NAPERVILLE – North Central and North Park are officially the co-favorites of a preseason College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men’s soccer poll that saw four squads receive multiple first-place votes and the top four squads finish within two points of each other, the league office announced Thursday morning.
| 2024 CCIW Preseason Men's Soccer Coaches' Poll |
| Team (First-place votes) |
Points |
| T1. North Central (2) |
55 |
| T1. North Park (2) |
55 |
| T3. Carthage (3) |
52 |
| T3. Wheaton (2) |
52 |
| 5. Illinois Wesleyan |
34 |
| 6. Millikin |
28 |
| 7. Elmhurst |
21 |
| 8. Carroll |
18 |
| 9. Augustana |
9 |
NCC and NPU – who have combined to win the last six regular-season league titles – each earned two first-place votes and 55 total points from ballots collected from CCIW head coaches earlier this month. Thursday’s announcement also marked the sixth consecutive season North Park has claimed or shared the top position in the preseason CCIW poll.
The 2024 CCIW poll featured two teams tied for the #1 spot for the first time since 2012, as well as four teams with a first-place vote for the first time in at least a quarter century.
Carthage, a 2023 CCIW Tournament finalist, received the most first-place votes with three. The Firebirds compiled 52 points among the ballots, tying Wheaton for third position in the poll. The Thunder had two first-place votes.
Illinois Wesleyan, which overcame three second-half deficits in a span of eight days last fall to win its first CCIW Tournament championship, slotted fifth in Thursday’s announcement with 34 points. The Titans ended a 10-match winless streak in the CCIW Tournament with their 3-2 title match win at Carthage.
Millikin (28 points), Elmhurst (21 points), Carroll (18 points) and Augustana (nine points) claimed the final four positions in the poll.
All nine CCIW teams will raise the curtain on the 2024 season in non-conference action on Friday, Aug. 30. CCIW competition is scheduled to kick off on Saturday, Sept. 28.
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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, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).