Millikin University Athletics - Official Athletics Website
Decatur, IL – The Millikin University Men's Soccer team looks to get back to the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Men's Soccer Tournament after falling short in 2025.
Last season, the Millikin Big Blue won six games overall, highlighted by two conference wins over Carroll and Augustana, and a tie against Carthage. The Big Blue fought all the way to the end, with one-point losses to Illinois Wesleyan and North Central.
Millikin will play 18 matches during the 2026 regular season with eight CCIW matchups and 10 non-conference matches. The season will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at Washington University in St. Louis, with the home opener set for Saturday, Sept. 12 against Rose Hulman. CCIW play will begin on Sept. 26 with a road trip to Carthage College.
Fifteen new players have made their way to Decatur to join the Big Blue after the Big Blue lost seven seniors to graduation, including second-team All-CCIW selection midfielder Landon Welch.
Senior forward Bryce Davis returns to Millikin following a stellar 2025 season in which he led the team in goals, points and shots including two game-winning goals and a first-team All-CCIW selection. Davis is accompanied by fellow senior Javan Grooms. Grooms led the team in minutes last year, appearing in all 17 games, 16 of them as a starter.
Head coach Charlie Ward enters his third season with Big Blue and second with assistant coach Kyle Petering. Ward boasts a 16-15-3 record during his time at Millikin with a 6-8-2 conference record and ranks third in all-time wins at Millikin.
"It's not ideal that we're away for four games in a row to start the season. Luckily, they're all relatively close, but consistency is going to be big," said Ward. "We gave up too much easy stuff last year. We're going to go play the #14 team in the country (Washington University in St. Louis), if we make any mistakes, they're going to punish us, so we'll need to be smart. Then with Illinois College, Aurora, and Blackburn, those are games that we expect to be competitive."
The Big Blue take the field beginning Saturday, Sept. 1 with a road contest against 14th-ranked Washington University in St. Louis.
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Millikin University Athletics - Official Athletics Website
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