CCIW

[Gregory Sager]

Tomorrow is opening day!

Full slate, as all nine teams will take to the pitch on Friday:

Carroll (7-9-1) @ Minnesota-Morris (2-13-4), 3 pm
Illinois Wesleyan (6-7-5) @ Kalamazoo (7-9-2), 3 pm
Carthage (11-6-2) @ Dominican (14-4-3), 4 pm
DePauw (7-7-4) @ North Park (10-5-3), 6 pm
Simpson (7-10-1) @ Augustana (0-14-2), 7 pm
St. Olaf (20-3-3) @ North Central (15-3-2), 7 pm
Wheaton (11-5-2) @ Dubuque (8-9-2), 7 pm
Lakeland (4-12-2) @ Elmhurst (7-10-2), 7:30 pm
Millikin (6-9-1) @ Washington (MO) (7-8-1), 7:30 pm

[Gregory Sager]

Today is the first day of CCIW play, and here's where we stand thus far, based upon preseason predicted finish:

t1. North Central (3-2-3) I get the sense that the league's coaches underestimated the amount of rebuilding that Enzo Fuschino was going to have to do this season when they filled out their poll ballots. Most of his starters, including most of both his firepower and his defense, have had to be replaced. Enzo doesn't hesitate to schedule tough, and to some degree he's paid the price for it: shutout losses to reigning national champion St. Olaf and to Chicago blot the Cardinals' record. The tie against MSOE is a bit understandable; the Raiders are talented, if erratic. But the draw at Benedictine is inexplicable. Conclusion: I think that the rebuilt Cards will continue to come together and will be a threat to win the league this season, if not the co-favorite that they were in the coaches poll.

t1. North Park (6-0-3) This is a deep and talented NPU team, but the Vikings have had to find their way a bit in terms of clicking as a unit. They had a lot of lapses early in the campaign in which they had trouble getting on the same page in the forward third -- this is not a team that has a single obvious scoring threat, which is not always a blessing -- and as a result ended up with a trio of scoreless draws. But the Vikings have for the most part fared well against one of the stronger schedules in the league and appear to be coming together. And thus far Kris Grahn's attempt to make the three-man back line work has been successful, as this is the deepest cadre of defenders NPU has ever had, bar none, and they work efficiently and patiently together. The Vikings, currently ranked #18 in the USC poll, are probably the CCIW favorite at this point, but it's hardly a runaway sort of situation.

t3. Carthage (4-3-1) The Firebirds have had their growing pains thus far, but they're dangerous. They have the best weapon in the league in Aidan Crowder, and, apart from an ugly performance at Messiah and what must be an anomaly last Saturday at home against Southwestern, the defense and goalkeeping has been spot-on. The home loss to MSOE was more than canceled out by the impressive win over Chicago at Keller Field this past Wednesday. The Firebirds are the legit contender that the coaches thought they'd be.

t3. Wheaton (3-4-1) The Orange and Blue have been underwhelming to date. At 3-4-1 they're the only CCIW team currently underwater, and while that would be less of an issue if they were losing games to teams that are ranked or receiving votes, losing to Dubuque and Bethel and drawing against 1-6-1 Chapman won't win you any plaudits. However, Wheaton comes into CCIW play with the momentum of two straight wins. I'm taking a wait-and-see attitude towards Wheaton this season.

5. Illinois Wesleyan (6-0-1) Coming off of the best season in school history last year, it would appear that IWU, sporting the best record in the league and one of only two unbeaten teams remaining, is moving from triumph to triumph. However, even a cursory glance at the schedule that the Titans have played reveals that it has been Cupcake City for the Bloomingtonians. The six teams that they have beaten, all from inferior leagues (NACC, MWC, and SLIAC), have a combined record of 8-31-5 against teams other than IWU. The one blot on the IWU résumé thus far, the season-opening draw with Kalamazoo at MacKenzie Field over in the mitten, isn't exactly impressive, either; the Hornets are 3-3-1 and represent no threat whatsoever to challenge the hegemony of Calvin and Hope in that league. IWU, which has the opening-day bye today as far as CCIW play goes, takes on Wabash (7-2) in Crawfordsville this afternoon, so we'll see if a step up in the caliber of their opponents has any effect upon the Titans' six-game winning streak.

