Wheaton to play for national title

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — For the fifth time in school history, the Wheaton College women’s soccer team will play for a national championship following Wheaton’s 2-0 win over Ithaca College (15-4-3) on Friday in one of two semifinal matches of the NCAA III women’s soccer tournament.

Wheaton improves its record to 23-1-2 and will face Messiah College in the national championship at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Messiah was a 1-0 winner against William Smith College in Friday’s other semifinal under rainy and wet conditions at the Blossom Soccer Complex.

“It is great to be facing Messiah,” Thunder coach Pete Felske said. “We are both small, Christian colleges that play for something a little bit more than just wins and losses. We both want to win; obviously we will both come out and put on a good effort.”

Wheaton dominated play throughout the match against Ithaca, with a 28-3 edge in shots and a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks. Wheaton outshot the Bombers 15-2 in the first half, but both teams went into the halftime intermission with a scoreless tie.

Wheaton continued to pressure the Bombers early in the second half and it paid off. Keri Shannon sent a pass to Ali Kopelman at the 18-yard box. Kopelman delivered the ball to freshman Anna Seabolt at the 6-yard box, and Seabolt converted with a header into the net at the far post to give Wheaton a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute.

In the 74th minute Katelyn Kishkunas was fouled in the box, prompting a yellow card against the Bombers and a penalty kick to the Thunder. Senior Jaime Orewiler (Wheaton North) converted the penalty kick to give the Thunder the 2-0 edge that would become the final outcome.

“I thought, for us at least, the game started pretty slowly,” Felske said. “We played a little chaotic and rushed to start the game. About 10-15 minutes into the game, I thought we settled down a little bit, got into a groove and moved the ball better. After that I just thought it was a matter of time, after things got rolling we hit the post and we hit the crossbar as we got some nice shots on goal.”