Fresh off one of the best seasons in program history, boys’ soccer coaches in the Western Dakota Association (WDA) foresee no end to Minot High’s dominance as they voted the Magicians the team to beat in the preseason 2022 WDA Boys’ Soccer Coaches Poll.

Amassing the most regular-season victories against fellow WDA adversaries in conference history last season, Minot High (15-3-1 overall) won their first nine matches before ultimately tallying 12 conference wins on their way to a WDA regular season title.

Riding the momentum of their regular season success, they proceeded to claim their first WDA Tournament championship in program history with a 3-2 victory over Bismarck High in Mandan before coming up short in the state tournament.

Metrics for the scoring of the annual preseason poll, conducted this year by WDA Executive Secretary Matt Mullally, consisted of: seven points for a first-place vote, six points for second place, five points for third place, four points for fourth place, three points for fifth place, two points for sixth place, and one point for seventh place.

Of the eight teams representing the WDA for boys’ soccer, five received at least one first-place vote, led by the Magicians with three. Century followed behind closely with two votes, while Bismarck High, Jamestown, and Legacy all received one first-place vote.

After all the votes were accounted for and scored, Minot High finished with a collective total of 42 points, enough to secure their spot at the top of the rankings. Century trailed by just two points, putting them at a grand total of 40 and placing them at the second spot on the list.

Rounding out the remaining totals were Bismarck High (36) coming in third, Jamestown and Legacy with 32 points each for a fourth-place tie, Mandan (16) in sixth, and Dickinson and Williston both gathering 13 points to tie for seventh place in the poll.

Play will kick off today for several teams as they head into season 28 of boys’ soccer within the WDA.