Contact: Chassidy Holloway, Assistant Executive Director, holloway@midwestconference.org
GRINNELL, Iowa - Knox College was selected by the women's soccer head coaches of the Midwest Conference (MWC) to again win the league title. Last season, the Prairie Fire became the fourth team in MWC history to win three consecutive women's soccer Conference championships and the first to three-peat as MWC tournament champions.
The 2019 MWC women's soccer poll results showed a tight race for the top three spots, with only two points separating the first and third-place teams. The Prairie Fire received five first-place votes for 70 points, the Grinnell College Pioneers received three first-place votes for 69 points and the Monmouth College Scots two first-place votes for 68 points.
A regular qualifier for the MWC tournament, Grinnell looks to claim its first Conference championship since 2011. The Pioneers have made tournament appearances in seven of the last eight seasons. This season they will look to dethrone the Prairie Fire and build off of last year's strong season of league play, where they posted their best mark since 2012.
Heading into the final week of the 2018 regular season, not a single team had clinched a tournament berth. Monmouth College, one of several teams in contention for a spot in the 2018 MWC four-team tournament, was a serious contender but ultimately finished tied for sixth place. This year the Scots are projected to finish among the top four in the league and, as a result, qualify for this year's regular season-culminating event.
Lake Forest and St. Norbert round out the top-five with 54 and 53 points, respectively. The Foresters gave the Prairie Fire their only Conference loss last season but missed out on a berth to the league tournament by one game. This season the Foresters will hope to compete for their first Conference championship since last winning the crown in 2015.
St. Norbert finished last season as runner-up for the MWC tournament championship after falling to the Prairie Fire 2-1 in the title game. The Green Knights won a share of their last Conference championship in 2017 with Knox College and will look to knock them off completely and reclaim the league title.
The 2019 season kicks off on Friday, August 30 as eight of the league's teams take action in non-conference matches and conference play begins Saturday, September 28. The 2019 MWC Women's Soccer Tournament will be held on November 8-9 and will be hosted by the team that finishes the season as the #1 Seed and claims the regular season MWC championship.
Full preseason poll results can be found below followed by quick facts for all ten MWC teams.
Team (First-Place Votes), Points
2019 MWC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll
- Knox College (5), 70 points
- Grinnell College (3), 69 points
- Monmouth College (2), 68 points
- Lake Forest College, 54 points
- St. Norbert College, 53 points
- Ripon College, 50 points
- Beloit College, 29 points
- Cornell College, 24 points
- Illinois College, 19 points
- Lawrence University, 14 points
Beloit College Buccaneers
Head Coach: Connor McKee (3
rd Season)
2018: 5-10-1 (overall); 4-5 (MWC)
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 7
th
Starters Returning: 4
Key Returnees: Rachel Cook (Sr), Katie LaCost (Sr), Raine Loewen-Thomas (Sr)
Cornell College Rams
Head Coach: Jose Fajardo (4
th Season)
2018: 5-12-1 (overall); 4-5 (MWC)
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 8
th
Starters Returning: 8
Key Returnees: Emma Daugherty (So), Georgia James (So), Cali Pfleger (Sr), Layne Pullen (Jr), Ashley Quesada (Sr), Sofia Schnur (Sr), Dajana Scott-Smith (Jr), Lindsay Smith (Jr), Elise Thomason-Larsen (So), Renee Wuest (Jr)
Grinnell College Pioneers
Head Coach: Kirsten Koester (6
th Season)
2018: 9-7-1 (overall); 7-2 (MWC)
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 2
nd
Starters Returning: 6
Key Returnees: Valencia Alvarez (Sr), Elizabeth Hunt (Jr)
Illinois College Lady Blues
Head Coach: Scott Smith (5
th Season)
2018: 6-12 (overall); 2-7 (MWC)
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 9
th
Starters Returning: 7
Key Returnees: Mychaela Bennett (Jr), Katie Elmore (Jr), Morgan Lallish (Jr)
Knox College Prairie Fire
Head Coach: Taylor Houck (1
st Season)
2018: 13-5-3 (overall); 8-1 (MWC)
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 1
st
Starters Returning: 8
Key Returnees: Deborah Bonales (So), Brooklyn Deming (Jr), Alyx Farris (Jr)
Lake Forest College Foresters
Head Coach: T.R. Bell (23
rd Season)
2018: 8-9-1 (overall); 4-4-1 (MWC)
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 4
th
Starters Returning: 6
Key Returnees: Hiwa Brown (So), Morgan Henrichs (Jr)
Lawrence University Vikings
Head Coach: Joe Sagar (2
nd Season)
2018: 0-18 (overall); 0-9 (MWC)
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 10
th
Starters Returning: 10
Key Returnees: Quinn Bingham (Jr), Danielle Dixon (Sr), Barbara Espinosa (Sr), Natalya Harp (Jr), Kelli Quick (Jr), Mia Pardo (Jr), Brynn Schroeder (Jr), Lauren Turner (Jr)
Monmouth College Scots
Head Coach: Nick Rizzo (4
th Season)
2018: 9-8 (overall); 4-5 (MWC)
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 3
rd
Starters Returning: 11
Key Returnees: Aspen Chadderdon (Jr), Devin Cross (Jr), Kara-Jade Gordon (Sr), Jacie Reis (Sr)
Ripon College Redhawks
Head Coach: Greg Ruark (3
rd Season)
2018: 7-10-2 (overall); 5-4 (MWC)
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 6
th
Starters Returning: 10
Key Returnees: Miye Aoki Kramer (Sr), Paige Pierce (Sr), Camrie Schmitz (Jr)
St. Norbert College Green Knights
Head Coach: Bob Rickards (1
st Season)
2018: 8-11-1 (overall); 6-2-1 (MWC)
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 5
th
Returning Starters: 6
Key Returnees: Cara Donegan (Jr), Miranda Hansen (Sr), Enya Horgan (Sr), Hanna Lech (Jr), Ally Magiera (Sr), Anna Tristani (Jr)