MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Illinois Tech has been selected as the favorite to capture the 2026 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) women's soccer title.
The Scarlet Hawks received 335 points and 23 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. Milwaukee School of Engineering, which did not receive a ranking lower than third on any ballot, finished second with 308 points and two first-place votes, while Dominican University was third with 283 points and the final first-place vote.
Concordia University Wisconsin edged Edgewood University, 248-246, for fourth place, while Marian University holds sixth place over Aurora University by a similarly slim margin, 188-185. Wisconsin Lutheran College (158) sits eighth, just ahead of St. Norbert College (146), while Concordia University Chicago (104), Benedictine University (84), Lakeland University (54), and Rockford University (27) round out this year's poll.
2025 Recap: Illinois Tech (20-2-1 overall) went 12-0-0 in NACC play last fall, running the Scarlet Hawks unbeaten streak in regular-season NACC play to 48 matches (45-0-3). Illinois Tech outscored league opponents, 67-1, during the regular season, conceding only a late penalty-kick goal in a 5-1 win over Dominican in mid-October. The Scarlet Hawks did not let up offensively in the NACC Tournament, outscoring opponents 12-2 over three games to capture the tournament crown for the second time in program history.
In the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship, the Scarlet Hawks edged Grove City (Pa.), 1-0, in the opening round before falling to regional host Calvin, 2-1, in overtime.
Illinois Tech secured four major awards as graduate student Kelly Hitchcock was named NACC Midfielder of the Year, seniors Kayla Smith and Gabriella Baltes were named NACC Forward of the Year and NACC Defender of the Year, and the Scarlet Hawk coaching staff led by head coach Roshane Ellison was recognized as the NACC Coaching Staff of the Year. Additionally, MSOE senior Page Sanchez was named NACC Goalkeeper of the Year and Concordia Wisconsin forward Koffy'e Chappel earned NACC Freshman of the Year.
Ten NACC women's soccer student-athletes were named all-region by United Soccer Coaches with Hitchcock and Smith landing on the first team, while Sanchez, Baltes, Illinois Tech freshman defender Grace Yager, and MSOE senior forward Elizabeth Kuhn earned second-team honors. Chappel and teammate Lanie Czerkies (jr., D) were third-team picks along with MSOE senior midfielder Faith Papazoglou and Edgewood senior forward Greta Blau.
New Coaches: Things may look a little different on NACC sidelines this season as there are new coaches at five of the league's 13 institutions.
Alex Pagonis takes over at Lakeland after spending last season as the goalkeepers coach at NCAA Division I Purdue Fort Wayne. Mastodon goalkeepers combined for nine shutouts last season between the men's and women's programs. Prior to Purdue Fort Wayne, he spent five years as an assistant at the NCAA Division II level in his home state of Washington - two at Saint Martin's University and three-plus at Central Washington University.
Rick Mateus brings nearly 30 years of coaching experience to the sidelines at Rockford. A 1995 Benedictine graduate, he joins the Regents after 18 years as a paraeducator in the Harlem School District. Mateus also 29 years leading the Rockford Raptors club program and a total of 15 seasons as head coach of the Belvidere North High School boys' (13 years) and girls' (2 years) programs, winning four regional championships.
At Marian, Kinsey "Bob" Gomez takes over after serving as an assistant since 2023. In that time, the Sabres posted a 27-21-12 mark and qualified for the NACC Tournament three times. Marian went 12-4-4 in her first season on staff, tying for the second-most victories in program history and earning a NACC Tournament home game for the first time since 2013.
Jon Gulrajani brings 25 years of coaching experience to the sidelines at Edgewood, including 16 years at the collegiate level and nine years coaching in the high school ranks. He most recently spent nine seasons as an assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, helping guide the Badgers to six NCAA Tournament appearances, including four NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances. Prior to Wisconsin, Gulrajani spent three seasons as head coach at Mount Mary, three as an assistant at UW-Milwaukee, and another as an assistant at UW-Oshkosh.
At Concordia Chicago, Patrick Elster has been named interim head coach. Elster initially joined the Cougar staff last fall as a graduate assistant. He previously played in the Chicago Fire's MLS Next program before competing for four years at Earlham College. Previously, Elster resided in Jacksonville, Fla. where he spent two years teaching English, coaching soccer, and serving as the Assistant Athletic Director at an under-resourced school.
2026 Schedule: The 2026 NACC schedule gets underway Tuesday, Sept. 1, with 10 nonconference games as all but Aurora, Dominican, and Rockford take to the pitch. The Spartans and Stars follow on Friday, Sept. 4, as they compete in the Bob Baptista Invitational hosted by Wheaton (Ill.) College. Dominican opens against Greenville, while Aurora faces the host Thunder. Rockford will be the final NACC program to get underway with a road fixture at Olivet on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
The league slate begins with six matches on Wednesday, Sept. 16 as Benedictine travels to Concordia Wisconsin, Lakeland hosts Edgewood, St. Norbert makes the short trip to Marian, MSOE entertains Dominican, Illinois Tech visits Aurora, and Concordia Chicago faces Rockford, while Wisconsin Lutheran is idle. The Warriors open NACC play on Saturday, Sept. 19, with a home fixture against Concordia Wisconsin. The regular season concludes Wednesday, Oct. 28.
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 Saturday, Oct. 31, followed by semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and the tournament final on Saturday, Nov. 7. The tournament champion receives the NACC's automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship.
2026 NACC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll
| Institution |
Points |
| Illinois Tech (23) |
335 |
| MSOE (2) |
308 |
| Dominican (1) |
283 |
| Concordia Wisconsin |
248 |
| Edgewood |
246 |
| Marian |
188 |
| Aurora |
185 |
| Wisconsin Lutheran |
158 |
| St. Norbert |
146 |
| Concordia Chicago |
104 |
| Benedictine |
84 |
| Lakeland |
54 |
| Rockford |
27 |
Note: First-place votes in parentheses.