Pictured: Wheaton claimed its 19th CCIW regular season title, 13th CCIW Women's Soccer Tournament title, as well as its first NCAA regional title since 2013 last season.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Defending College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) champion Wheaton was picked to win the 2018 CCIW women's soccer title according to the results of the conference's annual preseason coaches' poll announced Wednesday.
The Thunder (15-5-3, 7-0-1) won the poll with 63 points and seven first place votes following their 19th CCIW regular season and 13th CCIW Women's Soccer Tournament titles last season. Additionally, Wheaton won an NCAA regional title for the first time since 2013. Under head coach Pete Felske, the Thunder have made 20 NCAA postseason appearances including national titles in 2004, 2006 and 2007.
Illinois Wesleyan (17-5-0, 7-1-0) placed second in the poll with 54 points and one first place vote after the Titans finished second in the CCIW standings and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship last season. It was their fifth-straight trip to the NCAA postseason and 10th trip overall.
Both the Thunder and Titans were recently ranked 15th and 23rd, respectively, in the
United Soccer Coaches Division III Women's Preseason Top 25.
Carroll (12-4-3, 4-1-3) placed third with 51 points and one first place vote as the Pioneers have qualified for the CCIW Women's Soccer Tournament every year since returning to the conference in 2016. Carroll has also finished in third place in each of the last two seasons.
Elmhurst (10-6-1, 4-4-0) was fourth with 38 points as the Bluejays qualified for the CCIW Tournament for the first time since 2014 last season.
North Central (8-8-1, 4-4-0) was fifth with 33 points following a fifth place finish in 2017, while Augustana (8-8-1, 3-4-1) and Carthage (10-7-1, 3-4-1) placed sixth and seventh with 32 and 30 points, respectively, after both teams tied for sixth last season. Millikin (7-10-1, 0-7-1) (13 points) and North Park (6-11-1, 0-7-1) (10 points) rounded out the poll.
Voting is done by the CCIW's head women's soccer coaches. Each coach votes for the eight other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (eight points for first, seven for second, etc.). Coaches do not vote for their own teams.
The 2018 CCIW women's soccer season begins Friday, August 31 and the complete conference schedule can be found
here.
| 2018 Preseason Women's Soccer Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (1st Pl. Votes) |
| 1 |
Wheaton |
63 (7) |
| 2 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
54 (1) |
| 3 |
Carroll |
51 (1) |
| 4 |
Elmhurst |
38 |
| 5 |
North Central |
33 |
| 6 |
Augustana |
32 |
| 7 |
Carthage |
30 |
| 8 |
Millikin |
13 |
| 9 |
North Park |
10 |
| 2017 CCIW Women's Soccer Standings |
| Institution |
CCIW |
Overall |
| Wheaton |
7-0-1 |
15-5-3 |
| Illinois Wesleyan |
7-1-0 |
17-5-0 |
| Carroll |
4-1-3 |
12-4-3 |
| Elmhurst |
4-4-0 |
10-6-1 |
| North Central |
4-4-0 |
8-8-1 |
| Carthage |
3-4-1 |
10-7-1 |
| Augustana |
3-4-1 |
8-8-1 |
| Millikin |
0-7-1 |
7-10-1 |
| North Park |
0-7-1 |
6-11-1 |
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2017-18 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,100 academic all-conference recipients, 15 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 28 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.