PORTLAND – Pacific Lutheran took a 2-0 lead into halftime and the 20th-ranked Lutes held on for their eighth straight victory with a 2-1 win over Lewis & Clark in Northwest Conference women's soccer action Sunday afternoon at Griswold Stadium.

With the win, PLU improved to 12-1-1 overall and 8-1-1 in conference play as the Lutes maintained their three-point lead atop the NWC standings. The Lutes take on cross-town rival and 24th-ranked Puget Sound Wednesday at 3 p.m. in a matchup of the top two teams on the conference leaderboard.

"Today's game against Lewis & Clark was a very physical one," PLU head coach Seth Spidahl said. "It's always an intense, competitive matchup. We had to grind one out today, and we ended up being one goal better. Credit to Lewis & Clark, as they made the second half very difficult to play."

Kelsey Hathaway got the Lutes on the board only 156 seconds after the opening whistle. Hathaway took a pass from Jamie Hoffman and sent it past Lewis & Clark goalkeeper Sandra Alvarenga for the quick 1-0 lead. Taylor Lunde made it 2-0 later in the opening period, extending her recent offensive tear with her fourth goal in the past three matches when she took a deflection in the box and knocked it in from close range in the 41st minute of play.

Pacific Lutheran saw its shutout streak of six matches come to an end, as Lewis & Clark scored in the final minute of play for the first goal the Lutes had allowed in nearly one month. A pair of Lewis & Clark goals bookended a scoreless run of almost 700 minutes for PLU opponents, as Isobel Fikso found the net in the 11th minute of the teams' Sept. 20 matchup in Parkland and Jordan Rochelle scored with only 23 seconds remaining Sunday.

The Lutes limited the Pioneers to only one goal despite a 16-8 Lewis & Clark shot advantage, including a 12-3 lead in the second period. PLU goalkeeper Takara Mitsui made six saves in the win and allowed only the late goal to Jordan of a blocked shot by Karley Pate.

"Lewis & Clark is always a tough and physical team to play against, but I am proud of the way our team battled and fought to the end," Mitsui said. "We found a way to be a goal better than them, and that was all we needed."

With eight consecutive wins, PLU now owns the program's longest win streak since the 1992 squad won 12 in a row. The Lutes' 30 goals this season are five more than any other team in the conference, while PLU's four goals allowed are the second-fewest in the NWC.