WHEATON, Ill. – The Trine University men's soccer team dominated the battle of the Thunder, defeating Wheaton College 3-0. This is just the third meeting between the two teams and the first time Trine has won the match.
Neither team scored during the first half of play, but Trine took a 6-2 advantage in shots into the intermission. Only one shot was on goal in the first half and that came from Wheaton forcing a save from Brandon Walker. The senior finished his shutout performance with three saves.
The Thunder broke the tie in the fifth minute of the second half. Bryan Rodriguez started the play with a pass to the top of the box where Ben Borak was waiting. Borak spun and fired a shot into the left side of the net to give the team the 1-0 lead.
Borak set up an extension to that lead in the 74th minute of play. He slipped a pass through the penalty area, finding Britton Sala on the other side. Sala fired a shot into the bottom right corner of the net for the 2-0 lead.
The final goal of the game came in the 83rd minute when Tyler Niemi got behind most of the defense. He beat the final defender in a one-on-one sprint before firing his shot into the bottom right corner.
The game marks the first time that Trine has scored three goals in a game since October of 2024 in a 3-2 victory against Adrian College. It is the largest margin of victory since the team defeated The University of Olivet by the score of 6-1 in October of 2022.
The Thunder improve to 2-2-1 overall after the victory. They are next set to play when they host North Park University on Saturday, September 19. That match is set to begin at 3 p.m.
