WHEATON, IL - The UW-Eau Claire soccer team had its magical season come to an end tonight when they were defeated by the defending national champions Wheaton College in overtime by a score of 1-0 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

With a 20 minute delay to the start of the match and three delays totaling 47 minutes due to lightning during the match the fourth-ranked Thunder and the Blugolds needed overtime to see who would advance.

The Blugolds, coming off a thrilling win the night before in a sudden death shootout over Augustana, got on the board early when Maria Iaizzo (Jr.-White Bear Lake, MN) scored two minutes into the match to give the Blugolds a 1-0 lead. The Blugolds defense then held tough including two saves by goalie Liz Weirick (So.-Kenosha, WI/Tremper) and the Blugolds went to the half with a one goal advantage.

Wheaton, however tied the match up at 56:36 when the Thunder's Kari Klynstra scored from 10 yards out. Both teams went back-and-forth and after regulation the match was still tied at 1-1.

The Thunder came out firing in overtime. Goalie Allie Rivard (Fr.-Wayzata, MN) stopped the first two shots for the Blugolds, but she could not stop the third. Just under six minutes into overtime the Thunder's Laura Koontz scored to give the Thunder the victory and eliminate the Blugolds.

The Blugolds end with a 15-3-5 record overall. The 15 wins are tied for the fourth-most wins in the team's history. This was the farthest that any Blugolds' soccer team had ever been

Eau Claire-Wheaton box score

- JR -