TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University men's soccer team shored up its spot at the top of the Northwest Conference standings on Sunday afternoon, downing in-state rival Whitworth University 2-1 to extend its winning streak to five and its unbeaten run to 11 games. 

"It was a great weekend for us," said Head Coach John Yorke.

"Getting six points and heading into the second half of the season at the top of the standings is a great place to be. Second day games in this conference are so hard and Whitworth is a very good team, so we're very proud of our team for grinding out the three points today."
 
Cole Dobson opened the scoring in the 16th minute, finding the back of the net in the 16th minute off a feed from Trevor Thompson. It was the senior's second goal of the 2024 campaign.

The visiting Pirates (6-4-2, 4-2-2 NWC) equalized in the 34th minute but the tie proved to be short lived with a Quinn Bieber header beating the Whitworth keeper in the 44th minute to make it 2-1 PLU.  The goal was Bieber's second of the year while Thompson secured his second helper of the day and his sixth of the season.
 
The two teams combined for 14 shots in the second half but neither team was able to punch one through as PLU (8-1-3, 6-0-2 NWC) held on for the 2-1 victory. 
 
It was a busy day in goal for PLU's Nicholas Gaston who made five saves on the day, including four in the final 45 minutes of play. His counterpart, Aiden Chase, allowed two goals and had no saves on the afternoon. 
 
PLU's victory over the third place Pirates coupled with second place Whitman College's 1-1 draw with the University of Puget Sound gives the Lutes a three-point edge in the league standings at the halfway point of the conference season. 
 
The Lutes hit the road next weekend, facing Linfield University on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m.