IWU silences storm, shuts out thunder at home
On Saturday, October 1 IWU women’s soccer team defeated and shut out the Wheaton College Thunder 5-0. The game handed the Thunder their first CCIW loss and extended the Titans shutout spree to 4 straight games.
The lopsided win came with a historic feat of three consecutive hat tricks in three contests. This was also the Titans’ most dominant win against the Thunder since 2004. A one to nil first half score sparked the Titans to score 4 more goals in the second half.
Fifth-year midfielder Caelyn Steffens hat trick led the Titans to their commanding win. She scored her 10th goal of the season and her 5th career hat trick.
Senior forward Lauren Shanks scored one goal and contributed two assists while sophomore Liza Matimore scored another goal and earned another assist.
The Green and White’s defensive wall held their own as sophomore goalkeeper Kayla Borg added another clean sheet to her stat line with 7 saves in the game. Borg extended her shutout streak to 441 minutes.
The CCIW awards were announced and IWU swept, winning both the offensive and defensive weekly awards.
Matimore and senior Rachel White won the awards after back to back shutout wins and outscoring their opponents 11-0 on the week. The Titans are the first team this year to sweep both awards.
Titans vanquish Vikings, stay undefeated in CCIW
On Wednesday, October 5, Illinois Wesleyan defeated the Augustana Vikings 3-0 at home. The victory hoisted the Titans to a 4-0-0 record in conference play with a 6-1-2 record overall.
The win also gave the Titans their fifth consecutive shutout, the last four of which have resulted in wins. Kayla Borg tallied 5 saves in the win, continuing her hot streak.
Lauren Shanks kept her scoring spree alive with a goal for the Titans coming just over a minute into the game to give IWU an early lead.
The Titans continued to find strength in Caelyn Steffens, who scored two goals on five shots. After her performance Wednesday, Steffens has scored multiple goals in four straight games, totaling ten scores.
As a team, Wesleyan was able to put consistent pressure on the Vikings, putting up 21 shots to Augustana’s seven.
Women’s soccer hopes to stay undefeated in the CCIW in their Senior Day game against Carroll University on Saturday, October 8.
The Titans will then move to non-conference play in a game against University of Wisconsin – White Water on Tuesday, October 11.