CCIW

[Gregory Sager]

team	CCIW	pts	overall	Sat
1North Park	6-1	18	13-4	@ Wheaton
*North Central	6-2	18	11-5-1	vs. UW-Platteville
*Illinois Wesleyan	5-2	15	9-7	vs. Elmhurst
Elmhurst	4-3	12	10-8-1	@ Illinois Wesleyan
Wheaton	3-2-2	11	10-4-3	vs. North Park
Carthage	3-3-1	10	8-9-2	vs. Augustana
EAugustana	2-4-1	7	5-7-2	@ Carthage
EMillikin	1-6	3	5-9-1	@ Carroll
ECarroll	0-7	0	7-9	vs. Millikin

The top seed, and thus the site of one of next Wednesday's tourney semifinals, is set. North Park will host the #4 seed. North Central will host #3 seed Elmhurst if IWU loses to EC, with the Titans then going to Chicago to play at NPU as the #4 if they lose. If IWU and EC tie, then the Titans will travel to Naperville as the #3 seed to play #2 North Central, and if IWU knocks off the Bluejays on Saturday the Cardinals and Titans will meet in the #3 @ #2 match in Bloomington with the fourth seed up for grabs. Either way, the Cards and Titans are both in.

* If Elmhurst loses in the cow pasture on Saturday, Dave Di Tomasso's boys can still get in with the #4 seed if both Wheaton and Carthage either lose or tie, since they own the head-to-head tiebreakers over both of those teams. But if the 'jays lose and either Wheaton or Carthage (or both) wins, Elmhurst is toast. If the Bluejays and Titans end up deadlocked on Saturday, EC can still get in as long as NPU beats or ties Wheaton.

* Wheaton get in with the #4 seed if the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance can hold serve at home against North Park while IWU either beats or ties Elmhurst. A draw or a loss to the Vikings ends Wheaton's season.

* Carthage's hopes for the fourth and final seed are heavily contingent. The Red Men have to beat Augie, of course, but they also need to have IWU beat Elmhurst while NPU beats or ties Wheaton. A draw in their own match or in the EC @ IWU match, or both, ruins the scenario for the Red Men, since Elmhurst beat Carthage back on October 5 in Kenosha.

[GoThunder1]

Greg,

I believe this is accurate except the Wheaton part. Even if Wheaton beats NPU - if Elmhurst wins, Wheaton will not be in. They would have 14 points, compared to 15 for EC and IWU.

[Gregory Sager]

Yes, thanks for pointing that out. I actually made a couple of mistakes, and that was one of them. It's what I get for originally forgetting to put the points column in my post. Honestly, I don't know why the CCIW website never puts the points column in the standings, since that was the template that I was using, but I should've known better and accounted for their neglect. I'll send CCIW SID Mike Krizman an e-mail and ask him about this.

Anyway, I've corrected my post from last night. It should now be accurate.

[Gregory Sager]

Turns out that the Sidearm software that the CCIW uses doesn't provide for a points column for soccer standings. I had a suspicion that that might be the case. Mike Krizman is going to suggest to Sidearm that they add it to their software package.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park and Wheaton played to a deeply unsatisfying 1-1 draw this evening out in the western suburbs. It was deeply unsatisfying for Vikings fans because, although it gave NPU the undisputed CCIW title at 6-1-1, the Vikings have bigger ambitions -- and another blemish puts a crimp in their potential postseason status. Plus, the Vikings had the ball on their feet all night, dominating possession completely and outshooting the hosts 24 (6) to 6 (2), and yet they needed a Peder Olsen equalizer in the 84th minute just to send it into extras. For Wheaton, which was admirably stubborn in its back third despite being clearly outclassed in terms of talent, it's a deeply unsatisfying draw for the simple reason that it ends the season. A win would've catapulted the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance into the fourth and final CCIW tourney slot. Instead, the draw means that they'll be cleaning out their lockers, as they finish fifth at 3-2-3.

I'll say this, though: The Vikings certainly didn't look unsatisfied when they posed for their championship picture with the CCIW trophy. Three straight conference titles is a big accomplishment. And perhaps the thought of ending Wheaton's season on Wheaton's home pitch made the draw a little sweeter.

