PORTLAND, Ore. — Lewis & Clark College women's soccer heads into the 2025 Northwest Conference season with a veteran-led core and several new contributors eager to make their mark. The Pioneers enter league play following a four-match non-conference stretch and will look to carry that experience into the upcoming conference slate.
 
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL
 
Lewis & Clark was selected ninth in the 2025 Northwest Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 10 points. The Pioneers finished just behind Pacific University (17 points) and George Fox University (20) in the annual vote of league coaches.
 
Pacific Lutheran University will once again enter the year as the team to beat after capturing each of the past eight conference championships. The Lutes secured eight first-place votes and 64 total points to pace the field. The University of Puget Sound earned the remaining first-place nod and checked in second with 54 points. Whitman College (47) and Whitworth University (46) were separated by a single point in a battle for third and fourth, while Linfield University (36) and Willamette University (30) slotted into the middle of the pack.
 
The NWC slate begins on Sept. 20, with the regular-season champion claiming the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament.
 
KEY PLAYERS
 
Senior Kate Meinhard has shifted into a forward role this fall and has already made an impact, scoring the team's opening goal of the season in a 1-1 draw against Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She has started all four matches and leads the team in shots on goal, building on a 2024 campaign where she appeared in 19 games, netted two goals and had her first career assist.
 
Sophomore Ava Lazzara has transitioned into the back line, starting three matches and logging 238 minutes as a key part of the Pioneers' defensive unit. After seeing time as a forward in her first year, she now brings her speed and versatility to the outside back position.
 
Junior Grace Smith has anchored the midfield with a team-high 325 minutes played through four matches. A steady two-way presence, she started all 20 games last season and recorded a team-high four assists.
 
First-year Riley Yip is one of four Pioneers to score this season. She found the back of the net in her collegiate debut against Northwest (Wash.). With two appearances and one goal in her rookie season, she adds an exciting new dimension to the attack.
 
THREE THINGS TO WATCH 

• Lewis & Clark makes the always tough road trip to the 'Whits' in the middle of a season-long five-game streak away from Griswold Stadium. They take on Whitworth on Nov. 1 and Whitman the next day. Since the clocks fall back in the early morning of Nov. 2, both games will be played at 11 a.m.
• Meinhard's move into the midfield and Lazzara's shift into the back line give the Pioneers a new look and strengthen both areas with veteran leadership.  
• The regular season concludes on Nov. 9 with a Senior Day match-up against Willamette. The Pioneers will honor nine seniors before the game as Meinhard, Delaney Jones, Anna Ingadottir, Carli Driskill, Sophie Rossier, Abby Morrow, Megan Yanagi, Elle Sparks and Gwen Daoust will make their final appearance in Griswold.