On a sunny September Tuesday afternoon, #1 ranked Wheaton College came to Alma to take on the Scots in a non-league contest at Scotland Yard and came away with a hard-fought 4-2 victory. With the loss, Alma is now 3-3 on the season, while the Thunder improved to a perfect 6-0 in 2013.

"Today provided more insight and belief that we can play with anybody in the country," said Alma Head Coach Jeff Hosler. "This is the first time all year that Wheaton has conceded two goals and we deserved at least one more based on the number of quality goalscoring chances we generated.

"We started slowly and that ultimately affected a below average first half. To beat a team of that caliber, you really have to make all of the right plays at the right times and the ball has to bounce your way on occasion. Unfortunately they capitalized and two of their goals came off of crosses that are normally dealt with by us. Not taking anything away from them, because they were a goal or two better than us today."

The visitors came out of the gate strong and pressured the Scots throughout the first 10 minutes of the match. Their persistence paid off as they took a 1-0 lead at the 19:44 mark when Sydney Sharkey came down the middle and got a shot past Alma Fr. GK Julie DeBus (Howell, Mich./Hartland).

The two teams were pretty even the rest of the first half and the Scots got the equalizer at 34:17 when Sr. M/F Taryn Handyside (Montrose, Mich./Hill-McCloy) scored off of a center pass from Fr. F Brianna Russell (Plainwell, Mich./Delton Kellogg). The joy was short lived however, as Wheaton went ahead 2-1 just 20 seconds later on a goal by Leah Demoss at 34:37. That ended the scoring as the Thunder went into halftime up a goal.

The next 30 minutes were played very evenly with the Thunder looking for that two-goal lead and the Scots trying desperately for the tie. Wheaton won that battle at the 75:49 mark when All Witt scored from inside the 18 for a 3-1 advantage. The Thunder then effectively put an end to the contest with another tally at 79:51 by DeMoss that put the home team down by three.

The Scots, like always, don't quit until the final whistle and today was no different. Jr. M/F Kailey Vlug (Coopersville, Mich./Coopersville) scored at the 86:11 mark, assisted by Russell and Fr. M Jessica Burg (Grand Ledge, Mich./Grand Ledge). But, time would run out as Wheaton walked off the pitch with the 4-2 victory.

Wheaton outshot Alma by a margin of 24-14, including 13-7 in shots on goal. DeBus saved nine shots in the loss, while Handyside and Jr. F Mackenzie Smith (Saginaw, Mich./Nouvel) led the team with two shots on goal a piece. They had four and three total shots respectively.

On Saturday, the Scots will continue MIAA action as they head to Olivet to take on the Comets. Match time is scheduled to start at Noon.