The Midwest Conference released its 2018 Men's Soccer Coaches Poll on Thursday and Lake Forest College is in third place in the rankings.
Voting is done by the MWC head men's soccer coaches. Each coach votes for the other nine schools in the league in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (nine points for first, eight for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
The Foresters garnered three first place votes, as did second-place Knox College. Four coaches in the league put St. Norbert College atop the ballot and the Green Knights' 76 points were three more than the Prairie Fire and six ahead of Lake Forest.
The 2017 Foresters finished third in the standings but won the four-team MWC Tournament to earn a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament field for the third time in the last five years. Second Team All-MWC selection Gaston Aubert tied for the team lead with 19 points on seven goals and five assists and returns for his senior season. Current junior Lucas Geib was also named Second Team All-MWC after matching Aubert's goal total and assisting on four scores. They are joined by three other returning starters.
Lake Forest will officially open the 2018 season against visiting Concordia University Chicago on Friday, August 31. League play begins with a home game against Ripon College on September 23 and concludes on October 27 against Lawrence University. The top four teams in the conference will advance to the MWC Tournament, which will be hosted by the league champion November 2-3.
| PLACE | TEAM (First Place Votes) | POINTS |
| 1 | St. Norbert College (4) | 76 |
| 2t | Knox College (3) | 73 |
| 2t | Lake Forest College (3) | 70 |
| 4 | Grinnell College | 54 |
| 5 | Cornell College | 48 |
| 6 | Illinois College | 39 |
| 7 | Monmouth College | 34 |
| 8 | Beloit College | 29 |
| 9 | Lawrence University | 15 |
| 10 | Ripon College | 12 |