FREELAND, Mich. – In a preseason poll of eight Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) men's soccer coaches, Hope is slated to finish No. 1 after receiving six first-place votes.

Calvin earned the other two first-place votes to place second in the preseason poll with 12 points.  Kalamazoo tallied 21 points to edge Trine (23 points) for third.  Albion recorded 33 points for fifth place, followed by Alma in sixth with 36 points.  Adrian (43 points) and Olivet (47 points) rounded out the poll in seventh and eighth, respectively.

The preseason poll for MIAA men's soccer awards one point for a first-place vote, two points for a second-place vote, etc.  Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own programs.

Hope (5-1-1 overall, 2-1 MIAA in spring 2021), seeded third for the spring 2021 MIAA Tournament, claimed the tournament title for the first time since 2013.  Last season's Most Valuable Player, Ty Dalton (Sr. | M | Rockford,  Mich.), will return for a fifth year at Hope after securing the tournament victory for the Flying Dutchmen with the game-winning goal in overtime versus Trine in the final contest.  Hope's roster will also feature senior Ryan Flynn (Sr. | M | Bloomington, Ill.) and sophomore Brandon Fles (So. | D | Spring Lake, Mich.) who were both named to the All-MIAA First Team last season, as well as Second Team All-MIAA players Dominick Byrne (Sr. | D | Fremont, Mich.) and Jackson Strabel (Jr. | D | Grand Rapids, Mich.).

Calvin (7-2 overall, 6-0 MIAA) earned the regular-season crown for the 14th-straight season (including one co-championship) after going undefeated in league play.  Oliver Akintade (So. | F | Lake Forest, Ill.) returns for the Knights after being voted the spring 2021 MIAA Newcomer of the Year.  Akintade started all games last season and concluded league play first in goals (5) and second in both points (11) and shots (21).  The Calvin roster will also feature three-time All-MIAA selections Sam Twigg (Sr. | D | Auckland, N.Z.) and Drew Van Andel (Sr. | D | Grand Haven, Mich.), along with two-time All-MIAA honorees Aguma Muhumuza (Jr. | D | Baton Rouge, La.), Mason Smith (Sr. | M | Flint, Mich.) and Daniel Wunder (Jr. | GK | Grand Rapids, Mich.).

Kalamazoo concluded the spring 2021 season with an overall record of 5-1-1 and a 5-1 mark in conference contests.  The Hornet roster is headlined by seniors Luke Kastran (Sr. | GK | Rochester Hills, Mich.) and two-time All-MIAA recipient Alex Wallace (Sr. | D | Davie, Fla.) who were both named Second Team all-conference players last season.

Trine (11-5 overall, 4-3 MIAA) returns four-of-five spring 2021 All-MIAA players this season.  Jared Cromwell (Jr. | M/D |Grand Rapids, Mich.) represented the Thunder on the All-MIAA First Team last season.  The spring 2021 Second Team All-MIAA honorees who are returning are Beau Hill (Sr. | D | Allen, Texas), Brian Morris (Sr. | M | Metamora, Mich.), Tyler Murphy (So. | M | Greenfield, Ind.), and Alhasan Yahya (So. | M | Melvindale, Mich.).

Albion (1-5 overall, 0-3 MIAA) will look to Second Team All-MIAA selection Jason Warras (Sr. | F | Plymouth, Mich.) in the upcoming season.

The 2021 MIAA men's soccer season gets underway Wednesday, Sept. 1.  League play begins on Tuesday, Oct. 5, with Olivet hosting Alma (4:00 p.m.), Trine hosting Calvin (4:00 p.m.), Albion hosting Kalamazoo (7:00 p.m.) and Hope hosting Adrian (7:00 p.m.).