SPOKANE - Pacific Lutheran got a late goal from Surafel Wodajo and went on to a hard-fought 2-2 men's soccer double overtime draw with UC Santa Cruz on Sunday at the Whitworth Soccer Invitational.

Wodajo, a junior midfielder, scored the tying goal just 1:05 from the end of regulation. He took a pass from Chad Kearns and beat UCSC keeper Matt Pereira for his first goal of the season. The Lutes did have the better of the play in the first of two 10-minute overtime periods, forcing three Pereira saves on as many shots, but neither team scored in either overtime and the game ended in a tie.

The final score reflected the general flow of the game as UCSC held a narrow 17-15 shots differential, with both teams putting eight of their efforts on goal. Both Pereira and PLU senior keeper Brian Kostol finished the match with six saves. The Banana Slugs did enjoy an 11-7 advantage in corner kicks.

The Lutes opened the scoring just 2:19 into the match when Kearns took a pass from Spencer Augustin and finished past Pereira for his first goal of the season. Kearns earned first team all-conference honors a year ago after leading PLU with 11 goals.

The Banana Slugs tied it at the 9:53 mark when Dane Hill scored his first of the season on Reed Adler's assists. Both teams finished the first half with seven shots.

UCSC took a 2-1 lead at 53:58 on Aaron Surry's first goal of the season, the assist going to Matt Fondy. PLU's Kostol made several key saves in the second half, the biggest one coming late in the game when he snuffed out a one-on-one effort by Fondy, generally regarded as UCSC's best player. That kept the Lutes in the game and led to the late heroics by Wodajo.

With the tie, Pacific Lutheran is now 0-1-1 for the season while UCSC moves to 1-0-2. The Lutes return to action at 1 p.m. Monday when they face Minnesota's Augsburg College on the final day of the Whitworth Soccer Invitational.

- PLU -