CCIW 2020

[Redbirds]

Does anyone even care? When is the next time IWU will lose a conference game? Can IWU beat Denison and get to final 4? Will Carthage and Elmhurst still perform well after losing major scoring threats? Is this the year North Central makes the tournament? Can Augustana continue to make the tournament? Will Dubuque continue to improve and potentially become competitive? Can a new coach at Carrol make them not completely irrelevant?

[Nosey Ned]

Can IWU beat Denison and get to final 4?

I don't think I can give my answer without seeming rude .... so I'm just going to say it.... No!

IWU should focus on simply getting better every year. Like they have been. And hats off to them but their record in NCAA tournament play isn't great (1-3) and their losses have been by big numbers ... 25-11 and 25-9 to Denison and 22-9 to Rhodes. So it's not like they are "this close" to getting over the hump. So looking to be a Final Four team this year is, IMHO, a stretch.

[Redbirds]

I agree on iwu. It is the next step. It will likely eventually. Not this year, not likely for a while.

[JustPassingThrough]

Will save others a Google search.

CCIW = College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin.
IWU = Illinois Wesleyan University.

Standings from last spring
https://cciw.org/standings.aspx?standings=98

[fitzlax]

CCIW pre-season coaches picks:

1 Illinois Wesleyan 35 (5)
2 Elmhurst 30 (1)
3 Carthage 26
4 North Central 23 (1)
5 Augustana 16
6 Dubuque 11
7 Carroll 6

[fitzlax]

I think Redbirds asked the top 2020 questions. Nosey, you got the right approach… show respect and humor in telling it like it is!

No doubt the lacrosse community isn’t looking to the CCIW, MLC, and MIAA to take over DIII lacrosse. But, the teams are filled with men that love the competition and take pride in what they are doing. So, I care! Good luck and health to all the teams for the 2020 season.

My thoughts:

IWU: I agree with Nosey’s view on IWU. Their lop-sided 2019 tourney loss against Rhodes had to be tough to stomach. Can they get better this year? Losing Rossi and Marth in the MF will require others to step up in order to continue their rapid fire game plan. It may seem that losing Graberek (CCIW defenseman of the year) at F/O is a huge loss, but since their 2nd F/O Bousky played at a similar level in 2019, I don’t see much of a drop-off. They return their GK, and added a strong MF transfer from Aurora. So, I see the 2020 team playing to at least the same level as 2019 and are in a strong position to win another CCIW title. They’ll have a chance to prove themselves as they play this year against the likes of Rhodes, OWU, Ursinus, WC, and Dickinson.

Elmhurst: Losing Harden (CCIW offense of the year) at attack and Langston at D-pole are huge losses. On the offensive side, if Funderburk finds prior year(s) form, both he and Yandall provide a solid offensive base. The defensive side should remain strong with the return of their top GK’s. The biggest loss may be due to the graduation of Meyer at F/O. 2nd place in the CCIW seems a good bet.

Carthage: Szun’s, Carthage’s all-time leading scorer, and Flight’s graduation are a big loss at attack. In addition, a couple of other high scoring players (Ilstrup, Jones) did not return for the 2020 season. Combined, Carthage lost about 50% of their goal scoring and 62% of their points. Carthage returns their F/O, GK, and enough of their defense to keep a solid defense, so the biggest question is on the offensive side. I’m pegging Carthage as 4th in the CCIW

North Central: Their biggest loss is at GK, but the return of two all-conference D poles should keep their historically strong defense solid. NCC didn’t lose much on offense (37% of goals and points), but the offense needs to score more in 2020 in order to move up in the conference. They’ll need a couple of transfers and freshmen to step up to make that happen. Can they break into the top 4? The return of the top 2 scores and F/O should give North Central enough to break into the top 4. I have them going to 3rd.

Augustana: The loss of their top 2 goal scorers (53% of goals, 52% of points) will hurt a team that struggled to score in 2019. They also lost their only 2019 all conference player (Krall) at MF and a strong D-pole in Balara. Returning their F/O and GK will help, but I see Augustana losing their place in the tourney and getting 5th in the CCIW.

Dubuque: Dubuque has continue to field a strong-in-numbers team, and have had success in building their program. Losing their top 2019 scorer and GK keeps them in 6th place.

Carroll: A new coach with a small-in-numbers team makes it difficult to climb the CCIW ladder this year.

[Redbirds]

Great reply. I am interested in seeing Carthage, as they seem to be sliding, but still have some good talent driving them. They killed Hendrix, but so far that appears to be the norm for them. Augie plays Monmouth today, the real thermometer will come on Saturday at Albion for Augie. Rhodes / IWU should be an outstanding match-up this Sunday. Elmhurst has a tough weekend facing both Ohio Northern and Capital. Of all the teams in the conference IWU and Elmhurst are working the hardest, or at least having the must success, on increasing the quality of their schedule. I would be interested in knowing what coaches didn't pick IWU to win, especially the one who picked North Central.

[Redbirds]

Loss by Augie to Monmouth certainly supports coaches opinion of dropping them out of the playoffs. Just one game, but Augie beat Monmouth last year 14-1 and barely held onto 4th place.

[605lax]

Great reply. I am interested in seeing Carthage, as they seem to be sliding, but still have some good talent driving them. They killed Hendrix, but so far that appears to be the norm for them. Augie plays Monmouth today, the real thermometer will come on Saturday at Albion for Augie. Rhodes / IWU should be an outstanding match-up this Sunday. Elmhurst has a tough weekend facing both Ohio Northern and Capital. Of all the teams in the conference IWU and Elmhurst are working the hardest, or at least having the must success, on increasing the quality of their schedule. I would be interested in knowing what coaches didn't pick IWU to win, especially the one who picked North Central.

That one vote for North Central came from either Morrell (Elmhurst) or from Neff (Carthage). If I had to put money on it though I would say Morrell voted for North Central. When the conference picked up lacrosse IWU and Carthage never voted for each in preseason polls since the coaches can't pick their own team, and now that Elmhurst has progressed over Carthage it makes sense for Elmhurst not to pick IWU either.

The IWU/Elmhurst game should be a good one to watch though in terms of conference play. Both teams are gritty in their own way, but no matter what the score is, the game is always a dog fight between the two schools.

[Pinchpopscorecelly]

The IWU/Elmhurst game should be a good one to watch though in terms of conference play. Both teams are gritty in their own way, but no matter what the score is, the game is always a dog fight between the two schools.

Elmhurst seems be be lost with out Mac Harden from last year. 12-5 lose to Albion? YIKEES! Not a great look for the conference. It will be interesting to see how they do against a bad OWU team, at least historically speaking. I hope it is not a blowout, but I unfortunately don't think it will be close.

[Redbirds]

North Central has stepped up this year and has the look to make some noise, it would be shocking if they didn't make the tournament this year. Potentially could be as high as a 2 seed. Elmhurst wasn't blown out at OWU. Albion has a ridiculous FOGO, which on the the wrong day can make them tough to beat (like in a cold rain storm after a long bus ride). Elmhurst certainly misses Harden though. Carthage still plugging along. Augustana hanging in games, but not getting the job done. IWU might have gotten better. Their leading scorers are a sophmore and freshmen twins. They are moving the ball very fast this year, and may have actually improved. It will be incredibly tough for any CCIW opponent to beat them.