The other big match of the day was also a draw, as earlier this afternoon Illinois Wesleyan and Elmhurst dueled to twin goose eggs in Bloomington. The tie cemented IWU's status as the third seed behind #2 North Central (6-2) at 5-2-1, while Elmhurst had to wait out the nighttime nailbiter in Wheaton before being assured of the fourth seed at 4-3-1.

In the final minute of second overtime in Kenosha, an Augie counter was seemingly blunted by a ball being chipped out of bounds by the Red Men. However, the Red Men failed to get back on defense, and Justin Murphy's long throw-in into the box found Salah Aghlaf, who drove it into the lower right corner of the net to give Augustana the 2-1 win. Augie and Carthage end the season in a sixth-place tie at 3-4-1. Who would've predicted that Carthage, the #2 pick in the preseason poll and the defending CCIW tourney champ, would end the season with a losing record at 8-10-2?

in the battle of the bottom, Millikin edged Carroll, 3-2, at Schaefer Stadium to finish 2-6, while the Pioneers went winless in CCIW play at 0-8.

So the tournament field is now set:

Wednesday
#3 Illinois Wesleyan (9-7-1, 5-2-1) @ #2 North Central (11-5-2, 6-2)
#4 Elmhurst (10-8-2, 4-3-1) @ #1 North Park (13-4-1, 6-1-1)

Saturday
Championship match at highest remaining seed

[Gregory Sager]

Congratulations to Peder Olsen, whose goal tonight makes him North Park's all-time leader in points with 96, one more than NPU head coach Kris Grahn recorded in his sensational 2008-11 career as a Viking.

[GoThunder1]

Greg,

Very fair analysis of the Wheaton/NPU game. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it in person - but I was able to catch the live stream. There were a couple of things that I noticed during the game.

1. I understand playing your seniors on senior night, but in a must-win game, I have to question why Coach DeClute chose to start all 7 seniors and play them together for the first 25-30 minutes of the game. 4 of those seniors saw limited to no more action following those minutes. When the underclassmen normal starters came in, Wheaton scored just a few minutes later. I am not stating that the result would have been different, but I can't understand why during a must-win game - you wouldn't give your team the best chance to win.

2. Hasten Biddlecome is the top GK in the CCIW. The way he commanded the box was extremely impressive. It was by far the best GK performance I have seen in the CCIW this year.

3. North Park is the most talented team I have seen this year. They appear to have zero weak links, as every position is manned by an extremely skillful player. The way they move the ball is similar to a very solid D1 team. However, I must question the execution in the final 3rd of the field. They pass the ball so well and hold possession for 80% of the game, but when they get in the final 3rd - they seem to struggle creating dangerous attacks. Wheaton did a good job of cramming the box, but instead of attacking, NPU seemed to settle quite often for 40+ yard shots or lofted crosses that were easily handled by Biddlecome. I don't know if it is a formation change that needs to occur, but when they switched to a 3-5-2 late in the game, they became much more fluid in the final 3rd.

4. NPU is the premier program in the CCIW now. I would argue that Carthage is number 2 and Wheaton has fallen to 3. In the past, with 2 games remaining in the season, WC would have come out with 6 points when they needed it. Now, they come out with 2 points, the season is over, and WC is deservedly out of the NCAA tourney for the 3rd or 4th consecutive year.

[Gregory Sager]

Good points, GoThunder1:

Greg,

Very fair analysis of the Wheaton/NPU game. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it in person - but I was able to catch the live stream. There were a couple of things that I noticed during the game.

1. I understand playing your seniors on senior night, but in a must-win game, I have to question why Coach DeClute chose to start all 7 seniors and play them together for the first 25-30 minutes of the game. 4 of those seniors saw limited to no more action following those minutes. When the underclassmen normal starters came in, Wheaton scored just a few minutes later. I am not stating that the result would have been different, but I can't understand why during a must-win game - you wouldn't give your team the best chance to win.

