WALLA WALLA – It took Pacific Lutheran less than one minute to get on the board, and the Lutes scored three times in the first half to knock off Whitman 3-0 in Northwest Conference women's soccer action Saturday afternoon.

Pacific Lutheran improves to 6-3-4 overall and 4-1-4 in conference play, while Whitman falls to 8-6 overall and 4-6 in the NWC. The Lutes head to Whitworth Sunday to close out the weekend trip before returning home next week.

"It was a good win for us," PLU head coach Seth Spidahl said. "Whitman is a good team and it's not an easy place to play, so we're really happy with the first part of our road trip this weekend."

Alex Murray put the Lutes on the board 43 seconds after kickoff, taking a pass from Hannah Bush and shooting the ball from the top of the box through Whitman goalkeeper Emily Davis' legs for her first goal of the season.

"I told the players before the game that we needed other players to step up with Lauren Larson and Courtney Randall out, and Alex did just that," Spidahl said.

Blake Warner made it 2-0 moments later, as she rebounded a penalty kick save by Davis and knocked it in during the sixth minute of play. Samantha Benner scored the Lutes' third goal on an assist by Kaylie Rozell in the 35th minute.

The Lutes finished the match with a 12-8 shot advantage, including 7-3 in the opening period. Marisa Gonzalez played the first half in goal for PLU before Takara Mitsui took over following the halftime break. The duo totaled three saves in the shutout win.