The Midwest Conference released its 2021 Men's Soccer Coaches Poll on Friday, and Lake Forest College is in second place in the rankings.
Voting is done by the MWC head men's soccer coaches. Each coach votes for the other eight schools in the league in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (eight points for first, seven for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
The Foresters garnered two first place votes. Six coaches in the league put Knox College atop the ballot and the Prairie Fire's 55 points were five more than the Foresters' total.
The 2019 Foresters finished tied-for-first in the standings but fell in the semifinals of the MWC Championship Tournament. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no soccer season in 2020-21.
Returning for his senior year, Griffin Mitchell will serve as a two-time team captain. He's been a consistent presence in the Forester lineup, starting 28 games over the last three seasons. The youthful 32-player roster includes 10 freshmen and 11 sophomores.
Lake Forest will officially open the 2021 season against visiting North Park University on Wednesday, September 1. League play begins with a home game against Lawrence University on Saturday, September 25, and concludes on October 30 against Grinnell College. The top four teams in the conference will advance to the MWC Tournament, which will be hosted by the league champion November 5-6.
Coach Dan Andrews returns for his seventh season as head coach for the Foresters. Under the direction of Andrews, the Foresters advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2015 and 2017 and claimed the program's league record 17th MWC title in 2016.
| PLACE | TEAM (First Place Votes) | POINTS |
| 1 | Knox College (6) | 55 |
| 2 | Lake Forest College (2) | 50 |
| 3 | Grinnell College | 41 |
| 4 | Cornell College | 32 |
| 5 | Lawrence University | 30 |
| 6 | Monmouth College | 27 |
| 7 | Illinois College | 26 |
| 8 | Beloit College | 14 |
| 9 | Ripon College | 13 |