Pictured: North Park advanced to the national championship last season by advancing on penalty kicks against the University of Chicago in the semifinal round.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Defending College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) champion North Park was picked to win the 2018 CCIW men's soccer title according to the results of the conference's annual preseason coaches' poll announced Wednesday.
The Vikings (20-2-2, 7-0-1) won the poll with 62 points and seven first place votes following the most successful season in program history. Led by head coach John Born, North Park became the first CCIW team other than Wheaton to play in the national title match. Additionally, the Vikings won their fourth CCIW regular season title and fourth CCIW Tournament title last season. It was their first regular season title since 2006 and first tournament title since 2010. North Park was ranked second in the
United Soccer Coaches preseason poll announced earlier this week.
Carthage (13-7-2, 5-2-1) placed second in the poll with 55 points and two first place votes as the Red Men advanced to the CCIW Tournament final for the third-straight season in 2017. Carthage won CCIW Tournament titles in 2015 and 2016, as well as a regular season title in 2016.
Wheaton (9-8-1, 4-3-1) placed third with 48 points following a fifth place finish in 2017. Illinois Wesleyan (11-6-1, 6-2-1) was fourth with 45 points following a second place finish last season. The Titans qualified for the CCIW Tournament in both 2016 and 2017.
North Central (8-9-1, 5-3-0) finished fifth with 36 points as the Cardinals qualified for the CCIW Tournament for the second time in three years last season.
Elmhurst (8-8-2, 3-5-0) placed sixth with 31 points, followed by Millikin (5-10-2, 2-5-1) in seventh with 24 points, Carroll (3-14-1, 1-7-0) in eighth with 12 points and Augustana (2-12-2, 1-7-0) in ninth with 11 points.
Voting is done by the CCIW's head men's soccer coaches. Each coach votes for the eight other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (eight points for first, seven for second, etc.). Coaches do not vote for their own teams.
The 2018 CCIW men's soccer season begins Friday, August 31 and the complete conference schedule can be found
here.
| 2018 Preseason Men's Soccer Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (1st Pl. Votes) |
| 1 |
North Park |
62 (7) |
| 2 |
Carthage |
55 (2) |
| 3 |
Wheaton |
48 |
| 4 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
45 |
| 5 |
North Central |
36 |
| 6 |
Elmhurst |
31 |
| 7 |
Millikin |
24 |
| 8 |
Carroll |
12 |
| 9 |
Augustana |
11 |
| 2017 CCIW Men's Soccer Standings |
| Institution |
CCIW |
Overall |
| North Park |
7-0-1 |
20-2-2 |
| Illinois Wesleyan |
6-2-0 |
11-6-1 |
| Carthage |
5-2-1 |
13-7-2 |
| North Central |
5-3-0 |
8-9-1 |
| Wheaton |
4-3-1 |
9-8-1 |
| Elmhurst |
3-5-0 |
8-8-2 |
| Millikin |
2-5-1 |
5-10-2 |
| Carroll |
1-7-0 |
3-14-1 |
| Augustana |
1-7-0 |
2-12-2 |
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2017-18 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,100 academic all-conference recipients, 15 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 28 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.