MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Milwaukee School of Engineering has been named a slight favorite to win the 2023 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) men's soccer title according to the league's preseason poll released Wednesday.
MSOE, which earned a share of the league title a year ago, received 316 points and 12 of a possible 26 first-place votes in the poll, which consists of rankings by each of the league's head coaches and head athletics communications professionals. Defending NACC tournament champion Aurora University ranks second with 305 points and eight first-place votes, while Dominican University (282) edged Concordia University Wisconsin and Benedictine University (both 242) for third place. St. Norbert College (216) sits sixth and Marian University is seventh.
Wisconsin Lutheran College (165), Illinois Institute of Technology (136), Rockford University (89), Concordia University Chicago (68), Lakeland University (62), and Edgewood College (48) round out this year's poll.
2022 Recap: MSOE, Aurora, and Concordia Wisconsin all finished tied atop the ladder with 24 points apiece after each sported 7-2-3 marks during the league season. Another three-way tie filled out the NACC tournament field as Marian, Benedictine, and Dominican finished level on 23 points with 7-3-2 records. Fifth-seeded Benedictine topped fourth-seeded Marian, 3-0, in the first round and top-seeded Concordia Wisconsin, 2-0, in double overtime in the semifinals to advance to the championship match. Second-seeded Aurora edged third-seeded MSOE, 2-1, in the other semifinal, the dispatched the upset-minded Eagles, 4-0, in the final to capture the NACC tournament crown.
The Spartans advanced to the 2022 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship as the NACC's automatic qualifier, falling 2-0 at Gustavus Adolphus in the first round.
New Coaches: There are three new head coaches in the NACC this season. Brad Callahan takes over at Concordia Chicago after most recently serving as Director of Athletics at St. Pius X School in Granger, Indiana. He had also been working as the Director of Coaching for Lancer Select Soccer Club since August 2021 and had run camps, clinics, and seasonal programming in Indiana and Florida through his own program - Technical Skill Soccer - since 2014. Callahan has colleigate coaching experience as the head men's reserves coach and assistant men's varsity coach at Bethel (Ind.) from 2013-2016.
Tim Bruner is the new head coach at Edgewood. Bruner, a 2003 Edgewood graduate, has been the head men's coach across town at Madison College since 2021 and previously served as an assistant for both the Eagle men's (2016-19) and women's (2018-20) programs. He also has an extensive background in the local club soccer scene as a team trainer and head coach with the Madison 56ers since June 2017.
At Marian, Keegan Miller assumes control of the Sabres program after the retirement of longtime coach Craig Peltonen. Miller had spent five seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator with the program before being elevated to the top spot. He also has a long history coaching club soccer in both Washington state and Colorado.
2023 Schedule: The 2023 NACC schedule gets underway Friday, Sept. 1 with 12 nonconference games as all but Dominican takes to the pitch. The Stars follow with their season opener at Webster on Sunday, Sept. 3. The league slate begins with six matches on Wednesday, Sept. 13 as Concordia Wisconsin entertains Benedictine, Aurora travels to Dominican, Marian hosts Wisconsin Lutheran, St. Norbert welcomes Lakeland, Illinois Tech ventures to Lakeland, and Rockford is at home against Concordia Chicago. MSOE drew the opening bye in the NACC schedule and will travel to Edgewood for its league opener on Saturday, Sept. 16.
NACC Tournament: In a change to conference policy, the top eight teams in the final regular-season standings will qualify for the NACC's postseason tournament. First-round games are slated for Saturday, Oct. 28, followed by semifinals on Tuesday, Oct. 31, and the tournament final on Saturday, Nov. 4. The tournament champion receives the NACC's automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.
2023 NACC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
| Institution |
Points |
| MSOE (12) |
316 |
| Aurora (8) |
305 |
| Dominican (5) |
282 |
| Concordia Wisconsin (1) |
242 |
| Benedictine |
242 |
| St. Norbert |
216 |
| Marian |
195 |
| Wisconsin Lutheran |
165 |
| Illinois Tech |
136 |
| Rockford |
89 |
| Concordia Chicago |
68 |
| Lakeland |
62 |
| Edgewood |
48 |
Note: First-place votes in parentheses.