WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Being at home was not enough for the Missionaries Saturday afternoon, as they fell to Pacific Lutheran 2-0 in their home opener. The Lutes, who entered the day tied atop the Northwest Conference standings, seemed to be just one step ahead of the Missionaries who despite trailing the entire second half, never conceded. Whitman gave themselves several opportunities late, but was unable to capitalize.
 
Both Whitman and Pacific Lutheran started slow, with just one shot coming in the first 15 minutes of the game. It seemed both teams were getting a feel for what the other wanted to do, while the Lutes were able to take an early shot that was saved by Whitman goalkeeper, Milo Cantor. In the 22nd minute, PLU had an opportunity deep in the box, but the ball was cleared by the Missionaries before it reached Cantor.
 
With 17 minutes remaining in the half, Whitman was called for a foul inside the penalty box, leading to a PLU penalty kick. Pacific Lutheran's Eddie Na converted the PK and gave the Lutes a 1-0 lead over the Missionaries. Two minutes later, the Lutes had another chance, but Na's shot missed high. In the 26th minute, the Lutes extended their lead to two with a goal by Bennett Bugbee. Whitman was unable to narrow the deficit in the final minutes of the half as the game entered the break with PLU leading 2-0.
 
Whitman's Gabe Jacobson had a shot from the upper-left corner that deflected off the back of a PLU defender. The Missionaries struggled to get anything going for the remainder of the half as the Lutes played at a much slower pace in the second half.
 
With 13 minutes remaining in the game, Paal Nilsson launched a throw-in into the middle of the box that found Bridger Sellegren, who nearly cut into the PLU lead, but Sellegren's shot found the crossbar and ricocheted over the top. Four minutes later Marcos Medina fired a shot from the upper-left corner, but PLU goalkeeper Mike Arguello knocked the shot down and collected the save.
 
The pace early on in the second half slowed the game down enough that the Missionaries were not able to control the ball enough during the final 45 minutes to dig out of the first half deficit. Although Whitman had many more opportunities late in the game, they were unable to narrow the PLU lead.
 
The Missionaries will wrap up their first home stand of the season tomorrow when they face the University of Puget Sound. The game is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Whitman Athletic Fields.