INDIANAPOLIS – Two Great Midwest Athletic Conference programs, both NCAA qualifiers from 2019, appeared in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason National Poll released earlier this month.
Cedarville and Lake Erie are ranked 22nd and 25th, respectively, while setting their sights high this fall representing the league and establishing themselves as top tier teams in Super Region 3.
Tiffin is also in the mix among a handful of programs receiving votes. Both Cedarville and Tiffin were voted as co-preseason favorites by the head coaches going into the fall season.
The Yellow Jackets received three first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll while going 7-2-1 overall in the spring. Rewinding back to 2019, head coach Brett Faro navigated his program through a comeback shootout advancement over Wisconsin-Parkside for a national tournament win.
Cedarville is stacked through the middle of the field with Sammy Kilimann, Gui Fernandes, Mauricio Ochoa Vazquez and Pedro Alvares, all with considerable postseason experience. Defensively, Jonny Stephens joined Alavares and Kilimann as first team all-conference performers from the spring.
Lake Erie earned a first-round bye in the 2019 NCAA Championship as the No. 1 overall seed and super region host in the top half of the bracket. Head coach Louie Rolko and his staff was also honored by the United Soccer Coaches organization as the Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
The Storm have All-American keeper Tom John returning in net and playmaking forward Aydon Von Essen. Division I UMass transfer Ben Wiemann is a tough matchup for opponents at 6-4, 200, and was the conference defensive player of the year in the spring.
The landscape is noticeably different with Ohio Valley transitioning to the NAIA level and the River States Conference. The Fighting Scots experienced an unprecedented level of success, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2019 in the super region semifinals.
The regular season for half of the league’s 10 conference competing institutions begins on Thursday, Sept. 2. The conference schedule ramps up on Thursday, September 16, with six postseason seeds on the line for the conference championship bracket.
2021 United Soccer Coaches Preseason Coaches' Poll -- Aug. 4, 2021
| Rank |
School |
2020-21 Record |
Previous Rank |
| 1 |
Charleston |
10-0-0 |
1 |
| 2 |
California State-Los Angeles |
0-0-0 |
NR |
| 3 |
Lynn |
0-0-0 |
NR |
| 4 |
Indianapolis |
13-0-4 |
4 |
| 5 |
Franklin Pierce |
6-0-0 |
2 |
| 6 |
Wingate |
7-1-1 |
7 |
| 7 |
Cal State-San Bernardino |
0-0-0 |
NR |
| 8 |
Colorado School of Mines |
7-0-1 |
9 |
| 9 |
Maryville |
11-4-2 |
24 |
| 10 |
Lander |
8-0-1 |
5 |
| 11 |
West Texas A&M |
8-2-0 |
7 |
| 12 |
Rogers State |
6-0-2 |
8 |
| 13 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
0-0-0 |
NR |
| 14 |
Azusa Pacific |
0-0-0 |
NR |
| 15 |
Adelphi |
0-0-0 |
NR |
| 16 |
Union |
6-1-0 |
10 |
| 17 |
Gannon |
0-0-0 |
NR |
| 18 |
West Florida |
0-0-0 |
NR |
| 19 |
Northeastern State |
5-3-0 |
25 |
| 20 |
Saginaw Valley State |
2-0-0 |
13 |
| 21 |
Colorado Mesa |
6-1-1 |
14 |
| 22 |
Cedarville |
7-2-1 |
23 |
| 23 |
Midwestern State |
7-3-1 |
20 |
| 24 |
St. Mary's |
6-3-1 |
RV |
| 25 |
Lake Erie |
5-5-0 |
NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Point Loma Nazarene, Notre Dame (Ohio), Lenoir-Rhyne, Erskine, Mississippi College, Davis & Elkins, Fresno Pacific, Carson-Newman, Saint Rose (N.Y.), Florida Tech, Anderson (S.C.), Fort Hays State, Post, Wilmington (Del.), Francis Marion, Young Harris, Cal Poly Pomona, McKendree, Mercy, Queens (N.C.), Tiffin, Assumption, Nova Southeastern