Official NWC Release

HILLSBORO, Ore. — The Pacific Lutheran University men's soccer squad will open the 2025 season with a target on its back after being selected as the preseason favorite in the annual Northwest Conference coaches' poll released on Friday afternoon.

The Lutes accumulated 64 points and eight of the nine first place endorsements with in-state rival Whitworth University a distant second with 50 points. Whitman College is third with 49 points and the remaining first place nod. George Fox University is the top Oregon team, checking in at fourth with 45 points while University of Puget Sound is fifth with 35 points.

Willamette University is sixth with 30 points followed by Pacific University in seventh with 27 points. Linfield University and Lewis & Clark College round out the rankings with 16 and eight points, respectively. 
 
Pacific Lutheran finished up last fall with a 13-3-5 overall record and an 11-1-4 mark in conference play, making its sixth consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearance and claiming the NWC title for the second consecutive season. The Lutes kick off the 2025 campaign in Minnesota, facing Saint Olaf College on August 29 at 1 p.m. (Central Time).