6. Millikin (6-1) The Big Blue always look like they're in a perpetual state of retooling, but this time around they may have actually put something solid together. After getting pantsed by Wash U in their season opener, the Big Blue have turned it around and rattled off six straight wins. Granted, they've done it against the same sort of lackluster competition as IWU (including a couple of common foes), but at least they've beaten a team with a winning record thus far this season (Illinois College, and on the road, even), which is more than the Titans can say. Keep an eye on the Big Blue.

7. Elmhurst (5-2-2) The Bluejays may be 5-2-2, but it's a rocky 5-2-2. Their competition has been middling, and they have some tough outings to explain, such as a draw against SLIAC outfit Spalding and last Saturday's tough-to-swallow home loss to Kalamazoo. Elmhurst can boast of having the CCIW's leading scorer to date in grad student Maciej Rzadkosz, an All-CCIW first-teamer in 2023. But don't bet on the 'jays, no matter what odds you're given.

8. Carroll (4-1-3) The Pioneers are another team with a gaudy record that has trouble standing up to scrutiny. Draws against the likes of Lake Forest and Concordia (WI) are very suspicious, and the third team that the Pioneers tied, Loras, is no longer the sort of team that you can feel satisfied drawing. I think that Carroll's success to date is suspect.

9. Augustana (3-1-1) The red-headed stepchild of CCIW soccer for the past decade or so, Augie might honestly be on the upturn. Chad Flanders has gone all-in with recruiting internationals, showing a preference for the zingy flavor of Spaniards and Moroccans in particular, and it seems to be paying dividends. Granted, the opening loss to Simpson was no great shakes, but tying Carleton on the road is a good result, and even if Central is not a world-beater, beating the Dutch by three goals on their home turf is still impressive. The problem with Augie is a somewhat imcomplete résumé, in that the Rock Islanders have only played five games to date, while everyone else in the league has played seven, eight, or nine. But I'm genuinely curious to see Augie today and find out what they have to offer.

TODAY:

Illinois Wesleyan @ Wabash
Millikin @ Carthage
Augustana @ North Park
North Central @ Carroll
Wheaton @ Elmhurst

[Gregory Sager]

Illinois Wesleyan 1, @ Wabash 1
@ North Park 3, Augustana 0
@ Carthage 2, Millikin 0
Wheaton 2, @ Elmhurst 0
@ Carroll 0, North Central 0

[Marcoreus]

Crazy finish in the CCIW tournament

[Gregory Sager]

Crazy finish in the CCIW tournament

As I said on the air, North Central played with the desperate energy of a team that was in a do-or-die situation as far as the Cardinals' season was concerned, and North Park played like a team that knew it was getting into the dance no matter what.

[markerickson]

Why not play with the intensity to secure home-field advantage for as long as possible?  Rhetorical...

[Marcoreus]

I watched the game and it looked as intense as it could be on both sides. NPU's three red cards showed a lot of frustration...

[Gregory Sager]

I watched the game and it looked as intense as it could be on both sides. NPU's three red cards showed a lot of frustration...

I don't think that the intensity was the same. North Central's was the intensity of determination, North Park's was the intensity of frustration, mingled with confusion over the fact that defensive-minded NCC was so constantly aggressive in the NPU half of the pitch. The Cardinals sent extra men forward repeatedly; kudos to Fuschino for changing up tactics after losing to NPU the first time around using the defense-first approach he'd employed all season long with this particular Cardinals squad. And that frustrated intensity didn't really kick in for the Vikings until after NCC scored those two goals in quick succession early in the second half. The Vikings looked complacent in the first half, throughout which, although neither team scored, the Cardinals clearly dominated play. It looked an awful lot like the second half at Carthage, another instance in which the Vikings took their foot off of the gas and ended up paying the price for it.

I think that there were only two red cards given out, one to Josse Blindheim and the other the double-yellow red given to Kris Grahn. The red card noted in the box score as having been given to Emmanuel Delgado must have been a mistake on the part of the CR; Delgado is a reserve who has not played with the varsity all season. It's possible that he was in uniform and standing in the bench area when Josse was sent off, but I doubt it. I haven't seen him in his kit in a varsity contest all season.

[Marcoreus]

Agreed! Hopefully both teams will do well in the NCAA tournament.

[markerickson]

North Park lost its first-round game to UW-Superior, 1-0.  The Yellow Jackets then beat St. Olaf on PKs after 2OTs.

UWS beat a conference opponent, some school called "Northland" (0-15-2), 15-1 and 14-0 during the regular season.