CCIW 2019

[fitzlax]

CCIW pre-season coaches poll.

https://cciw.org/news/2019/2/5/illinois ... title.aspx

The 2019 preseason poll matches 2018 conference results:

Rank Team Points (1st Pl. Votes)
1 Illinois Wesleyan 36 (6)
2 Elmhurst 30 (1)
3 Carthage 27
4 Augustana 20
5 North Central 17
6 Dubuque 11
7 Carroll 6

[fitzlax]

Good win for Elmhurst today against Ohio Northern (the pre-season co-favorite to win the OAC), on ONU's home turf.

ONU had a 9-3 lead at half, and Elmhurst came out in the 2nd half and scored 9 nine straight goals.
It was a very physical game (13 personal fouls), and it took awhile for Elmhurst to adjust to the physical nature of the game.
Elmurst replacing their starting keeper seemed to put a spark into the team.

[fitzlax]

As the conference season begins, here are some mid-season updates/summaries on the CCIW, in order of pre-season picks.

Overall, the top end of CCIW have had success against other midwest conference’s (MIAA, MLC) best teams. CCIW top 3 teams are 5-0 vs MIAA pre-season top 3 teams, 2-1 vs MLC top 3 teams.
The top team’s have held their own against neighboring conferences (SAA, NCAC, OAC), with IWU wins (Rhodes, OWU, JCU), Elmhurst wins (ONU), Carthage loss (Rhodes by 1) as proof.

IWU (9-1)
Having a solid year. Played most of their games on the road, with road wins including Rhodes, Aurora, and OWU. Their loss at Salsbury shows where they stand against the top teams. Assuming they get the CCIW AQ, they may surprise someone in the NCAA tourney.
With one of the deepest squads in the midwest, their brand of high tempo, constant pressure allows them to wear down strong teams and overwhelm most of their local competition.

Elmhurst (3-4)
After beating Ohio Northern in the first game of the year, they looked ready to challenge for the top CCIW spot. Then, a string of losses against
on-par competition (Aurora, Depauw, Col College, Whittier) exposed some cracks, and have teams below them looking to knock them off.
April 13 will show if they have the athletes, defense, and scoring ability to compete with IWU.

Carthage (8-2)
Wins over other Midwest top-tier teams (Albion, Depauw, CUW, Hope), and loss at Rhodes (by 1) show that Carthage has another strong team. They are looking to disprove their pre-season ranking with the first conference game this Saturday (Apr 6) against IWU.

Augustana (4-5)
Victories against on-par teams (Alma, MSOE, Beloit), while they haven’t shown any hints of conference upward mobility with their losses coming against higher rated teams (Transylvania, Sweanne, Centre, Hope, Aurora).
They’ll be looking to surprise one of the top teams with their defense holding teams to a low scoring game.

North Central (IL) (7-2)
Similar summary as Augustana, with victories against on-par teams (MSOE, Alma). Their victory over Trine (Trine’s only loss) shows that their strong defense gives them a chance to break into the four team conference playoffs.

Dubuque (3-5)
Competitive with on-par teams from the MLC and MIAA. Pre-season pick is likely to hold. Looking to use their young and large roster as a stepping stone for the upcoming seasons.

Carroll (WI) (1-7)
Like many newer Midwest teams, held down by the challenge of fielding an experienced and large enough roster to compete.

[Cheeseandcrackers]

The scenery looks a lot like 2017. Denison will be the only NCAC team in the "Midwest Regional". IWU should get a shot at the Big Red for a chance at taking a trip east

[Nosey Ned]

The scenery looks a lot like 2017. Denison will be the only NCAC team in the "Midwest Regional". IWU should get a shot at the Big Red for a chance at taking a trip east

“Careful what you wish for ....”.

Curious what you predict IWU would do with that shot at Denison this year?

You say this year looks like 2017 .... IWU better hope it’s not! IWU had their shot at Denison in 2017, a year if memory serves me, IWU also beat OWU and came in to the game with a very strong team and visions of going east. IWU lost 25-11. Then they had another shot again last year, and lost this time 25-9.

