WALLA WALLA – After nearly 70 minutes of scoreless play, Taylor Lunde's shot from the top of the box found the net to give Pacific Lutheran all the offense it would need as the Lutes shut out Whitman 1-0 in Northwest Conference women's soccer action Saturday afternoon.

PLU improved to 7-1-1 overall and 3-1-1 in conference play, while Whitman fell to 1-8-1 overall and 1-4-1 in the NWC. Whitman out-shot PLU 8-7 in the first period, but PLU built a 9-5 advantage in the second period to finish the day 16-13 in the shot column. Takara Mitsui made seven saves in goal for the Lutes while earning her seventh shutout of the season.

"Credit to Whitman today, as they put us under a lot of pressure the first 20 minutes," PLU head coach Seth Spidahl said. "Takara made a couple of great saves and we hung in there and found our rhythm about midway through the first half, and I'm really proud of our second-half performance."

Lunde broke through for the Lutes in the 70th minute of play, taking a pass from Kelsey Hathaway at the center top of the 18-yard box and sending it off the far post and into the net. That proved to be the game-winner in the Lutes' third 1-0 win of the 2015 season.

"Taylor had a great individual effort and strike to give us the goal we needed," Spidahl said. "Whitman is never an easy team or place to play, so I'm proud of the team for their spirit and level of play today."

PLU finished the day with 11 corner kicks compared to five for Whitman. Haley Case made six saves with the one goal allowed for the Missionaries, while Ashley Mindnich totaled a team-high four shots with two on goal for PLU.

"Traveling this far is always a challenge, but as a team we stepped up to it," Lunde said. "Our defense was solid, which allowed for our team to build out of the back and create different opportunities in our attacking half."

The Lutes will look to extend their three-match win streak Sunday, when they visit Whitworth in Spokane at 12 p.m.