I was wondering the same thing myself. I figured that the Wheaton seniors would be in there for a token 5-10 minutes, but they certainly were in there for quite a bit longer than that. Incidentally, Wheaton PBP announcer Abram Erickson said that Marcelo Galvao was coaching the team and not Jake DeClute. What's up with that?

2. Hasten Biddlecome is the top GK in the CCIW. The way he commanded the box was extremely impressive. It was by far the best GK performance I have seen in the CCIW this year.

I think it's neck-and-neck between Biddlecome and North Central GK Marco Soto. I can see either one being named first team All-CCIW, with the other winding up on second team.

3. North Park is the most talented team I have seen this year. They appear to have zero weak links, as every position is manned by an extremely skillful player. The way they move the ball is similar to a very solid D1 team. However, I must question the execution in the final 3rd of the field. They pass the ball so well and hold possession for 80% of the game, but when they get in the final 3rd - they seem to struggle creating dangerous attacks. Wheaton did a good job of cramming the box, but instead of attacking, NPU seemed to settle quite often for 40+ yard shots or lofted crosses that were easily handled by Biddlecome. I don't know if it is a formation change that needs to occur, but when they switched to a 3-5-2 late in the game, they became much more fluid in the final 3rd.

There's a couple of explanations for that:

1) I think that Kris Grahn has had comfort issues with his defense. They were a brand-new unit and were really ragged at the beginning of the season, and only now are they really starting to round into form as a reliable bulwark against counters and long balls, rather than simply acting as the ignition switch for a build (which they've done well since day one). That 3-5-2 is not something that he's used much at all until very late in the season, because he hasn't trusted the back line enough. Also, the steadiest player on the back line this year has been freshman William Boström-Rydfjall, and he's been out the past two matches with a concussion suffered in the NCC @ NPU match.

2) Angel Barriga's positioning makes a big difference. He's the fastest player in the league, and putting him on the back line following the Carthage debacle shored up a lot of those defensive problems I mentioned above. Late in last night's match he moved up and started playing the left wing, and his ability to force the issue with his accelerated pace opened up a lot more passing options in the forward third. Last season as a freshman he was just pure speed. Now he's become a complete and versatile soccer player who is also very fast.

4. NPU is the premier program in the CCIW now. I would argue that Carthage is number 2 and Wheaton has fallen to 3. In the past, with 2 games remaining in the season, WC would have come out with 6 points when they needed it. Now, they come out with 2 points, the season is over, and WC is deservedly out of the NCAA tourney for the 3rd or 4th consecutive year.

Wheaton will come back. I'm convinced of it. NPU will always be looking over its shoulder at Wheaton, just as whenever Wheaton has been on top over the past two decades it's been looking back over its shoulder at NPU.

[Gotberg]

Greg,

Very fair analysis of the Wheaton/NPU game. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it in person - but I was able to catch the live stream. There were a couple of things that I noticed during the game.

1. I understand playing your seniors on senior night, but in a must-win game, I have to question why Coach DeClute chose to start all 7 seniors and play them together for the first 25-30 minutes of the game. 4 of those seniors saw limited to no more action following those minutes. When the underclassmen normal starters came in, Wheaton scored just a few minutes later. I am not stating that the result would have been different, but I can't understand why during a must-win game - you wouldn't give your team the best chance to win.

2. Hasten Biddlecome is the top GK in the CCIW. The way he commanded the box was extremely impressive. It was by far the best GK performance I have seen in the CCIW this year.

3. North Park is the most talented team I have seen this year. They appear to have zero weak links, as every position is manned by an extremely skillful player. The way they move the ball is similar to a very solid D1 team. However, I must question the execution in the final 3rd of the field. They pass the ball so well and hold possession for 80% of the game, but when they get in the final 3rd - they seem to struggle creating dangerous attacks. Wheaton did a good job of cramming the box, but instead of attacking, NPU seemed to settle quite often for 40+ yard shots or lofted crosses that were easily handled by Biddlecome. I don't know if it is a formation change that needs to occur, but when they switched to a 3-5-2 late in the game, they became much more fluid in the final 3rd.

