SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitworth College will open the 2005 men's soccer season facing a pair of stiff challenges at the Linfield College Classic this Labor Day weekend. The Pirates will play University of Redlands on Saturday at 4:30 pm before facing Corban College (formerly Western Baptist University) on Monday at 2:30 pm.

Whitworth, the defending Northwest Conference champion, is ranked 21st in the NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division III men's preseason coaches poll. The Pirates return nine starters from 2004 when the team finished 16-3-1 overall and 12-1-1 in the NWC. Senior defender Todd Sabrowski (Oregon City, Ore.) is the returning NWC Defensive Player of the Year, while junior forward Niko Varlamos (Edmonds, Wash.) is the returning NWC Offensive Player of the Year. Also back is First Team All-NWC goal keeper Kevin Bostock (Jr., Whitefish, Mont.), along with Second Team All-NWC selections Jon Carlson (Sr., F, Camas, Wash.) and Ali Seyedali (Jr., MF, Kirkland, Wash.). Whitworth is listed first in the 2005 NWC preseason coaches poll.

Saturday's match will be an intriguing dual between the defending NWC champion Pirates and Redlands, the defending champion of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. The Bulldogs finished 15-3-3 overall and 12-2 in the SCIAC last season. After receiving a first round bye, Redlands fell to UC Santa Cruz on penalty kicks in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs return senior defender Silverio Martinez, a 2004 First Team All-SCIAC selection. The last time Whitworth played Redlands was in the 2001 NCAA West Region final in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Bulldogs won 1-0 in overtime.

Corban went 10-5-2 overall and 6-4-2 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference with a young squad in 2004. The Warriors are second in the 2005 Cascade coaches preseason poll. They welcome back sophomore midfielder Caleb Louvier, a 2004 First Team All-Cascade pick, and junior forward Scott Marshall, a Second Team choice in 2004 after scoring 13 goals and nine assists. Whitworth has not played Corban (formerly Western Baptist) since 1999, when the Pirates came away with a 4-1 win in Salem, Oregon.