WALLA WALLA - Trailing 2-0 at halftime, Pacific Lutheran put together a second half rally before beating host Whitman, 3-2 in overtime, in Northwest Conference men's soccer action Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.

Senior forward Spencer Augustin struck the game-winning blow in the fifth minute of overtime, dribbling through the right side of the Whitman defense to send a ball to the left corner of the net.

Pacific Lutheran left town with records of 2-1 in the NWC and 5-2 overall. Whitman, also 2-1 in conference, slipped to 2-2-2 on the season.

The win was the 100th for Pacific Lutheran head coach John Yorke, now in his 10th season at his alma mater.

The Missionaries had the game in hand in the first half, scoring their two goals in the first 23 minutes en route to a 9-2 shot advantage by halftime. Whitman also had a 5-2 edge in corner kicks over the first 45 minutes, but Pacific Lutheran keeper Joe Rayburn made three saves to keep the Missionaries from pulling away.

Sophomore Junpei Tsuji put Whitman on the scoreboard in the game's third minute, drilling his first goal of the season with an assist from senior Sam Freedman. Junior Jed Clark, assisted by junior Andrew Clark, made it 2-0 Whitman in the 23rd minute.

The Lutes kicked off their second-half comeback when Mark Lee hit his first goal of the season, Surafel Wodajo assisting on the play.

It was Wodajo's turn to score in the 74th minute, tying the game at 2-2.

Whitman took the next five shots, but it was Missionary keeper Michael Bathurst who made a save in the closing seconds of regulation, deflecting a shot from Augustin, to send the game to overtime.

Whitman took two of the first three shots in overtime before Augustin worked his game-winning magic.

The Missionaries out-shot PLU, 17-10.

Pacific Lutheran faces conference-leading Whitworth at 2:30 Sunday afternoon in Spokane. The Pirates are 3-0-0 in the NWC, while the Lutes are a game back at 2-1-0.

- PLU -

(Courtesy of Whitman Sports Information Office.)