NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Riding five- and three-match winning streaks, respectively, North Central College and Elmhurst University are currently the two hottest teams in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin women’s soccer. On Tuesday, two players central to that success earned CCIW Women’s Soccer Player of the Week awards in NCC forward Reese Anderson and EU defender Delaney Snook.
Anderson’s award was her second in a row, while Snook, a freshman, earned the award for the first time in her career. Two wins by the Cardinals this past week made them the first team to clinch a spot in the CCIW Tournament and the Bluejays have catapulted into postseason contention on the strength of three consecutive shutout victories, including two in the last seven days.
Offensive
Reese Anderson, North Central (Forward, Junior, Bloomington, Ill.)
Anderson continued her run of form last week, scoring a hat trick in a 4-1 victory over North Park and then assisting on two goals in a 4-2 victory over Carthage. In the two matches, all five of her shot attempts were on frame. Anderson’s first goal of the match with NPU went down as the game-winner, putting the Cardinals ahead, 2-0, but her goals in the 56th and 83rd minutes put the match to bed after the Vikings had gotten back in the match at 2-1 early in the second half.
Facing Carthage over the weekend, North Central went to the break knotted with the Firebirds at 1-1 before Anderson had an assist on Claire Georgees’ 51st minute goal. In the final 10 minutes, another Anderson assist – this time to Gabriella Mattio – made it 4-2 and locked up the victory.
Defensive
Delaney Snook, Elmhurst (Defender, Freshman, Novi, Mich.)
With two wins this past week via shutout, Elmhurst maintained its amazing stat of having earned all 11 of its victories by not giving up a single goal in any of those matches. With Snook now entrenched as part of their back line, the Bluejays outclassed Cornell, 9-0, in a midweek non-conference match before earning a hard-fought, 1-0, win over Wheaton on Saturday. The victory for Elmhurst in that matchup was the first win for the Bluejays over the Thunder since 2011 and snapped a 16-match losing streak to Wheaton that had started in 2013.
2026 CCIW Women’s Soccer Student-Athletes of the Week
Offensive
Sept. 8 - Jordan Lange, North Central
Sept. 15 - Ava Mapes, Illinois Wesleyan
Sept. 22 - Izzy Jones, Millikin
Sept. 29 - Peyton Olinski, Carthage
Oct. 6 - Izzy Jones, Millikin
Oct. 13 - Reese Anderson, North Central
Defensive
Sept. 8 - Ava Lewandowski, Carroll
Sept. 15 - Lauren Richards, North Central
Sept. 22 - Emma Megerle, North Central
Sept. 29 - Jessica Bearley, Millikin
Oct. 6 - Sara Schinker, Augustana
Oct. 13 - Lydia Martin, Wheaton
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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.).