SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Whitworth College soccer teams head south this weekend, traveling to Linfield College on Saturday and Pacific University on Sunday.

For the Whitworth men, now ranked 6th in the latest NSCAA/adidas Division III poll, this weekend is another important step toward possibly repeating as Northwest Conference champions.

Adam Loeffler - NWC Defender of the Week

The Bucs improved to 11-1-1 overall and 8-0-1 in the NWC by rolling past George Fox University (7-0) and Willamette University (6-0) last weekend. The Pirates set a school record for most goals scored in a Northwest Conference weekend and eight different players put the ball in the back of the net. Ali Seyedali (Jr., MF, Kirkland, Wash. - Lake Washington) was named NWC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring two goals and adding two assists. Adam Loeffler (Jr., D, White Center, Wash. - Evergreen) was named NWC Defensive Player of the Week after leading a defensive effort that held GFU and Willamette to a total of five shots on goal.

Whitworth will play at Linfield on Saturday. The Wildcats are currently second place in the NWC standings with a 6-0-3 mark, the only other conference team that has not suffered a loss this season. The Pirates and Wildcats tied 1-1 in a hard fought match on September 25th in Spokane. Chris Paradis leads Linfield offensively with six goals and one assist. Goal keeper Grant Williams has a 0.80 goals against average.

On Sunday the Pirates will play at Pacific University (2-11 overall, 1-8 NWC). The match will be the Boxers' final home contest of the season and will be played in front of a large Parents' Weekend crowd. Danny Williams leads Pacific with four goals, while goal keeper Jory Shene has made 7.6 saves per match this season. Whitworth defeated Pacific 6-0 in the teams' first meeting on September 24th in Spokane.

Ashley Fisk Leads Whitworth with 5 goals

The Whitworth women still have an opportunity to make a move up the standings this season. That move could begin this weekend as the Pirates (5-5-3 overall, 4-4-2 NWC) take on the same two opponents as the men. Whitworth is coming off of a weekend in which it defeated George Fox 1-0, but fell to Willamette by the same score. Ashley Fisk (Sr., MF, Bellevue, Wash. - Overlake) scored the only goal and she leads the team with five goals in 2005.

Linfield's women are 4-8-2 overall and 2-7-1 in the NWC. Kathleen Wochnick is the all-time leading scorer at Linfield and she has three goals this season. Allison Cartmill has a 1.60 goals against average. The Wildcats defeated Whitworth 2-1 on January 25th in Spokane.

Pacific is 5-7-1 overall and 3-6-1 in the NWC. The Boxers' Laura Hill is second in the NWC with six goals, but she has only played nine matches due to injury. Shannon Tillman has a 1.13 goals against average. Whitworth and Pacific tied 1-1 on September 24th in Spokane.