The Kickoff: Saturday, Aug. 24
Your roundup of soccer news across Wisconsin and beyond
Top of the box
Andrija Novakovich (Muskego) scored his first goal for SSC Bari on Friday night, but it wasn’t enough as host Modena came back to post a 2-1 victory in a Serie B match.
The 27-year-old Novakovich, who is on loan from Serie A club Venezia, beat two defenders to the ball and slid in to finish a rebound of Raffaele Pucino’s shot off the post on a free kick to give Bari the lead in the 17th minute.
It was his 26th goal in Serie B — Novakovich is in his sixth season in the Italian second division, having made 170 appearances for Frosinone, Venezia, Calcio Lecco and now Bari.
College
Two-time defending Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women’s champion UW-La Crosse is the preseason favorite to make it three straight titles, according to a poll of the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
With UW-River Falls, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout playing their inaugural seasons, the WIAC also has a men’s soccer competition this year for the first time since 2014. The newcomers join UW-Platteville and UW-Whitewater, who moved back to the WIAC from the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference, and UW-Eau Claire, which had been an independent since starting its program in 2021. All six teams will qualify for the WIAC tournament, and the winner receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament. The WIAC previously sponsored men’s soccer from 2009 to ‘14, but the conference didn’t meet the standards for an automatic NCAA berth — the league included Platteville, Whitewater, UW-Superior, UW-Oshkosh and affiliate member Finlandia (Mich.). The league ended in 2015 as Superior moved to the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, and Oshkosh eliminated its program following that season.
Did you know? A Wisconsin team has never played in an NCAA Division III soccer national final. UW-Oshkosh is the only state team to reach the men’s semifinals, doing so in 1994, 2000, 2003 and 2010. UW-Stevens Point is the only Wisconsin side to advance to a women’s semifinal, that coming in 2000.
Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC)
Preseason coaches’ polls
(First-place votes in parentheses)
Men
1. Aurora, Ill. (10) 307 points
1. Dominican, Ill. (8) 307
3. MSOE (7) 307
4. St. Norbert 254
5. Edgewood (1) 226
6. Wisconsin Lutheran 192
7. Concordia, Wis. 183
8. Benedictine, Ill. 143
9. Illinois Tech 137
10. Rockford, Ill. 128
11. Marian 81
12. Lakeland 59
13. Concordia, Ill. 42
Women
1. Illinois Tech (21) 379
2. MSOE (6) 369
3. Dominican, Ill. (1) 337
4. Marian 299
5. St. Norbert 272
6. Aurora, Ill. 239
7. Concordia, Wis. 226
8. Edgewood 218
9. Benedictine, Ill. 155
10. Concordia, Ill. 140
11. Wisconsin Lutheran 128
12. Lakeland 86
13. Rockford, Ill. 64
14. Alverno 28
College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW)
Preseason coaches’ polls
(First-place votes in parentheses)
Men
1. North Central, Ill. (2) 55 points
1. North Park, Ill. (2) 55 points
3. Carthage (3) 52
3. Wheaton, Ill. (2) 52
5. Illinois Wesleyan 34
6. Millikin, Ill. 28
7. Elmhurst, Ill. 21
8. Carroll 18
9. Augustana, Ill. 9
Women
1. North Central, Ill. (8) 64 points
2. Carroll (1) 54
3. Wheaton, Ill. 52
4. Augustana, Ill. 42
5. Millikin, Ill. 31
6. Illinois Wesleyam 27
7. North Park, Ill. 23
8. Carthage 18
9. Elmhurst, Ill. 13
UW-Green Bay junior forward Chris Album, who had nine goals and two assists in 14 appearances (13 starts) last season, was one of 16 NCAA Division I players named to the 2024 Men’s Hermann Trophy Watch List on Thursday. Fifteen players will be selected for the award’s semifinalist list on Dec. 11.
Linking play
UW-Whitewater at Rock County adds soccer, volleyball teams as program offerings continue to grow (UW-Whitewater)
Florian Wirtz gives defending champions Bayer Leverkusen dramatic win in opening-night thriller at Gladbach (Bundesliga)
FIFA sues Google for defamation over reputational damage (World Soccer Talk)