PARKLAND – After 110 hard-fought minutes, the Pacific Lutheran women's soccer team walked off the field with a 1-1 draw against 13th-ranked University of Puget Sound in the Northwest Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon.

Pacific Lutheran maintains its even record at 2-2-1, while Puget Sound goes to 2-1-1. The Lutes claim their second draw against the 11-time conference champion Loggers in the past three matchups between the teams after UPS had claimed 27 consecutive victories against PLU.

"We were really proud of our effort today," Pacific Lutheran head coach Seth Spidahl said. "UPS is a great team, 11-time conference champs and they're ranked nationally right now. We really worked all week on a defensive game plan to be solid."

Pacific Lutheran's defense overcame 28 shots by Puget Sound, including 10 in each of the first two periods, six in the first overtime and two more in the final overtime period. The Lutes totaled five shots in the contest, including Lauren Larson's second goal of the season in the first half.

"We were really mature and we stuck to the game plan for 110 minutes," Spidahl said. "They had some shots, but nothing that was really dangerous."

Larson snuck a slow roller past Puget Sound goalkeeper Casey Thayer in the 26th minute, giving the Lutes the early advantage in the contest. Jordyn McLuen tied it up less than a minute before halftime on a shot from the left side, and that proved to be all the scoring for the day.

For the Lutes, it was a great early-season result against one of the strongest opponents they will face all season.

"We'll add to our attack – that's an area we can really improve on – but if we can keep that defensive organization and mentality, there's going to be some good times ahead for the Lutes," Spidahl said.

The Lutes head back out on the road this week to take on Pacific in a Northwest Conference contest on Sept. 22 in Forest Grove, Ore.