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RIPON, Wis. – For the first time since 2001 Lake Forest captured a Midwest Conference Championship and, despite falling to Carroll in the MWC Tournament, the Foresters are pegged to repeat in the 2013 MWC Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

After winning a league-best 15 games last season and losing only once in conference play, Lake Forest tallied 99 points and nine first place votes to lead the pack in this year’s poll. Carroll earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last six seasons in 2012 and picked up the other two first place votes and 91 points. Grinnell (73 points) and Beloit (66) were picked to return to the MWC Tournament in third and fourth place while St. Norbert was just a point back of Beloit with 65 points. Lawrence is pegged in sixth place with 55 points, followed by Illinois Col. (44) and Ripon (39) in spots seven and eight. Knox (37), Monmouth (24), and Cornell (12) round out the 11-team field.

There will be a wealth of talent on the field in 2013 as 12 players return after being named to the 2012 All-MWC teams. 2012 Player of the Year Mahir Mameledzija is back for Lake Forest while Defensive Player of the Year Mark Gore is back for Carroll to headline seven All-MWC First Team performers. Along with Mameledzija the Foresters bring back three other First Team performers, including midfielder Steven Johnson, defender Charlie Brey, and goalkeeper Ethan Guenther. Forward Joey Brown returns for Grinnell while defenders Ryan Munger (Beloit) and Stephen Salansky (Lawrence) will also be back on the pitch.

Voting is done by the MWC head men’s soccer coaches. Each coach votes for the 10 other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (10 points for first, nine for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.

Place	Team (First Place Votes)	Points
1	Lake Forest (9)	99
2	Carroll (2)	91
3	Grinnell	73
4	Beloit	66
5	St. Norbert	65
6	Lawrence	55
7	Illinois Col.	44
8	Ripon	39
9	Knox	37
10	Monmouth	24
11	Cornell	12

Team Previews:

Beloit Buccaneers (2012: 11-5-1 overall, 6-3-1 MWC)

Head Coach: Tim Schmiechen (24th season); 202-153-27 (overall) / 128-70-13 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  8/6
Starters Returning/Lost:  5/6
Returning All-MWC: Name (What team): None

Beloit has made the MWC Tournament each of the past two seasons but has yet win a tournament championship…Tim Schmiechen is the most seasoned coach heading into his 24th season and has 202 overall wins, most in the conference…The Bucs finished third in the league in both goals per game (2.18) and shots per game (14.35)…Beloit lost its top three scorers due to graduation and returns Aaron Clark (three goals) as the leading scorer…Ryan Munger led the defenders with one goal and four assists while Isaiah Turner-Wyatt tallied six points (two goals, two assists) in his freshman year…B.J. Kiser played all by 17 minutes in net for Beloit last season with a 0.86 goals against average (2nd in MWC) and a .843 save percentage (2nd in MWC)…


Carroll Pioneers (2012: 13-8-1 overall, 8-1-1 MWC)

Head Coach:  Rick Mobley (14th season); 130-83-20 (overall) / 80-31-1 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 16/12
Starters Returning/Lost: 8/3
Returning All-MWC: Mark Gore (1st Team, Defensive POY), Connor Behnke (2nd Team)

Carroll earned its third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2012 after capturing a MWC Tournament championship…Sophomore Nemanja Medic is back after a freshman season where he led the Pioneers with 19 points (seven goals, five assists)…Dan Czernicki (seven goals, assist) and Francisco Sajuan (four goals, three assists) each scored three game winning goals last season…Goalkeeper Tomek Miaskowski posted a 1.11 goals against average and a .795 save percentage that included five shutouts…


Cornell Rams (2012: 0-17-1 overall, 0-9-1 MWC)

Head Coach: Andres Leza (4th season); 1-51-2 (overall) / 0-9-1 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 8/5
Starters Returning/Lost:  6/5
Returning All-MWC:  None

Luke Farley leads the defense and is the top returning scorer after assisting on four goals last season…Adam Westerby started 16 games and scored a goal and assisted on another…Senior goalkeeper Jordan Setser ranks second on Cornell’s career saves list with 315…Cornell aims for its first win since beating Waldorf, 1-0, on Sept. 17, 2011…


Grinnell Pioneers (2012: 9-8-1 overall, 6-4-0)

Head Coach: Brian Jaworski (10th season); 70-69-17 (overall) / 43-30-7 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  21/7
Starters Returning/Lost: 8/3 Lost
Returning All-MWC: Joseph Brown (1st Team), Benjamin Warner (2nd Team)

Grinnell enters the season with four MWC Championships and four MWC Tournament championships with the last trip to the NCAA Tournament coming in the 2009 season…Joseph Brown finished in a tie for third in the MWC in both points (28) and goals (12)…Isaiah Tyree posted a 1.26 goals against average with a .787 save percentage playing every minute in goal…Benjamin Warner tallied 10 points (two goals, six assists) in 2012…


Illinois Col. Blueboys (2012: 7-8-3 overall, 2-6-2 MWC)

Head Coach:  Steve Golas (4th season); 18-30-6 (overall) / 6-19-3 (MWC)
Overall record: 18-30-6
Conference record: 6-19-3
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  18/5
Starters Returning/Lost:  6/5
Returning All-MWC: Andrew Matheney (2nd Team)

The Blueboys aim for a trip to the MWC Tournament for the first time since 1993…Drew Comstock scored five goals (two game-winning) last season… Scott Workman takes over in goal after earning a win and making three saves in just over 140 minutes of action…Kyle Mason led the team with three assists in 2012…Josue Hernandez and Alex Gardner combined for four goals and three assists with a game-winning goal each and will be looked upon to produce for the Blueboys offense.


