Wheaton advances to Sectional final with dominating 5-0 victory over Wartburg

Wheaton, Ill. - The Wheaton men's soccer team moved one step closer to reaching its first Final Four since 2006 with a 5-0 victory over Wartburg on Friday night at Joe Bean Stadium. The Thunder played clinical possession soccer throughout the first half and established a 3-0 halftime lead before cruising through the second half. With the victory, Wheaton advances to Saturday night's Sectional Final against Trinity University (Texas) at 5 PM at Joe Bean Stadium. The Tigers rallied in the second half to defeat Loras College 2-1.

Wheaton dominated the game's possession and owned a 21-7 shot advantage including a 17-4 edge through the first half. Wheaton attempted four corner kicks while the Knights tried just two. Matt Paprocki made three saves in recording his 10th shutout of the season. Austin Boyke made two saves and allowed four goals in 72:43 in goal for the Knights. Zak Kohlmeyer allowed one goal in the final 17:17.

The Thunder wasted no time establishing the tone for the game in the opening minutes by dominating the possession with a dazzling display of passing. Jordan Golzlooked to have Wheaton on the board in the fifth minute with an open net in front of him but Boyke made a spectacular save to keep the game scoreless. Just a few minutes later, the Thunder punched through as Noah Anthony's (PICTURED RIGHT) shot from outside the box slipped through Boyke's hands and rolled into the net to put Wheaton ahead 1-0 at the 9:21 mark. Exactly six minutes later it was Wheaton's leading scorer who padded the lead. Adam Blackman set up the goal with a driven shot from the left side of the box that was saved by Boyke but rebounded straight to Stephen Golz who easily finished his 18th goal of the season to make it 2-0.

Not to be outdone, Jordan Golz was able to cash in in similar fashion in the 36th minute when the finished a rebound off a deflected Brendan Finnerty shot to give Wheaotn a 3-0 edge. Wheaton nearly made it 4-0 in the final minute of the half but a header by Max Carey soared just wide of the post.

Despite the late miss, the opening seconds of the second half provided the Thunder with an opportunity to continue to extend its lead. Pressuring the back line of the Knights, Marshall Hollingworth intercepted a pass out of the back and flew around a pair of Knight defenders before sliding the ball across the face of goal to Stephen Golz for his second goal of the night to make it 4-0 just 43 seconds into the second half. Wheaton played possession for most of the second half but a late miscue by the Knights led to one final Thunder goal. Again bringing pressure, Trevor Adams (PICTURED LEFT) was able to deflect a Knights clearance into space behind the defense and then dribble around the oncoming goalie to finish an open net goal and provide the fifth and final tally of the night for the Thunder in the 74th minute.

Wheaton will face Trinity (Texas) at 5 PM on Saturday night at Joe Bean Stadium with the winner punching the first ticket to the Final Four in Kansas City on December 5-6.

Note Worthy: With two goals tonight, Stephen Golz moved into a 12th place tie with Andrew Taylor (1981-84) with 39 career goals...tonight marked the fourth time this season that both Jordan and Stephen Golz have scored in the same match...with the victory, Wheaton secured its first 20-win season since 1997 and just the fifth in program history...Wheaton advances to the Sectional finals for the first time since 2012.