Natasha Freimuth, Linfield Sports Communications

Men's soccer opens 2026 season on the road

By Chase Fisk, Director of Athletic Communications

08/31

Linfield men's soccer enters the 2026 season with a young returning core looking to turn last season's experience into progress in the Northwest Conference. The Wildcats bring back their leading scorer and an All-NWC selection in senior Ross Vargo, along with a number of underclassmen who gained valuable experience during the 2025 campaign.

The Wildcats scored 21 goals during the season, led by Ross Vargo's seven goals and 15 points. Senior Sam Haynes followed with three goals and an assist for seven points, while Tate Bliss, Julian Lara-Martinez and Derek Rowe each scored twice. Freshman Caleb Ishizaka led the Wildcats with three assists and added a goal to finish with five points, tying Bliss and Lara-Martinez for third on the team. Linfield honored 10 graduating seniors during its final home weekend: Aedan Carroll, Blake Tasci, Aidan Crossler, Haynes, Reece Gaines, Ronan Hodge, Radule Bozovic, Evan Stafford, Nick Reggiani and Noah Stanley. The class went out with a victory in its final home appearance as Vargo scored in the 85th minute to lift Linfield to a 1-0 Senior Day win over Lewis & Clark. Carroll capped his four-year career by earning Third Team All-NWC honors, after starting all 20 matches and helping the Wildcats hold opponents to one goal or fewer eight times. He finished his career with more than 5,000 minutes played, one goal and three assists. Haynes completed his four seasons with his best scoring campaign, netting three goals while starting 17 of 20 matches. Evan Stafford also concluded an extensive four-year career after appearing in 66 matches and making 62 starts.

2025 Season Statistics

2026 Roster

Senior Midfielder #15 Ross Vargo

Vargo enters 2026 as the centerpiece of the Wildcat attack following a career-best junior campaign. Vargo led Linfield in goals and points in 2025, scoring seven times and adding one assist for 15 points while appearing in 19 matches with 10 starts. He also led the Wildcats with 24 shots and 11 shots on goal.

Vargo's performance earned him Third Team All-Northwest Conference honors. His seven goals in 2025 raised his career total to 12 through three seasons. He also provided one of the Wildcats' biggest moments of last season, converting the deciding penalty kick in the 85th minute of Linfield's 1-0 Senior Day victory over Lewis & Clark. With Haynes and several other veteran players departing, Vargo returns as Linfield's most accomplished offensive player and its lone returning 2025 All-NWC selection.

Junior Jaren Nishikawa returns after establishing himself as a regular contributor during his sophomore season. Nishikawa appeared in all 20 matches in 2025, making 11 starts while providing the Wildcats with experience in the midfield.

Nishikawa's sophomore season was also recognized for his combined performance on the field and in the classroom. He earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors for the first time in his career after maintaining a 3.70 cumulative grade point average as an exercise science major while competing in all 20 matches. He was one of three Wildcats to receive the honor alongside Haynes and Bliss.

Junior Defender #2 Jaren Nishikawa

Sophomore Forward #7 Julian Lara-Martinez

Sophomore forward Julian Lara-Martinez returns after making an immediate offensive impact during his freshman season. The Hood River, Oregon, native appeared in 18 matches and made eight starts in his collegiate debut, logging 958 minutes. Lara-Martinez scored twice to finish tied for third on the team in goals and totaled five points, placing him in a tie for third among the Wildcats in scoring. He put half of his shots on goal during his first collegiate season.

Lara-Martinez provided one of the top individual offensive performances of Linfield's 2025 season in a 4-4 draw at Lewis & Clark, scoring twice for his first two collegiate goals. His freshman campaign built on an accomplished prep career at Hood River Valley, where he was a two-time First Team All-Conference midfielder and two-time Second Team All-State selection. After emerging as one of Linfield's top young attacking options in 2025, Lara-Martinez enters his sophomore season as a candidate for an expanded role alongside Vargo in the Wildcat offense.

Head Coach Andrew Duvall welcomes in a class of 12 freshman Wildcats, three of which hailing from Oregon, four from Washington, three from California, and two international student-athletes. Freshman midfielder Jakub Sedlacek comes from Klatovy, Czech Republic, and Ebrima Darboe represents Old Yumdum, The Gambia.

The Wildcats open the non-conference slate with three road matches, opening the season on Tuesday, September 1, at Evergreen State. From there, the team heads to Southern California for a pair of matches against SCIAC opponents in Pomona-Pitzer and California Lutheran over the weekend. The non-conference schedule wraps up with the team's home opener on Sunday, September 13, against Walla Walla at Noon.

The Northwest Conference run begins with the Wildcats traveling to Walla Walla, Washington, to play the reigning NWC Champion Whitman Blues on September 19 before heading north to take on Whitworth the following day. Lewis & Clark will travel to McMinnville as the ‘Cats first home NWC matchup, looking to build on last season’s final game that resulted in a 1-0 Linfield win.

Four of the final five matches of the season will be on the road, but the Wildcats return home to host the Pacific Boxers on Sunday, November 8, for the final match of the regular season; also serving as the team's senior day.