Complete USC Top 25 Poll

TACOMA, Wash. — The eight-time defending Northwest Conference Champion Pacific Lutheran University women's soccer team will begin the season with a target on its back after being picked 23rd in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III Preseason Top 25 Poll.

The Lutes (16-2-4, 14-0-2 NWC) are one of just five teams west of the Mississippi River to be ranked, and are the lone team from the NWC to crack the top 25. Pacific Lutheran sits 23rd in the poll, one spot behind Illinois Institute of Technology (19-3-3 in 2024) and one spot ahead of the University of Rochester (12-4-3). Washington University in Saint Louis (23-0-2) sits atop the poll followed by William Smith College (17-4-4) and Christopher Newport University (19-2-2). Emory University (14-4-4) and Johns Hopkins University (17-3-3) round out the preseason top five. 

PLU won its eighth straight conference title last fall before downing Maryville College 1-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Lutes' eventually fell in the second round to host Emory University, a team that advanced all the way to the final four. The Lutes finished the 2024 season ranked 23rd in the final USC Top 25 Poll.

The Lutes open the regular season in Texas on August 29 against the University of Saint Thomas (Texas) and will face a pair of nationally ranked opponents before embarking on NWC play on September 20. PLU will face 10th-ranked Trinity University on the road on August 31 while hosting 19th-ranked Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Sept. 7.