Men’s Soccer Coaches Choose Wheaton as 2008 CCIW Champion

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- The Wheaton men’s soccer team was predicted to win its 15th College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) title in school history and first since 2003 according to a preseason poll conducted by the CCIW head men’s soccer coaches Thursday.

The Thunder (14-7-1, 4-3-0 in 2007) won the poll with 47 points, including five first place votes, after finishing tied for third in the CCIW standings last season. Wheaton, did however, advance to the second round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship by virtue of winning the CCIW Men’s Soccer Tournament title last season.

Elmhurst (14-5-2, 6-1-0 in 2007) was second in the preseason poll with 41 points, including three first place votes. Defending conference champion Carthage (14-6-2, 7-0-0) was third with 37 points after the Red Men earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship last season. Illinois Wesleyan (6-11-1, 4-3-0) was fourth in the voting with 31 points while North Park (10-7-0, 3-4-0), conference champion from 2004-2006, was fifth with 29 points.

Augustana (8-7-3, 2-4-1), Millikin (5-12-1, 0-7-0) and North Central (4-12-1, 1-5-1) rounded out the poll with 17, 12 and 10 points respectively.

Voting in the preseason poll is done by the head men’s soccer coaches in the CCIW. Each coach votes for the seven other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (seven points for first, six for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own team.

Five CCIW teams open play on August 29 as Wheaton hosts Carroll and North Central travels to Eureka. Millikin hosts Webster while Carthage travels to Storm Lake, Iowa to face Buena Vista. Illinois Wesleyan plays host to the University of Illinois-Springfield.

2008 CCIW Men's Soccer Preseason Poll