4. NPU is the premier program in the CCIW now. I would argue that Carthage is number 2 and Wheaton has fallen to 3. In the past, with 2 games remaining in the season, WC would have come out with 6 points when they needed it. Now, they come out with 2 points, the season is over, and WC is deservedly out of the NCAA tourney for the 3rd or 4th consecutive year.

1. As a fan of Wheaton, I would be frustrated as well - although in this case it doesn't seem like it hurt Wheaton.  As a fan of D3, I see the student-athlete experience as more important as winning.  I think the coach gave these kids a great memory for all the hard work they put in and that will last longer than wins/losses.

2.  I saw the 2nd half last night - Biddlecome was impressive.

3.  I agree.  I don't think NPU has an experienced #9 to control the box.  To me, Khoury is a withdrawn forward and Knapp is still getting experience and improving.  If I could pick a #9 from the past that would be perfect for this team, I'd pick Jonas Pettersson.

4.  I want a strong conference, so I hope all the CCIW schools continue to push each other to improve even if that means NPU isn't #1.

[blue_jays]

Greg,

Very fair analysis of the Wheaton/NPU game. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it in person - but I was able to catch the live stream. There were a couple of things that I noticed during the game.

1. I understand playing your seniors on senior night, but in a must-win game, I have to question why Coach DeClute chose to start all 7 seniors and play them together for the first 25-30 minutes of the game. 4 of those seniors saw limited to no more action following those minutes. When the underclassmen normal starters came in, Wheaton scored just a few minutes later. I am not stating that the result would have been different, but I can't understand why during a must-win game - you wouldn't give your team the best chance to win.

2. Hasten Biddlecome is the top GK in the CCIW. The way he commanded the box was extremely impressive. It was by far the best GK performance I have seen in the CCIW this year.

3. North Park is the most talented team I have seen this year. They appear to have zero weak links, as every position is manned by an extremely skillful player. The way they move the ball is similar to a very solid D1 team. However, I must question the execution in the final 3rd of the field. They pass the ball so well and hold possession for 80% of the game, but when they get in the final 3rd - they seem to struggle creating dangerous attacks. Wheaton did a good job of cramming the box, but instead of attacking, NPU seemed to settle quite often for 40+ yard shots or lofted crosses that were easily handled by Biddlecome. I don't know if it is a formation change that needs to occur, but when they switched to a 3-5-2 late in the game, they became much more fluid in the final 3rd.

4. NPU is the premier program in the CCIW now. I would argue that Carthage is number 2 and Wheaton has fallen to 3. In the past, with 2 games remaining in the season, WC would have come out with 6 points when they needed it. Now, they come out with 2 points, the season is over, and WC is deservedly out of the NCAA tourney for the 3rd or 4th consecutive year.

My question is: how much longer can Wheaton put up with underachieving in their signature sport? When Giuliano's squad missed one year which broke the consecutive NCAA bids streak, it was like the sky was falling.

[Gregory Sager]

That question is best answered with another question: How much internal pressure is being brought to bear upon the current Wheaton coaching staff to get back to where the program used to be?

[Gregory Sager]

4.  I want a strong conference, so I hope all the CCIW schools continue to push each other to improve even if that means NPU isn't #1.

The league's non-con W-L-T record this year was respectable, if hardly spectacular, but there's still clearly a lot of work that needs to be done to get the league up to the same national-power level in this sport that it seems to be on in all of the other ball sports. And I agree that iron sharpening iron needs to happen in CCIW play as well as in non-con play in order to reach that level. I think that North Central's hire of Enzo Fuschino is going to make that program a perennial contender. Despite the program's inconsistency, I don't see Carthage fading away as long as Steve Domin still has a fire burning. Wheaton has everything in place to be what it was, if it can find a way (or a coach) who can recruit to the standards of the legacy. Dave Di Tomasso's won a CCIW title at Elmhurst, and he's had enough good teams over the years to know what one looks like and how to build it. Illinois Wesleyan has been in the CCIW tourney in three of the past four seasons, which at least indicates that the Titans are doing their fair share of the pushing. And NPU is here to stay.

