SALEM, Ore. - The Pacific Lutheran University women's soccer team closed the regular season in style on Saturday afternoon, scoring early and often in a 4-2 win over Willamette University to secure at least a share of the program's third straight Northwest Conference Title.

The Lutes (13-3-4, 12-2-2 NWC) wasted little time getting on the board with Brianna Hunting converting a penalty kick in the seventh minute for the early 1-0 lead. Savannah Brown doubled PLU's advantage in the 25th minute with a score off a pass from Liz Griffith as the Lutes took a 2-0 edge into the halftime break.

"I 'm so proud of this group. When we finished up the first round of NWC play we lost to UPS and tied Willamette at home. We had eight games left and you always wonder what might happen, but this group of players had faith in the process and stuck to it and kept believing and it's been one of my most fun coaching experiences because they kept getting better and kept buying in," said Head Coach Seth Spidahl.

"It hasn't been easy, there's been a lot of adversity our way this season. To only lose three and win 13 and get at least a share of a NWC title, I could not be more proud of them. It's a credit to the players because we pushed them hard, we pushed them to be great, we pushed them outside their comfort zone, and they handled it and we were very mentally tough today."

The Lutes continued to put the pedal on the gas in the second stanza with Liz Griffith scoring on a free kick from 19 yards out in the 53rd minute. Gena Main got the Bearcats (11-4-4, 7-4-4 NWC) on the board in the 56th minute before Griffith answered just over a minute later with her second score of the day off a feed from Leah Magee. Willamette tallied another score in the 65th minute but it was too little. too late, as PLU rolled to the 4-2 win to secure at least a share of the program's third consecutive NWC title.

"We were little shaky today in the back but our defense has carried us a lot this year. And today our offense carried us. We've kept our program strong for three straight years and I think a lot of people didn't think we'd be in contention at the end, but it just shows you we have good talent and develop our players and really proud to at least get a share of the title."

The Lutes can be undisputed conference champions and earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championships with a University of Puget Sound tie or loss tomorrow. The Loggers face Linfield College on Sunday at noon in McMinnville, Oregon.