WALLA WALLA - After going down 3-1 before the break, the Pacific Lutheran women's soccer team couldn't overcome the Whitman Missionaries, losing 3-2 in a Northwest Conference match.

Mimi Granlund and Karli Hurlbut netted goals for the Lutes in Walla Walla, but the late surge was not enough to earn the away win.  

Whitman, improving to 2-2 in the NWC and 4-3 overall, scored twice in the first 13 minutes of play and had the Lutes on the run for much of the first half, which ended with the Missionaries on the plus side of a 12-4 shot differential.

PLU sophomore midfielder Mimi Granlund tallied one back at 20:54 with a shot that found the upper-right corner of the Whitman net. It was Granlund's first goal of the season.  

The Missionaries scored once more before the half when Marisa Poorboy scored her second goal of the game with a 35-yard effort that sailed over Lute goalie Lauren Chambard.  

Pacific Lutheran, now 1-2 in conference and 1-5 overall, trailed 3-1 at intermission and were caught in a stalemate for most of the second half. Lutes junior midfielder Karli Hurlbut brought the score to 3-2 at 74:11 when she gained possession of an errant Whitman pass and fired home a 25-yard shot.  It was Hurlbut's second goal in 2010.

The Lutes applied more pressure over the final 10 minutes, outshooting Whitman 5-1. Their best shot at the equalizer came in the final minute when a free kick led to a scrum in front of the Missionary goal. One of the two Pacific Lutheran shots was blocked.

The Lute goalies, Lauren Chambard and Ivory Harvey, split time in the game, with each playing a half between the pipes.  They faced six shots on target, saving three of the efforts on the day.  

The Lutes play in Spokane on Sunday at noon against a Whitworth side that is 3-1 in Northwest Conference play.