The Midwest Conference released its 2021 Women's Soccer Coaches Poll on Friday, and Lake Forest College was in second place.
Voting is done by the MWC head women'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 finished fourth in the 2019 standings with a league record of 5-2-2 and qualified for the four-team MWC Championship Tournament for the sixth time in eight years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no conference soccer season in 2020-21.
All-MWC goalie Maggie Kersting will return for her senior year this fall. Joining her is fellow 2019 all-conference selection Raven Dziedzinski and last year's top scorers, senior Julia Larson and junior Alyssa Xanos.
The Foresters will officially open the 2021 season at Edgewood College on Wednesday, September 1. The team will begin league play against visiting Lawrence University on Saturday, September 25, and the regular season will conclude with a hoime game against Grinnell College on October 30. The top four teams in the conference will qualify for the MWC Tournament, which will be hosted by the league champion November 5-6.
Under head coach T.R. Bell, Lake Forest has advanced to the MWC Tournament 18 times in 23 years and claimed five of the program's six league titles.
| PLACE | TEAM (First Place Votes) | POINTS |
| 1 | Cornell College (4) | 48 |
| 2 | Lake Forest College (2) | 47 |
| 3 | Knox College | 46 |
| 4 | Grinnell College | 42 |
| 5 | Monmouth College (2) | 41 |
| 6 | Ripon College | 21 |
| 7 | Lawrence University | 17 |
| 8 | Beloit College | 15 |
| 9 | Illinois College | 11 |
