McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's soccer team is preparing for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Quarterfinals, which will take place in Bloomington, Illinois, on Saturday, November 1. The fourth-seeded Titans will host fifth-seeded Wheaton College at Neis Field, with kickoff scheduled for noon.

Three members of the Titans received All-CCIW honors announced by the league office on Friday, October 31. Sophomore Liza Wiley was named to the first team after earning second-team recognition last season. Junior Ava Mapes and senior Bree Cordray were both selected to the second team, marking their first conference honors.

Illinois Wesleyan concluded its regular season with a record of 9-7-2 overall and 4-3-1 in conference play. This is their best performance since 2022. The Titans secured home advantage for the quarterfinals following a 1-0 victory over Millikin in their final regular-season match on Wednesday, October 29. Keira Robinson scored the only goal of that game during the first period, assisted by freshman Hannah Henry. The defense recorded its fourth shutout in conference play this season, ranking second among all CCIW teams.

Wheaton ended its regular season with a loss to top-seeded North Central (2-0) on Wednesday, October 29, finishing CCIW play at 3-2-3. The Thunder have relied heavily on their defense throughout the season, conceding just 11 goals in eight league matches—the fourth fewest in the conference. Freshman goalkeeper Leah Roe has achieved the fourth-best save percentage among her peers in CCIW action.

When these two teams met during the regular season on October 8 in Wheaton, they played to a scoreless draw. In that match, IWU's sophomore goalkeeper Vanessa Gray made five saves as her team's defense limited Wheaton to six shots on target.

Historically, Wheaton leads the series against Illinois Wesleyan with a record of 32 wins, six losses, and six draws. Since 2002, they have faced each other fourteen times in postseason tournament games; Wheaton holds a postseason edge of ten wins to four over IWU. Six of those matches went into overtime and four were decided by penalty kicks.

The quarterfinal match between Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton is set for noon at Neis Field.