McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's soccer team is set to compete in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since 2023. The Titans, who won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament, will face Macalester College on Saturday, November 15 at John Leaney Field in St. Paul, Minnesota. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m., with live stats and streaming available through the NCAA Champion Pass and the IWU men's soccer schedule website.

Illinois Wesleyan enters the tournament with a record of 13-2-4, marking its second appearance in program history after securing an automatic bid by winning the CCIW title. In their path to the championship, IWU defeated North Central College 4-1 in the semifinals and then overcame North Park University 1-0 in the final at Neis Field. Macalester College earned its spot by defeating Gustavus Adolphus College and upsetting nationally ranked St. Olaf College to win its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) championship since 2009.

This season, Illinois Wesleyan set a new program record with 13 victories, surpassing their previous best from 1995. Since their last loss on October 8 against Wheaton College, the Titans have remained unbeaten over eight matches with six wins and two draws.

Three Titans received All-CCIW honors this year: junior forward Ryder Coleman was named to the first team after leading IWU with four goals and three assists in conference play; senior goalkeeper Sam Kedzior and senior midfielder Jerry Smazil were selected for the second team. Kedzior also broke school records for career saves (281) and wins (31), while Smazil contributed both offensively and defensively as a co-captain.

"After leading the IWU attack with 11 league points, Coleman was selected to his first-ever All-CCIW honor as the lone Titan on the first team," according to information released by Illinois Wesleyan University. "Kedzior solidified his spot as one of the best goalkeepers in the CCIW with another strong year in net for the Titans." The release also noted that "Co-captain Jerry Smazil rang in second team honors after captaining Illinois Wesleyan to a five-win conference season."

Other key contributors include sophomore Ben Lyons, who scored five goals during non-conference play and added another goal plus two assists during conference games; junior Matthew Perchik; junior transfer Joey Rodino; and freshman Daniel Smazil.

The current roster features several returning players from IWU's previous NCAA tournament run two years ago. Fourteen members from that squad are back this season, including starting goalkeeper Sam Kedzior along with Ryder Coleman, Matthew Perchik, Jerry Smazil, and co-captain Nick McCully.

Smazil has also been recognized for academic achievements alongside his athletic contributions: "To go along with his 2025 All-CCIW selection, Smazil has earned USC All-Region Fourth Team (honors in 2024) and Academic All-CCIW as well as 2023 & 2024 Smazil was selected to the CSC All-District team."

Illinois Wesleyan exceeded preseason expectations after being picked fifth in the CCIW preseason poll but managed notable victories over higher-ranked teams such as North Park.

Family connections are present within this year's squad as well—freshman Daniel Smazil joins his brother Jerry on offense while Bloomington natives Logan Tierney and Dillon Tierney both contribute to team efforts.

Head coach Kyle Schauls brought in a large freshman class this year; five freshmen made their collegiate starts during this campaign with Daniel Smazil leading newcomers in points scored.

The winner of Saturday’s game between Illinois Wesleyan and Macalester will advance to face either University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire or Milwaukee School of Engineering later that day.