NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Wheaton was predicted to win its fourth-straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) women's soccer title according to the results of the conference's annual preseason coaches' poll announced Wednesday.
The Thunder won the poll with 64 points and eight first place votes and are coming off their 20th CCIW regular season title and 21st NCAA postseason appearance in program history last season. Wheaton advanced to the sectional final last season, its second-straight appearance in the NCAA's sectional round.
Augustana and Illinois Wesleyan each tied for second with 51 points apiece, while Illinois Wesleyan also had one first place vote. Both teams qualified for the CCIW Women's Soccer Tournament last season as the Titans earned the tournament title via penalty kicks against Wheaton. It was Illinois Wesleyan's third tournament title in program history.
North Central placed fourth with 45 points following a sixth place finish last season, while Carroll placed fifth with 30 points following a fifth place finish in 2018.
Carthage was sixth with 29 points, followed by Elmhurst (27 points), Millikin (17 points) and North Park (10 points).
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 2019 CCIW women's soccer season begins Friday, August 30 and the complete conference schedule can be found
here.
Following the conclusion of the regular season, the top four teams in the standings will compete in the
2019 CCIW Women's Soccer Tournament. The winner will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship.
| 2019 Preseason Women's Soccer Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (1st Pl. Votes) |
| 1 |
Wheaton |
64 (8) |
| T-2 |
Augustana |
51 |
| T-2 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
51 (1) |
| 4 |
North Central |
45 |
| 5 |
Carroll |
30 |
| 6 |
Carthage |
29 |
| 7 |
Elmhurst |
27 |
| 8 |
Millikin |
17 |
| 9 |
North Park |
10 |
| 2018 CCIW Women's Soccer Standings |
| Institution |
CCIW |
Overall |
| Wheaton |
8-0-0 |
19-4-1 |
| Augustana |
5-1-2 |
13-3-3 |
| Illinois Wesleyan |
5-3-0 |
14-5-2 |
| Elmhurst |
4-4-0 |
9-6-2 |
| Carroll |
3-3-2 |
7-8-4 |
| North Central |
3-4-1 |
7-9-1 |
| Millikin |
3-5-0 |
6-11-0 |
| Carthage |
1-5-2 |
7-8-3 |
| North Park |
0-7-1 |
5-11-1 |
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 2018-19 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,200 academic all-conference recipients, 18 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 43 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.