NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin's (CCIW) head women's soccer coaches picked Augustana to defend its conference title according to a preseason poll conducted Tuesday.

The Vikings won the poll with 47 points including five first place votes. Augustana (20-2-1, 7-0-0 in 2009) won its first-ever CCIW women's soccer title last season, as well as its first CCIW women's soccer tournament title. The Vikings ended the 2009 season in the NCAA Division III Championship's sectional round.

Wheaton (17-4-2, 6-1-0) was second in the voting with 44 points including three first place votes. Illinois Wesleyan (16-4-3, 5-2-0) placed third with 38 points, while Millikin (12-8-1, 4-3-0) placed fourth with 26 points.

Elmhurst (10-7-0, 3-4-0) finished fifth with 25 points, Carthage (6-12-0, 0-7-0) was sixth with 20 points, North Park (7-11-0, 1-6-0) was seventh with 17 points, and North Central (10-7-0, 2-5-0) placed eighth with seven points.

Voting in the preseason poll is done by the CCIW's head women’s soccer coaches. 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.

2010 CCIW Preseason Women's Soccer Poll

Team	Points	First Place Votes
Augustana	47	5
Wheaton	44	3
Illinois Wesleyan	38
Millikin	26
Elmhurst	25
Carthage	20
North Park	17
North Central	7