The Fall season is officially in full swing, with seven Wildcat teams in action this week, and just one competing on-campus.
Football returns to the gridiron to host the Chapman Panthers for their final non-conference match up this Saturday on Maxwell Field at 1 p.m. Men's tennis and men's golf competed in their first tournaments last weekend, as tennis hosted the Pre-ITA tournament in preparation for this weekend's ITA West Regional to complete their Fall schedule. Men's golf traveled to Spokane for the Whitworth Fall Invite, taking fourth as a team and a pair of top-10 finishes for
Brody Landaker and
Ryder Ng. Volleyball wrapped up non-conference play at the Cal Lu Fornia Invitational, going 1-2 with a sweep of Chapman on the final day of the tournament. A strong weekend from
Naia Alefaio-Foifua earned the freshman libero her first Northwest Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor.
Earning a much-needed two weeks of rest, men's and women's soccer opened NWC play last weekend at Pacific and Willamette. The men fell in both contests, with freshman Oliver Blanchard scoring on Sunday against the Bearcats. Women's soccer remained undefeated, moving to 4-0-2 thanks to a 3-0 win at Pacific and a 4-1 win at Willamette on Sunday. Senior midfielder Lize Rendon successfully defended last week's NWC Offensive Player of the Week honors after adding two more goals against the Boxers. Each team will get back on the pitch in just under two weeks, where they will host Whitman and Whitworth for a weekend series.
VOLLEYBALL
The 'Cats head into conference play with a 2-3 record, set to face Pacific in Forest Grove tonight at 7 p.m. Tonight's NWC match will be coach Street's first with the Wildcats, as they look to string a pair of wins together, coming off of a 3-0 sweep of Chapman last Saturday.
The team boasts a 42-20 record against Pacific, dating back to 1995. Although seven of the last ten match ups have fallen the Boxers way. Libero
Naia Alefaio-Foifua enters conference play ranked No.4 in the conference in digs per set (4.16), while
Nora Myre ranks No.3 in kills per set (3.32).
This week's match ups:
Tuesday, September 16
th in Forest Grove, Oregon:
@ Pacific | 7 p.m.
Catch tonight's NWC opener live and on-demand on FloSports here:
https://go.flocollege.com/partner/nwc?utm_medium=partner&utm_source=multiple&utm_content=landingpage&utm_term=linfield-university&contract_id=006px00000fusffya1
MEN'S TENNIS
Men's tennis returns to the court this weekend, after hosting the Pre-ITA tournament last Saturday and Sunday.
Brooks Lerfald and
Cameron Paulsen look to roll their momentum from strong finishes at the tune-up into the three-day event in Newberg, Oregon, this weekend. The ITA West Regional will cap off the Wildcats Fall schedule, looking ahead to the Spring where they open at Boise State on Saturday, February 7
th.
The tournament:
Friday-Sunday, September 19
th-21
st in Newberg, Oregon
Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northwest Regional
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Women's tennis competes for the first time in 2025-26 this weekend, mirroring the men's Pre-ITA Tournament. The 'Cats look to gain valuable experience this Saturday and Sunday in Forest Grove, Oregon, as Pacific will host teams looking to prepare for next week's ITA Fall Championships.
The tournament:
Friday-Saturday, September 19
th & 20
th in Forest Grove, Oregon
Pre-ITA Tournament
FOOTBALL
Linfield football returns to action this weekend, set to host their second home game of the season. Receiving votes in each the American Football Coaches Association and D3Football.com polls, the Wildcats look to bounce back from a 31-14 loss to currently-ranked No.21 UW-Oshkosh in the season opener. Junior
Brady Crenshaw claimed last week's NWC Defensive Player of the Week honors, making 13 total tackles against the Titans.
Linfield football boasts an all-time record of 5-1 against Chapman, dating back to 2014. The 'Cats are 3-0 at home against the Panthers, with the most recent match up coming in Orange, California, in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Division III Football playoffs. That match up saw 133 combined points, and Chapman's sole win over Linfield in a 68-65 triple-overtime bout; the highest scoring game in Linfield football history by a wide margin. Against Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opponents, Linfield is 34-4 all-time and 23-0 at home.
(Kip Carlson)
The match up:
Saturday, September 20
th | 1 p.m.
Vs Chapman | Maxwell Field
Watch live and on-demand here:
https://golinfieldwildcats.com/sports/football/schedule
CROSS COUNTRY
Men's and women's cross country keep their season rolling for a second meet in as many weeks. Last weekend, the teams competed in the Ash Creek Collegiate in Monmouth, Oregon, where
Mya Budzik led the women's team with a time of 22:33.8.
Marco Stroman led the men's squad with a 37
th-place finish. Budzik and Stroman continue to lead the two teams through the first two meets of the season.
This week, the Wildcats head north to Tacoma, Washington, for their first race outside of Oregon since head coach
Chris McIsaac took over the program.
The Meet:
Saturday, September 20
th at 11 a.m.
Pacific Lutheran Invitational (PLU Meadows) – Tacoma, Washington
MEN'S GOLF
In a short week, Linfield men's golf returns to the course for a second consecutive weekend, this time heading to St. Cloud, Minnesota, for the Saint John's Invitational. The second event of the Fall season will split rounds at Blackberry Ridge Golf Club and St. Cloud Country Club.
Brody Landaker and
Ryder Ng led the team in the Fall opener, each shooting one round of three-under 68 to earn top-ten finishes. As a team, the 'Cats finished fourth amongst seven NWC opponents.
On The Tee:
Saturday & Sunday, September 20
th & 21
st | St. Cloud, Minnesota
Saint John's Fall Invitational | 36 holes
Live Scoring:
https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/238917/scoring/participants
LINFIELD SPORTS NETWORK ON FLOSPORTS
This summer, the Northwest Conference and its nine affiliated institutions announced an exclusive media rights partnership, bringing nearly all NWC broadcasted sports to the FloSports platform for the foreseen future. This deal now requires fans, families, and students to purchase a subscription to the platform to view Wildcat sports live and on-demand.
To learn more about FloSports, the Linfield Sports Network, how to subscribe, and even how to get a discounted subscription, visit:
https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2025/8/29/general-interest-wildcats-home-openers-one-week-away-flosports-streams-on-deck.aspx
To follow Linfield Wildcats coverage all season long, visit golinfieldwildcats.com. Please consider following Linfield Athletics on Facebook, and @LinfieldSports on Instagram and X.com.