That 2017 Big Red team was legit. They went to Salisbury to win the game not “show they can play with anybody”. They got on the bus after the game upset that they lost by 1 goal (for the 2nd straight year) to the soon to be National Champion. They knew they let a great chance slip from their grasp.

Any Caravana coached team like a Berkman coached team is not the same in May as it is in March.

Let me be clear, I think IWU emergence as a regional player is fantastic and great for MidWest lacrosse specifically and college lacrosse in general. And I don’t know what might happen if they meet again for the 3rd straight year. And first off, DU has to get through OWU 2 times probably - but if we’re playing what if .... given the recent results, I’m willing to bet IWU hopes they are offered another avenue to the east then one that runs through Granville again.

[fitzlax]

Since in each of the last 3 years, there has been a Midwest Regional, it seem the committee would stick with that scheme for 2019.
Which teams? Will they bring in a high seeded team from the South to go with 1 team each from the ODAC, MLC, and CCIW?
There seems to be 3 or 4 teams in the running for the Pool B bid, but I’m assuming that team would be placed as a low seed somewhere else.
I'm sure this will get discussed in a future bracketology thread.

Getting past the ODAC. Whether it is at a conference, regional, or national level, there is a historical top dog. Everyone knows who they are. Watching the yearly David vs Goliath storyline play out is what competition is all about.
For IWU, assuming they get the CCIW AQ, can they tweak their style to compete against fast and skilled teams, and maintain it for a complete game? They’ll need to in order to win the Midwest Regional.

This weekend is Elmhurst @ IWU. IWU effectively clinches the post season tourney top seed with a win.

[mailsy]

Fitzlax who are you thinking the 3 or 4 teams competing for pool B this year are? Is Cabrini one of those teams? Because, remember, Cabrini is pool B this year and for next year as well.

[fitzlax]

Fitzlax who are you thinking the 3 or 4 teams competing for pool B this year are? Is Cabrini one of those teams? Because, remember, Cabrini is pool B this year and for next year as well.

I've been searching for this year's pool B list (and asked on fanlax a couple of times).
I didn't realize Cabrini was pool B this year. With that info, I don't see any other contenders for the single pool B qualifier.

Still curious, has anyone seen a list of AQ conferences and Pool B teams?

[mailsy]

Fitzlax who are you thinking the 3 or 4 teams competing for pool B this year are? Is Cabrini one of those teams? Because, remember, Cabrini is pool B this year and for next year as well.

I've been searching for this year's pool B list (and asked on fanlax a couple of times).
I didn't realize Cabrini was pool B this year. With that info, I don't see any other contenders for the single pool B qualifier.

Still curious, has anyone seen a list of AQ conferences and Pool B teams?

Here's a list of Pool B teams. I gathered this from https://www.insidelacrosse.com/league/diii/teams/19

These are independents.
Northwestern-St. Paul (6-3)
Southwestern (9-6)
Alfred State (3-6)
Marietta (3-8)
Anderson (1-7)
Whittier (10-2)
Colorado College (7-5)
Moravian (7-5)
SUNY Canton (5-6)
Johnson & Wales (RI) (3-10)
Dallas (1-7)
North Central (Minn.) (0-8)
Northland (2-6)
La Roche (2-13)

Johnson and Wales (DENVER) (1-6)

NECC

Dean (6-4) 1 0
Mitchell (3-7) 0 0
Wheelock (0-0) 0 0
Becker (0-7) 0 1

Ohio River

Transylvania (10-4) 5 0
Hanover (8-4) 3 1
Earlham (3-10) 2 4
Mt St Joseph (0-12) 0 5

Atlantic East

Cabrini (11-2) 4 0
Marymount (6-9) 4 1
Gwynedd-Mercy (6-5) 2 2
Neumann (6-6) 2 2
Marywood (4-8) 2 2
Wesley (2-7) 1 3
Immaculata (2-10) 0 5

Hope that helps.