KIRKLAND – Coaches of the Cascade Collegiate Conference ranked Northwest as the No. 8 team in the league in the CCC Preseason Poll, released Thursday.
 
Northwest collected 68 points in the poll and is solidly in eighth – eight points behind No. 7 Lewis-Clark State and 21 points ahead of No. 9 Evergreen State.
 
The Eagles did not compete in the conference last season, opting out of the fluctuating Covid-19 schedule.
 
"I am neither surprised by the ranking nor disappointed," said NU Head Coach Steven Bain. "We basically graduated our starting lineup so our young players will need to develop swiftly if we are going to be competitive in one of the toughest NAIA conferences in the country. Fortunately, even though we did not have a regular season last spring, the returning group did gain valuable experience and I believe they have the physical talent and mental approach that will allow them to be successful in the Cascade Conference."
 
Eastern Oregon collected eight of 12 first-place votes and is ranked first with 140 points. Corban is ranked second with two first-place votes, while Southern Oregon had the remaining two top votes and 105 points for third place. Bushnell rounded out the top four with 103 points.
 
College of Idaho ranks fifth with 95 points, followed by Oregon Tech at 88, LCSC at 76, and NU at 68.
 
Rounding out the bottom third are Evergreen at 47, Warner Pacific at 36, Multnomah with 30, and Walla Walla at 14.
 
The Eagles scrimmage Edmonds at home Aug. 17, launch the regular season with four matches in Montana on Aug. 20-21, and open at home Sept. 1 against Pacific Lutheran.
 
For the complete schedule, visit www.nueagles.com.