping Lucas. The striker nearly managed to direct his header into the top left corner off the bounce, but the Maroons' keeper was alert to the danger and made an effective diving stop to keep the ball out. Chicago then tallied nine corners of their own over the next ten minutes but did not put a single attempt on frame and were left frustrated by the Thunder's defensive effort. Bos attempted a low drive from the top of the box in the 67th minute, but his shot was claimed by the goalie, and this would prove to be the visitors' final effort on target for the night.
A few minutes later, McGuire successfully read a whipped cross into the box that bounced past everyone to nearly sneak in at the back post. A near-post gather in the 81st minute continued his impressive denial of the Maroons' forward line, and the Thunder edged closer to a noteworthy road result. But the top-ten team broke Wheaton hearts two minutes later when a long ball down the right wing was corralled by the Maroons' speedy forward, who danced into the box and unleashed a clinical curling strike into the top left corner to finally break the deadlock. UChicago's offensive pressure paid off as the Thunder were forced to settle for a narrow defeat having worked hard to keep their talented hosts off the scoreboard.Â
After a demanding non-conference stretch to begin the fall, Wheaton will now turn its attention to CCIW competition. The two-time defending regular season champions will head back into the Windy City on Saturday for a 4:00 PM test against old rivals North Park University.
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