PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College women's soccer is set to play three scrimmages, four non-conference opponents, and a full 16-game Northwest Conference schedule.

The Pioneers get their first taste of competition the last weekend of August when they scrimmage three teams to warm up for the regular season. The team will take on a group of familiar faces to the program when they match up with the Lewis & Clark Alumni on August 26 at 11:00 a.m. Twenty-four hours later, the Pioneers will take on Douglas College from British Columbia, Canada. The Pios then host NAIA Warner Pacific University at 5:00 p.m. on August 28 in their final preseason scrimmage.

Lewis & Clark opens their regular season Labor Day weekend with two games against NAIA schools, Northwest University and Bushnell University. On Friday, September 1, Lewis & Clark plays NWU at 3:30 p.m. for the fourth time at Griswold, the fifth time overall, and the first time since a 1-1 tie on September 1, 2021. The Pioneers and Beacons will meet a day later on September 2 at 2:00 p.m. Lewis & Clark have won the previous two meetings against Bushnell, including a 6-1 victory in 2021.

The next weekend, women's soccer will travel south to take on two teams from the Southern California Athletic Conference (SCIAC). The Pios will play Occidental College on Saturday, September 9, at 4:30 p.m., before taking on Caltech the following day, Sunday, September 10 at 11:00 a.m. This will be the first meeting between Lewis & Clark and Occidental and the third meeting between the Pioneers and the Beavers. Occidental and Caltech finished seventh and eighth out of nine teams in the SCIAC last fall.

Lewis & Clark women's soccer will play 14 of their NWC games on a Saturday/Sunday schedule and be the first game in a doubleheader with the men's team throughout NWC play. All weekend NWC women's soccer games through October will start at noon.

The Pioneers open up NWC play on Saturday, September 16, against Willamette University. The Pios beat the Bearcats last season in Salem 3-2 after reigning NWC Rookie of the Year Megan Yanagi scored her first two collegiate goals in a span of 3:52 to secure the win. The two teams played to a 0-0 tie in their second meeting last fall.

Lewis & Clark will face their first conference road test on Sunday, September 17^th, when they take on Pacific University. The Pios and Boxers played to a 1-1 tie in Forest Grove and a 0-0 tie in Portland last season.

The Pioneers return to Griswold the next weekend to start a four-game home stand, their longest of the regular season. Lewis & Clark hosts Linfield University (September 23); before last year's NWC runner-up, the University of Puget Sound (September 24), comes to Palatine Hill. In two games last season, the Pioneers and Wildcats combined for eight goals with ties of 1-1 and 3-3. The Loggers earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament last fall.

Lewis & Clark hosts travel partner George Fox University on Wednesday, September 27 at 5:00 p.m. in the first of two midweek games with the Bruins. The two teams meet again in Newberg on October 25 at 5:00 p.m. For the only time this fall, the women's teams will play the second game of the doubleheader with their men's counterparts against George Fox.

The Pioneers wrap up their home stand with defending NWC Champion Pacific Lutheran University (September 30). In last season's regular-season finale, Lewis & Clark held PLU scoreless on Senior Day to earn a 0-0 tie.

Women's soccer makes a trip to eastern Washington the next weekend to take on Whitman University (October 7) in Spokane and Whitman College (October 8) in Walla Walla.  The Pioneers went 3-0-1 against the Whits last fall. Celeste Schreifels scored the first of her seven-season goals in a 1-0 win at Whitworth. Schreifles scored her fifth goal of the season in the second matchup, a 1-1 tie.  Brecklyn Beighle and Sara Klott each scored a goal in the team's 2-0 over Whitman in Walla Walla. Yanagi scored her third goal of the year in a 1-0 win to complete the season sweep of the Blues.

The second half of NWC play starts the next weekend with a home game against Pacific (October 14) and the first of five road games on October 15 against Willamette.

The Pioneers then travel to Linfield (October 21), Puget Sound (October 22), George Fox (October 25), and Pacific Lutheran (October 29).
Lewis and Clark concludes the regular season at home on November 4 against Whitman, followed by Senior Day on November 5 against Whitworth. Both games will start at 11:00 due to Daylight Savings Time ending on that Sunday.

Schreifels, Yanagi, and Abby Hayes all earned All-NWC honors last season and played in all 19 games, along with returners Olivia Cowley and Sasha Raimondo. Keeper Sophia Young returns at the net for the Pioneers after posting 57 saves with five shutouts in 16 appearances a year ago.

Eight freshmen will join the team this fall as the Pioneers look to improve on last year's fifth-place NWC finish, in which they recorded a program record eight ties in a season.