Men’s Soccer Coaches Pick Wheaton to Finish First

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – After finishing atop the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin men’s soccer standings in 2004, CCIW coaches, in a conference poll, have picked the Wheaton Thunder to again take the top spot in 2005.

The Thunder, who finished with a record of 18-5 in 2004, won the pre-season poll with 47 points, including five first place votes. North Park, who defeated Wheaton 2-0 last November to win the conference tournament title, was picked to finish second with 43 points, including three first place votes. The Vikings were 14-3-2 in 2004.

In addition, Augustana (7-7-1 in 2004) took third place in the pre-season poll with 34 points, while Elmhurst (12-7-1) was fourth with 31 points.

Rounding out the voting was Carthage (10-8-2), who was predicted to finish fifth with 27 points, while Millikin (6-7-5) was sixth with 16 points. Taking the final two spots were Illinois Wesleyan (5-10-3) and North Central (3-12-0), who earned 15 and 11 points respectively.

The CCIW men’s soccer season begins Aug. 27.