WALLA WALLA - The host Whitman Missionaries scored first and last, but visiting Pacific Lutheran notched three tallies in between to take a 3-2 Northwest Conference men's soccer win on Sunday afternoon.

Pacific Lutheran, getting second-half goals from three different players, improved to 6-3 in the NWC and 9-5 overall. Whitman slipped to 2-5-2 in conference and 3-7-3 for the season. 

The Missionaries took a 1-0 lead when Todd Wallenius converted his fifth goal of the season in the 30th minute. 

Both teams took nine shots in the first half, but as they did the first time these teams met in Parkland, the Lutes kept Whitman keeper Nic McDonald especially busy. McDonald made saves on shots by six different PLU players in the first 45 minutes of play.

Whitman held its lead for just over two minutes of the second half. That's when a free kick started a scrum in front of the Missionary goal that ended with Scott Parsons tapping in his first goal of the season for the Lutes.

Twelve minutes later, the Lutes quickly reversed another free kick, setting the table for a Chad Kearns goal, his seventh of the season.

With less than 18 minutes left to play, PLU extended its lead to 3-1 when Andy Hyres finished a breakaway for his fourth goal of the fall campaign.

Whitman wasn't quite done as Conner Bottomly headed home his third goal of the season with more than 12 minutes still left to play.

Pacific Lutheran finished with slight edges in both shots (19-17) and shots on goal (11-8), while Whitman had a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.

McDonald finished with eigh saves for Whitman and Brian Kostol had six for the Lutes. 

Pacific Lutheran returns to conference action next Saturday when it hosts the Linfield Wildcats. The Lutes play their final five regular season matches on their home field.

(Courtesy of Whitman Sports Information Office.)