MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Defending champion Edgewood University has been named the favorite to capture the 2025 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) men's soccer title according to the league's preseason poll, which was released Wednesday.
The Eagles, who posted a 10-0-1 mark in league play last year to capture the program's first NACC title, secured the top spot in the poll with 326 points and 19 of 26 first-place votes from the league's head coaches and athletics communications professionals. Milwaukee School of Engineering was second with 306 points and four first-place votes, while Dominican University (289) edged Aurora University (274) for third place and St. Norbert College (227) finished a distant fifth. The Stars (two) and Spartans (one) were also awarded the final three first-place votes.
Wisconsin Lutheran College edged Illinois Institute of Technology, 177-175, for sixth place, while Concordia University Wisconsin (169) is expected to capture the eighth-and-final NACC Tournament berth ahead of Benedictine University (153). Marian University (75), Concordia University Chicago (73), Rockford University (66), and Lakeland University (56) are tightly bunched to round out this year's poll.
2024 Recap: Edgewood finished 10-0-1 in league play to top the table with 31 points, four points clear of the field, to win the program's first NACC title. The Eagles were knocked out of the NACC Tournament with a 1-0 loss to No. 4-seed Aurora in the semifinal round. Third-seeded MSOE emerged victorious in the tournament final, defeating the Spartans by a 2-1 score.
The Raiders advanced to the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship as the NACC's automatic qualifier, falling 2-1 at Gustavus Adolphus in the first round.
New Coaches: There is one new head coach in the NACC this season as Ethan Higgins takes over at Rockford. Higgins spent the last two seasons as a goalkeeper coach at Penn State Harrisburg, helping the Lions to a 22-9-10 overall mark. He also spent time as an assistant at Millikin at both the club and high school levels in Pennsylvania.
2025 Schedule: The 2025 NACC schedule gets underway Friday, Aug. 29 with 11 nonconference games as all but Concordia Chicago and Dominican take to the pitch. The Cougars and Stars follow with their season openers at home on Saturday, Aug. 30. Concordia Chicago hosts Lawrence, while Dominican hosts Webster. The league slate begins with a six NACC fixtures on Wednesday, Sept. 17 as Rockford hosts Concordia Chicago, Marian hosting St. Norbert, Concordia Wisconsin entertaining Benedictine, Illinois Tech traveling to Aurora, Edgewood venturing to Lakeland, and MSOE welcoming Dominican. Wisconsin Lutheran drew the opening bye in the NACC schedule and will travel to Concordia Wisconsin for its league opener on Saturday, Sept. 20.
NACC Tournament: 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, Nov. 1, followed by semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 4, and the tournament final on Saturday, Nov. 8. The tournament champion receives the NACC's automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.
2025 NACC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
| Institution |
Points |
| Edgewood (19) |
326 |
| MSOE (4) |
306 |
| Dominican (2) |
289 |
| Aurora (1) |
274 |
| St. Norbert |
227 |
| Wisconsin Lutheran |
177 |
| Illinois Tech |
175 |
| Concordia Wisconsin |
169 |
| Benedictine |
153 |
| Marian |
75 |
| Concordia Chicago |
73 |
| Rockford |
66 |
| Lakeland |
56 |
Note: First-place votes in parentheses.