Wheaton, Ill. -- Three days after kicking off the 2026 schedule on home turf, the Wheaton women's soccer team returned to Joe Bean Stadium on Friday to open the latest edition of its annual Bob Baptista Invitational. The Thunder faced Aurora University in a game that began nearly 90 minutes after its planned start time due to the heat and unfavorable playing conditions. Wheaton scored once in each half and put in a strong defensive shift to move to 1-1 on the young season with its first win. The visiting Spartans dropped to 0-1 after beginning their campaign with a defeat.
This weekend's invitational began with a neutral site contest that saw Dominican University sail past Greenville University via a 5-0 scoreline. Even with a narrower margin of victory, Wheaton's win in tonight's second game was similarly one-sided as the hosts dominated possession, attempted six times as many shots, and were never truly threatened by their neighboring NACC opponents. Friday's decision marked the second-consecutive victory by that margin for the Thunder over the Spartans, following Wheaton's 2-0 success at Aurora one year ago.
The Thunder posted 17 total shots tonight while limiting the Spartans to just three and racked up 11 corner kicks while not allowing any at the other end. Wheaton enjoyed a noteworthy 69-31% possession split across the 90 minutes of play. Seven different players tallied an effort on goal for the Orange and Blue this evening, while
Lydia Martin and
Leah Roe combined for the shutout in Wheaton's net by each making one save.
The first attempt on frame came seven minutes into the game, as
Olivia Martin fired off a snapshot towards the bottom right corner that was saved by Aurora's shot-stopper.
Brooke Ittersagen drove a long-range effort towards goal seven minutes later, but the Spartans' keeper repelled her effort. After plenty of offensive pressure, dangerous crosses into the box, and multiple offside flags that ended attacking sequences, Wheaton claimed its first lead of the season in the 26th minute through
Calah Strong (
pictured right). Assuming free kick duties after Wheaton drew a foul, the sophomore midfielder backed herself to shoot on goal from approximately 35 yards out. Her powerful and accurate strike deceived the Spartans' goalie and flew into the right side of the net to put the Thunder ahead in style. (
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The tournament hosts maintained their attacking momentum in the second half of the opening period with three more corner kicks and shot attempts but were unable to create further daylight on the scoreboard. Aurora's only attempt of the first half was a shot on target that drew a straightforward stop from Martin, and the Thunder entered the halftime locker room with a deserved lead.
After
Lily Lindquist steered an effort on goal in the opening minutes of the second half, she and fellow senior midfielder
Marissa Davis picked up the team's first assists of the year as they combined in a smooth sequence to put
Liza Timm in on goal for a one-on-one opportunity. The sophomore carried the ball from halfway inside Aurora's half of the pitch and stranded the opposing goalkeeper towards the top of the box before confidently dispatching her shot from 20 yards into the middle of the goal, marking her first collegiate strike. (
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The Thunder tallied two more efforts on target following this 55th-minute goal and conceded one look in front of their own net on the last play of the game. But Roe was alert to the danger and made the save to preserve her team's clean sheet.
With a first win and shutout under its belt, Wheaton will take on Dominican at approximately 7 PM on Saturday as the two victorious sides from tonight's opening round face off in the last match of the invitational. Aurora and Greenville will meet immediately beforehand, with kick-off in the neutral site fixture set for 4:30 PM tomorrow.
