NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Four-time reigning College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) champion and 2021 national quarterfinalist North Park is the 2022 choice to repeat as league champion, according to a preseason poll conducted by the conference’s nine head coaches.
2022 CCIW Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
| Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. North Park (5) |
61 |
| 2. North Central (3) |
59 |
| 3. Wheaton (1) |
49 |
| 4. Carthage |
43 |
| 5. Illinois Wesleyan |
35 |
| 6. Elmhurst |
31 |
| 7. Carroll |
21 |
| 8. Millikin |
13 |
| 9. Augustana |
12 |
The Vikings received five first-place votes for a total of 61 points to edge runner-up North Central. NPU swept the league schedule a year ago (8-0-0) as part of a 16-win campaign, including three victories in the NCAA Tournament en route to the Elite Eight. The Vikings have dropped only two matches in league play (28-2-2) during their four-year run atop the league standings and will shoot to become the first team to win or share five consecutive regular-season CCIW crowns since Wheaton earned nine in a row from 1995 through 2003.
North Central netted three-first place votes to secure the second slot in the poll with 59 points. The Cardinals were second in last season’s league standings (6-1-1) and secured their first-ever CCIW Tournament title and NCAA Tournament bid thanks to a 1-0 shutout of Wheaton in the CCIW title match last November.
The final first-place vote and 49 points went to Wheaton, which shared fourth place in last season’s final standings at 4-3-1. The Thunder advanced to the 2021 CCIW Tournament title game for the first time since 2016 after a semifinal upset of top-seeded North Park.
Carthage was fourth in the 2022 poll, followed by Illinois Wesleyan, Elmhurst, Carroll, Millikin and Augustana.
Regular-season competition begins on Thursday, Sept. 1 and the 36-match round-robin CCIW slate begins on Saturday, Sept. 24.
The top six sides in the final 2022 regular-season standings will qualify for the CCIW Tournament, scheduled to begin with a pair of quarterfinal matches on Saturday, Oct. 29. The semifinals follow on Wednesday, Nov. 2 and the title match will take place on Saturday, Nov. 5.