NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The 2026 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Women’s Soccer Tournament began on Saturday with a pair of goalkeepers who made nine saves apiece and moved their teams to the next round via shutout.
The day began with a 1-0 Wheaton College victory over North Park University as CCIW Goalkeeper of the Year Lydia Martin kept the Vikings at bay despite consistent pressure from NPU throughout the match. In the nightcap, Carroll University’s Ava Lewandowski matched Martin’s performance by making nine saves against Illinois Wesleyan University and surprising the No. 3 seeded Titans in 2-0 win for the visiting Pioneers.
Action moves on to the semifinal round on Wednesday night. Carroll will head to No. 2 seed Elmhurst University for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Bluejays from Langhorst Field. Wheaton advances to take on No. 1 seed North Central College at Benedetti Wehrli Stadium at approximately 7:30 p.m. following the conclusion of a men’s match between Wheaton and North Central that kicks off at 5 p.m.
No. 4 Wheaton 1, No. 5 North Park 0
Though North Park peppered Martin and the Wheaton defense with shots throughout, the Thunder stood up to the pressure and converted on a penalty kick in the 74th minute to advance.
After making two saves in the opening half, Martin finished with seven more in the second half to keep North Park off the board. The deciding moment of the match came with just over 15 minutes remaining. Lily Lindquist beat a Viking defender to the end line and was brought down from behind. Lindquist then did the honors herself, delivering a well-taken penalty to the keeper’s left to put the Thunder ahead.
Martin’s work wasn’t done. North Park produced a dangerous chance in the final 90 seconds that she knocked away on the bounce to deny the Vikings the equalizer. Fittingly, a last-second shot from NPU landed safely in Martin’s hands as time expired to move the Thunder into the next round.
No. 6 Carroll 2, No. 3 Illinois Wesleyan 0
Goalkeeping provided the difference in the second quarterfinal matchup as well, with Lewandowski denying quality chances from Illinois Wesleyan before Carroll struck twice in the final half-hour with Carmella Nowak involved in both goals for the Pioneers.
Lewandowski had five first-half saves, including two diving stops in the 15th minute to keep the match level. She had three more in the early minutes of the second half prior to Carroll grabbing the lead in the 63rd minute. With Illinois Wesleyan taking a throw-in deep in its own final third, the Pioneers won the aerial battle and Nowak took possession outside the box before sliding a pass to Ellie Pierson who belted a shot over the top of Adriana Ruffolo to put Carroll on top.
In the 72nd minute, Carroll attacker Harlie Seuser was brought down on the edge of the area and given a penalty, which Nowak made no mistake with, extending the Pioneers out to a 2-0 advantage.
Lewandowski handled the rest from there. In the 74th minute she pushed a shot from Zoe Kormah up onto the crossbar and then recovered to stop the follow-up from Sophie Lampert. Those would prove to be IWU’s final two shots on target as the Pioneers maintained their two-goal lead to the final horn.