By WJBC staff
NAPERVILLE – Defending champion Illinois Wesleyan was picked to win the 2016 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin women’s soccer title according to a conference-wide preseason coaches’ poll announced Wednesday.
The Titans, 20-3-0 overall and 7-0-0 in the CCIW last season under the direction of head coach Dave Barrett, won the poll with 61 points and five first place votes after the Titans earned their second CCIW title and first since 2008 last season. Illinois Wesleyan also made its third-straight NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship appearance and advanced to the sectional round in 2015, one year after a national semifinal appearance.
IWU was earlier picked No. 8 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason Division III poll.
Defending CCIW Tournament champion Wheaton (16-7-0, 5-2-0) was second in the coaches’ poll with 59 points and three first place votes as the Thunder qualified for the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championship for the 19th-straight year. Wheaton has won three national titles in that span including 2004, 2006 and 2007. Wheaton has won a CCIW-leading 17 conference titles dating back to 1995.
Augustana (15-5-1, 5-1-1) finished third in the poll with 48 points and one first place vote. The Vikings earned an at-large bid to the NCAA postseason in 2015, their third appearance in four years.
Last year marked the second time in three seasons that Illinois Wesleyan, Wheaton and Augustana all qualified for the NCAA tournament. It was also the sixth time in conference history that three CCIW teams played in the postseason in a single year.
2015 CCIW Tournament qualifier Carthage (6-12-1, 3-3-1) was fourth with 38 points, while Elmhurst (8-6-2, 3-4-0) was fifth with 35 points.
Carroll (15-5-1, 8-2-0 in Midwest Conference), competing in the CCIW for the first time since 1991, was sixth with 32 points. The Pioneers won Midwest Conference regular season and tournament titles in 2015.
North Central (7-9-1, 2-4-1), Millikin (6-10-1, 1-5-1) and North Park (5-12-0, 0-7-0) rounded out the poll with 25, 15 and 11 points respectively.
Voting is done by the CCIW’s head women’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 Titans will host Benedictine at 7 p.m. on Sept. 1, to open the regular season.
