MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Dominican University has been tapped as the favorite to capture the 2023 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) women's soccer title.
The Stars received 376 points and 18 of a possible 28 first-place votes in the poll, which consists of rankings by each of the league's head coaches and head athletics communications professionals. Milwaukee School of Engineering edged Illinois Institute of Technology for second place, 357-346, with the Raiders scoring four first-place votes and the Scarlet Hawks the remaining six. Concordia University Wisconsin ranked fourth with 310 points.
Edgewood College sits fifth with 264 points, followed closely by St. Norbert College in sixth with 255 points. Marian University (219) placed seventh followed by Aurora University (184), Benedictine University (177), and Concordia University Chicago (161). Wisconsin Lutheran College (115), Lakeland University (90), Rockford University (58), and Alverno College (28) round out this year's poll.
2022 Recap: Last fall, Dominican went 11-1-0 in league play to lay claim to a fifth consecutive NACC title. The Stars were unable to claim a fifth NACC Tournament title, however, after being sidelined in the semifinal round by fourth-seeded Concordia Wisconsin. MSOE and Illinois Tech tied for second place on 29 points with 9-1-2 marks. MSOE received the No. 2 seed in the NACC Tournament but could not take advantage of the home field in the semifinals as the No. 3-seeded Scarlet Hawks won 3-2 in extra time.
Concordia Wisconsin captured its second NACC Women's Soccer Tournament title with a 1-0 win over Illinois Tech. The game's lone tally came as the result of an own goal in the 16th minute. The Falcons advance to the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship, falling to Illinois Wesleyan, 5-2, in a first-round match.
New Coaches: There will be three new head coaches on NACC women's soccer sidelines this fall.
Corey Thompson takes over at Alverno after most recently serving as assistant women's coach and Directory of Milwaukee County Initiative at Bryant and Stratton College. He also spent multiple years as girls' and boys' varsity co-coach at Ronald Reagan High School in Milwaukee.
Hired in February, Courtney Naber was named just the sixth head coach in the 30-year history of the Aurora women's program. She spent the last two seasons as the women's assistant head coach at the University of Texas at Dallas, helping lead the Comets to back-to-back American Southwest Conference Tournament berths. A four-year starter at UNC Asheville, Naber also spent one season as the freshman coach at Mount Notre Dame High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
At Wisconsin Lutheran, former Warrior men's soccer standout Matt Eisold now leads the women's program. Since 2013, Eisold has served as head coach and goalkeeping director of several boys' and girls' teams at Elmbrook United Soccer Club. He spent six seasons (2010-2015) as an assistant with the WLC men's program and three as the head junior varsity girls' coach at Wisconsin Lutheran High School (2009-2011).
2023 Schedule: The 2023 NACC schedule gets underway Friday, Sept. 1 with 13 nonconference games as all but Illinois Tech takes to the pitch. The Scarlet Hawks will follow the following day (Saturday, Sept. 2) with a home match against North Park. The league slate begins with seven matches on Wednesday, Sept. 13 as Concordia Wisconsin travels to Benedictine, Illinois Tech hosts Edgewood, Marian is at Wisconsin Lutheran, St. Norbert makes the short trip to Lakeland, MSOE entertains Alverno, Dominican visits Aurora, and Rockford faces Concordia Chicago.
NACC Tournament: The top eight teams in the final regular-season standings qualify for the league's postseason tournament. First-round games are slated for Sunday, Oct. 29, followed by semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 1, and the tournament final on Saturday, Nov. 4. The tournament champion receives the NACC's automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship.
2023 NACC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll
| Institution |
Points |
| Dominican (18) |
376 |
| MSOE (4) |
357 |
| Illinois Tech (6) |
346 |
| Concordia Wisconsin |
310 |
| Edgewood |
264 |
| St. Norbert |
255 |
| Marian |
219 |
| Aurora |
184 |
| Benedictine |
177 |
| Concordia Chicago |
161 |
| Wisconsin Lutheran |
115 |
| Lakeland |
90 |
| Rockford |
58 |
| Alverno |
28 |
Note: First-place votes in parentheses.