TACOMA, Wash. - Looking to set a new Northwest Conference record for most consecutive women's soccer titles, the 11th-ranked Puget Sound Loggers are a heavy favorite to earn the championship, picking up all nine first-place votes in the NWC Preseason Coaches Poll.

Led by two-time NWC Offensive Player of the Year Janece Levien (Beaverton, Ore.), the Loggers return six All-NWC selections from a year ago.  In 2008, the Loggers went 16-0-0 in NWC matches to take a seventh straight title, tying the conference record set by Willamette between 1993 and 1999.

Chasing the Loggers in 2009 will be the Whitworth Pirates, who collected 69 points for second in the poll.  Whitman finished third in the rankings with 60 points, followed by Willamette (58), George Fox (42), Pacific (35), Pacific Lutheran (29), Linfield (19) and Lewis & Clark (12). 

In addition to receiving top billing in the Northwest Conference, the Loggers will also start the season in the national rankings, holding down the 11th spot in the NSCAA/adidas Preseason National Poll.  Messiah (Pa.) is the top-ranked team heading into the 2009 campaign.

The season begins for the Loggers on Sept. 4 when they travel to Wheaton, Ill. to take on DePauw in a neutral-site game before facing off against second-ranked Wheaton on Sept. 5.

NWC Release