HILLSBORO, Ore — The nine-time defending Northwest Conference Champion Pacific Lutheran University women's soccer team will have to claw back to the top to extend its reign atop the league after being picked second in the annual NWC Coaches' Poll released on Friday.
 
The nine-time champs garnered 56 points and one of the eight first place votes. Crosstown rival University of Puget Sound (14-3-5, 12-0-4 NWC), co-champions last fall and the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Tournament, sits atop the rankings with 64 points and the remaining eight first place votes.
 
Linfield University (10-5-5, 8-5-3 NWC) is a distant third with 46 points followed closely by Whitman College (5-6-9, 4-5-7 NWC) in fourth with 44 points. Pacific University (4-7-8, 3-5-8 NWC) is fifth with 33 points followed by Whitworth University (3-8-8, 3-7-6 NWC) in sixth with 27 points. Willamette University (3-7-9, 2-6-8 NWC) is two points back in seventh with 25 points while Lewis & Clark College (3-11-6, 3-8-5 NWC) and George Fox University (0-12-7, 0-11-5 NWC) round out the poll. Lewis & Clark sits in eighth with 16 points while the Bruins rank ninth with 13 points.

The Lutes finished the 2025 season with a 12-2-6 overall record and a 12-0-4 mark in conference play, marking the second consecutive year PLU survived the 16-game league slate without a loss. Pacific Lutheran's suffocating defense allowed just seven goals all year in 2025, including just three goals in conference play.
 
PLU opens the season in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 4 against Case Western Reserve University and begins NWC action at home on Sept. 19 against Pacific University.