That's two-thirds of the league. The trick, on the one hand, is to get everybody else to elevate. On the other hand, in order for the league to really step it up, the teams that are already competing need to get up to snuff on a national basis. Not only are Wheaton and North Park the only two CCIW programs that have reached the Final Four, they're the only two CCIW programs that have even gotten past the first weekend in a D3 tournament. Carthage is 1-6 and Elmhurst is 0-1, and nobody else besides those four programs has ever gone dancing in this sport before.

[blue_jays]

That question is best answered with another question: How much internal pressure is being brought to bear upon the current Wheaton coaching staff to get back to where the program used to be?

One thing you could always count on with Giuliano's teams was the talent level - he was a good recruiter. They reached the NCAA championship game for a reason, and not just cuz of the Golz brothers (though they were major factors). They were also able to get great transfers over the years like Ben Theimer, Matt Swartz, Drew Golz and Noah Anthony who became stars.

[Gotberg]

Greg,

Very fair analysis of the Wheaton/NPU game. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it in person - but I was able to catch the live stream. There were a couple of things that I noticed during the game.

1. I understand playing your seniors on senior night, but in a must-win game, I have to question why Coach DeClute chose to start all 7 seniors and play them together for the first 25-30 minutes of the game. 4 of those seniors saw limited to no more action following those minutes. When the underclassmen normal starters came in, Wheaton scored just a few minutes later. I am not stating that the result would have been different, but I can't understand why during a must-win game - you wouldn't give your team the best chance to win.

2. Hasten Biddlecome is the top GK in the CCIW. The way he commanded the box was extremely impressive. It was by far the best GK performance I have seen in the CCIW this year.

3. North Park is the most talented team I have seen this year. They appear to have zero weak links, as every position is manned by an extremely skillful player. The way they move the ball is similar to a very solid D1 team. However, I must question the execution in the final 3rd of the field. They pass the ball so well and hold possession for 80% of the game, but when they get in the final 3rd - they seem to struggle creating dangerous attacks. Wheaton did a good job of cramming the box, but instead of attacking, NPU seemed to settle quite often for 40+ yard shots or lofted crosses that were easily handled by Biddlecome. I don't know if it is a formation change that needs to occur, but when they switched to a 3-5-2 late in the game, they became much more fluid in the final 3rd.

4. NPU is the premier program in the CCIW now. I would argue that Carthage is number 2 and Wheaton has fallen to 3. In the past, with 2 games remaining in the season, WC would have come out with 6 points when they needed it. Now, they come out with 2 points, the season is over, and WC is deservedly out of the NCAA tourney for the 3rd or 4th consecutive year.

My question is: how much longer can Wheaton put up with underachieving in their signature sport? When Giuliano's squad missed one year which broke the consecutive NCAA bids streak, it was like the sky was falling.

Is soccer still Wheaton's signature sport, or has football taken over?

[GoThunder1]

1. In my opinion, Football has taken over as the "premier" sport. Winning determines this and the success of the football team over the past 10 years has been significantly better than men's soccer (with the exception of the 2014 final 4 season).

2. Who would have guessed that the CCIW tourney would be without CC and WC? Even going into the final week, I figured IWU/EC would falter and either WC/CC would make it and give NPU a tough test.

3. I don't think it will happen, but if NP fails to win the CCIW tourney, will they get an at large bid? It seems like a very similar situation as last year, where they didnt get in (there are 2 more spots this year).

4. Gotberg, as a big fan of the rivalry between WC/NPU - I would say I follow the vikings secondary to the thunder. With that being said, I disagree with your assessment on Khoury. I think he can play the number 9 role - but is still just getting into shape after his injury. He was quite effective in 2017 and 2018 in that same role - with what I believe was less talent around him. If there was a player from the past that would solidify this team as a title contender, it would be Matt Bond or Ricky Pimentel. Both of those players were such rocks on the backline and would allow Erlend Kemkers to move back to his natural position in the midfield (Kemkers has been fantastic as their CB and one could argue he is the MVP on this team).