Knox Prairie Fire (2012: 6-9-2 overall, 2-6-2 MWC)

Head Coach:  Matt Edwards (2nd season); 6-9-2 (overall) / 2-6-2 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  14/6
Starters Returning/Lost:  8/3
Returning All-MWC: None

Knox looks to continue improving this fall in Edwards’ second season at the helm after the Prairie Fire won six matches in 2012, the most victories since the 1999 season…The Prairie Fire finished second in the MWC in goals per game (2.47) and points per game (6.29)...Charlie Harned finished tied for third in both goals (12) and points (28) last season…Jacob Polay finished tied for seventh in points (17) and added seven goals (seventh) for the Knox offense…Knox outscored opponents 32-17 in second half of games after getting outscored 14-10 in the first half…


Lake Forest Foresters (2012: 15-4-1 overall, 9-1-0 MWC)

Head Coach: Chris Bergmann (5th season); 46-24-5 (overall) / 22-12-3 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  21/3
Starters Returning/Lost:  10/1
Returning All-MWC: Mahir Mameledzija (1st Team, Player of Year), Steven Johnson (1st Team), Charlie Brey (1st Team), Ethan Guenther (1st Team), Alexi Spiratos (2nd Team)

Mahir Mameledzija led the nation in goals (27) and points per game (2.95) while being named First Team All-North Region (NSCAA) and NSCAA/D3soccer.com Third Team All-American…Mameledzija set MWC single-season records for goals and points (59)…Other All-Region players include Charlie Brey (Second Team), Steven Johnson (Second Team), Ethan Guenther (Third Team)…Guenther led the MWC in goals against average (0.44) and save percentage (.897), letting in only six goal in 15 games…The Foresters led the league in goals (53), points (150), goals against average (0.79), and shutouts (11)…


Lawrence Vikings (2012: 8-8-1 overall, 5-4-1 MWC)

Head Coach: Blake Johnson (14th season); 83-117-21 (overall) / 54-51-13 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 12/7
Starters Returning/Lost: 6/5
Returning All-MWC: Stephen Salansky (1st Team)

Lawrence enters the season with 12 new players…The Vikings allowed the third-fewest goals last season (20) and ranked third with a 1.15 goals against average…Erich Lohrmann led the team in goals (three) and was tied with Cameron Pieper (two goals, three assists) with seven points…Darry Israel and Dan O’Mahoney each contributed two game winning goals a season ago…Lawrence has to replace graduated goalkeeper Kevin Aslett who played every minutes for the Vikings last season and posted a .823 save percentage and four shutouts…


Monmouth Fighting Scots (2012: 3-13-1 overall, 3-6-1 MWC)

Head Coach:  Kooten Johnson (1st season); 0-0 (overall) / 0-0 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  8/7
Starters Returning/Lost:  7/4
Returning All-MWC: None

Monmouth is looking for a trip back to the MWC Tournament for the first time since 2001 when the Fighting Scots won the tournament…Isaac Hernandez co-led the team in both goals (four) and points (nine) on only 17 shots…Max Daniels comes back after a goal and an assist last season…Monmouth brings back only six goals and 13 points from the 2012 campaign…Matt Schmidt played in goal in all 17 games last season and had a 2.48 goals against average and a .718 save percentage with three shutouts…


Ripon Red Hawks (2012: 6-11-1 overall, 3-6-1 MWC)

Head Coach:  Sam Schroeder (2nd season); 6-16-1 (overall) / 3-10-1 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  19/6
Starters Returning/Lost:  5/4
Returning All-MWC: None

Ripon graduated three of their top six point scorers from a year ago (Alvaro Calle, Marco Rhein and Nick Zupan)…Spencer Reisbick is Ripon’s leading returning scorer after scoring four goals and adding two assists (10 points) last season…Midfielder Matthew Lange contributed on both the offensive and defensive side of the field and had an assist last year while taking 10 shots…Landon Smith will be relied upon offensively after playing in 11 games last season and recording one assist…


St. Norbert Green Knights (2012: 8-7-3 overall, 5-3-2 MWC)

Head Coach:  Derek Rhodes (2nd season); 8-7-3 (overall) / 5-3-2 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  25/3
Starters Returning/Lost:  9/2
Returning All-MWC: Jim Blisk (2nd Team)

St. Norbert plays for a trip to the MWC Tournament for the first time since 2009 and the first MWC Championship since 2007…Jim Blisk scored six goals and added an assist last season that led the Green Knights…David Jacobson scored four goals in only eight games played while adding an assist with two game winning goals…Scott Faul takes over for departed goalkeeper Noah Davis after Faul saw action in four games and posted a 1.99 goals against average and a .692 save percentage…


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