By Jake Bilyeu, PLU Sports Information Student Writer

PARKLAND – The Pacific Lutheran men's soccer team added to its momentum from Saturday's win over No. 4 Whitworth Sunday afternoon by beating Whitman 5-0.

The win brought the team's Northwest Conference record to 9-2, keeping pace one point behind Whitworth in the NWC standings. PLU improved to 13-4 overall, while Whitman fell to 2-10-2 overall and 2-7-2 in conference play.

While the wet weather provided a gloomy start to the team's day, the Lutes weren't phased by the rain. The Lutes took control early when Eddie Na scored off a Joel Frykholm assist for his third goal of the weekend and seventh of the season to give PLU the 1-0 advantage in the sixth minute.

The game got heated later in the first half, as Whitman's Ridley Eastland-Fruit received a red card in the 30th minute. This provided the Lutes with an 11-on-10 advantage for the rest of the match, and they capitalized just five minutes later when Rigoberto Loreto scored off a Holton Halfaker assist to claim a 2-0 lead that lasted through the end of the first half.

"Scoring early took the fear of a trap game away," PLU head coach John Yorke said. "We struggled to find rhythm early, but the second goal and the red card helped us get going."

The Lutes didn't waste any time extending their lead in the second half. Jordan Downing took a pass from Diego Aceves and scored his third goal of the year just 35 seconds into the period to boost their lead to 3-0. The team wasn't finished yet, and neither was Na. The sophomore forward kicked in his eighth goal of the season and fourth of the weekend in the 66th minute to put the Lutes up 4-0.

"It felt great to help my team get the win today," Na said. "My teammates inspired me to work hard when I was injured, and I knew I had to do the best that I could."

Sidney Ecoiffier added to the scoring with a goal in the 85th minute, his second of the year, as the Lutes outshot the Missionaries 19-to-9 on the way to a 5-0 victory.

"It was the perfect end to the weekend," Yorke said. "We knew it would be tough to emotionally repeat Saturday's performance, but we came out playing quality soccer and got the job done."

The Lutes will be away from home this weekend as they travel to take on Pacific (3-7-1) Saturday at 1:30 p.m. followed by a match against George Fox (3-6-2) Sunday at the same time.

"We just have to keep doing what we do and do it well," Yorke said.

With three matches remaining in the regular season – including the two road matches next weekend and the Senior Day match against Puget Sound on Nov. 7 – the Lutes are still in the running for a conference crown and a postseason berth.

"We need to take things one game at a time," Na added. "If we go 1-0 everyday, we'll be alright."