By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Bolstered by a seven-game unbeaten streak, the Willamette University men's soccer team has entered the NCAA Division III West Region rankings at #6. The Bearcats are 6-3-1 on the season and hold first place in the Northwest Conference at 5-0-1. The rankings are sponsored and conducted by United Soccer Coaches. 

The top team in the West Region is Trinity University (Texas), which retained the #1 ranking with a 10-1-0 record against NCAA Division III opponents. Trinity is #3 in the NCAA Division III National Poll. University of Redlands (Calif.) advanced one position in the West Region rankings to claim the #2 spot at 8-3-0. University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) fell from #2 to #3 with a 9-1-0 record, and Colorado College remained at the #4 position with a 6-2-1 mark.

University of Texas-Tyler jumped one spot to #5 this week at 5-2-2. Willamette, which was not ranked a week ago, followed UT-Tyler. University of Texas-Dallas was #7 at 5-4-0, California Lutheran University was #8 at 6-3-0 and University of Dallas was #9 at 6-1-2. UT-Dallas, CLU and UD all remained the same from a week ago. University of Puget Sound also kept its previous ranking, as the Loggers stayed at #10 with a 6-2-0 record.

Willamette will host archrival Linfield College at Sparks Field on Saturday, Oct. 7 as part of Family Weekend. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (PDT).