INDIANAPOLIS - With the exact same amount of points and first-place votes in the balloting, there was nothing to separate Findlay and Walsh from each other at the top of the spring 2021 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Preseason Women's Soccer Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour.
Four different institutions collected at least one first-place vote as preparation for the conference schedule starting on March 9 continues to ramp up.
Hopefully, the weather cooperates for the 11 competing teams on the pitch as the league looks forward to crowning a champion despite the NCAA Championships being canceled back in the fall.
The fall conference playing season was delayed until 2021 with a single round robin schedule format ready to go. The conference championship tournament will still feature an eight-team bracket with quarterfinals and the final hour at a site to be determined.
Some of the league's biggest stars from the 2019 season will be back and a handful have graduated. The smaller sample size of 2021 will be interested to monitor as Ashland prepares to transition in as a full member for the normal fall of 2021.
Findlay and Walsh each received 92 points and four first-place votes. It has been awhile since the 2019 conference tournament, when Walsh emerged victorious while Findlay claimed a win in the NCAA Midwest Regional at home.
Also in the hunt in the top tier of the preseason poll is Cedarville and Ohio Dominican. The Yellow Jackets picked up a pair of first-place votes and the Panthers, coached now by Reilee DuPratt, were viewed by one team to win the conference.
At the time of release, Trevecca Nazarene is the lone program to have a regular season contest under its belt as the Trojans faced Montevallo earlier this month. TNU was polled fifth with 63 points going into the spring.
Only three points separated Ursuline and Kentucky Wesleyan from sixth and seventh as both programs have essentially been locks as playoff qualifiers since joining the conference. The Arrows had the slight edge with 51 points and the Panthers tallied 48.
Malone was viewed as a tournament qualifier in the preseason coaches poll balloting and similar to ODU, have a new coach on the sidelines in Bailey Shattell. Lake Erie and Tiffin are young programs and looking to take that next step in their development by finishing in the top eight of the standings.
Ohio Valley reinstated its women's program and it really wasn't that long ago when the Fighting Scots were conference champions, nationally ranked and also in the NCAA Midwest Regional. The coaches picked OVU 11th, but may be more of an indication of the unknowns with a brand new roster. Head coach Jordan Valentine will be leading both OVU men's and women's programs this spring.
Great Midwest Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| T1. Findlay (4 first-place votes) |
92 |
| T1. Walsh (4 first-place votes) |
92 |
| 3. Cedarville (2 first-place votes) |
85 |
| 4. Ohio Dominican (1 first-place vote) |
76 |
| 5. Trevecca Nazarene |
63 |
| 6. Ursuline |
51 |
| 7. Kentucky Wesleyan |
48 |
| 8. Malone |
30 |
| 9. Lake Erie |
27 |
| 10. Tiffin |
21 |
| 11. Ohio Valley |
20 |