NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The 2026 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Men’s Soccer Tournament kicked off on Saturday afternoon with a pair of quarterfinal matches that saw one home team roar back in the second half to advance, while another home side saw its season come to a close in a penalty shootout.
In the first match of the day, No. 4 seed Wheaton College battled back from a 1-0 halftime deficit with a showcase of offensive firepower in a 5-1 victory over No. 5 seed Carroll University. In the second match, No. 6 seed Augustana College and No. 3 seed Illinois Wesleyan University played to a 1-1 stalemate through 110 minutes before the Vikings knocked out the defending CCIW Tournament champions in a penalty shootout, 3-0.
On Wednesday, Wheaton will travel to take on No. 1 seed North Central College at Benedetti Wehrli Stadium in Naperville beginning at 5 p.m. The other semi will feature Augustana making the journey to Chicago to face No. 2 seed North Park University at the Holmgren Athletic Complex at 7 p.m.
No. 4 Wheaton 5, No. 5 Carroll 1
It was a tale of two halves in the first match of the CCIW Men’s Soccer Tournament and unfortunately for Carroll, Wheaton proved to be unstoppable once it got rolling.
The Pioneers opened the scoring in the 20th minute and carried that 1-0 lead into the break. Henry Picard served a ball into the box and Obada Altahat met the ball in stride and put it low into a corner to put the visitors ahead.
Wheaton tied the score as the match entered the 57th minute. Craig Rusin’s initial shot was saved, but Jack Kern was on the spot to put it away and level the match. Just two minutes later, Rusin sent a corner kick to the back post where it was headed down by Luke Vander Kolk and then scored on the doorstep by Reuben Bos with what would end up as the game-winning goal.
Wheaton was far from finished. Two more goals came in the 82nd minute for the Thunder. Vander Kolk had a sliding finish at the near post from a Bos cross and only seconds later after the restart, Ciaran Byrne had a neat finish in between two Carroll defenders.
As time ticked down inside of five minutes, Byrne had a pass out of midfield that fell into the path of Sam Brown who torched a shot into the upper corner to close it out with Wheaton’s fifth goal in a span of less than 30 minutes.
No. 6 Augustana 1, No. 3 Illinois Wesleyan 1, (Augustana advances, 3-0, on penalty kicks)
In the CCIW Tournament for the first time since 2010 and facing the CCIW’s stoutest defense throughout the 2026 season, Augustana could have been forgiven for feeling overwhelmed by the moment, especially after Illinois Wesleyan took a lead in the first half. Instead, the Vikings fought back, found an equalizer, played through an extra 20 minutes of overtime, and delivered in the penalty shootout to take down last year’s conference tournament champions.
The stats were weighted in Illinois Wesleyan’s favor from the start. The Titans had a 12-1 shot advantage in the first half and a terrific shot from Daniel Smazil from outside the 18-yard box put IWU ahead, 1-0, in the 34th minute.
That lead would last until the 71st minute when Silas Wise quickly countered off an Illinois Wesleyan goal kick and snuck a ball low past Owen Boukalik to stun the crowd and knot the score at 1-1.
Despite a number of chances from Illinois Wesleyan throughout the remainder of regulation and overtime, the match headed to a penalty shootout thanks to seven saves from Jahir Anaya.
In the shootout, Anaya made saves on Illinois Wesleyan’s first and third attempts, while the second attempt sailed high. Augustana’s first three penalty takers – Matt Donaghey, Fer Cuahquentzi, and Diego San Pedro – all picked out corners and delivered, sending the Vikings to their first CCIW Tournament victory since 2006.
Follow the CCIW
| CCIW on X | CCIW Instagram | CCIW Facebook | CCIW YouTube | CCIW on TikTok |
| CCIW Network |
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.).