WALLA WALLA, Wash.  After 110 minutes of action under gloriously sunny skies Sunday afternoon, neither visiting Pacific (Ore.) University nor host Whitman College left the pitch feeling very satisfied as the two teams had to settle for a double-overtime scoreless tie in Northwest Conference men's soccer action at the Whitman Athletic Fields.

Whitman (7-3-2, 3-1-2 NWC) entered the day tied for the top rung of the conference standings but finished the afternoon in a tie for third place. Pacific (5-5-1, 3-2-1) hoped for an upset and a climb up the conference ladder but finished the day in fourth place behind Whitman.

The early action Sunday lent itself not to the thought of when Whitman might score, but instead how many goals it might put up on the scoreboard. Possession seemed to live in Whitman's attacking third as the home team reeled off an 11-1 advantage in total shots.

Pacific goalkeeper Leyton Thommasen needed to make just two saves in the half, but several other times the scoring opportunity was there for Whitman only to have a defender tip away a shot that looked as if it would make its way past the net minder. In fact, in the early minutes a Pacific miscue almost registered an own goal only to be thwarted by an alert Thommasen.

Second-half play perceptibly evened out, and the oohs and aahhs from the fans were much less prevalent than they were in the opening 45.

Whitman still generated a number of scoring chances, two of which forced heavy lifting from Thommasen to keep the scoreboard quiet. Jack Filipponi saw more action in his end of the pitch as he picked up a save for Whitman to also keep the game scoreless.

Knotted at zeroes the teams hit the first 10-minute overtime stanza but neither seemed to find a rhythm to its transition or attack in the shortened period. The second extra period proved much more exciting.

Twice Filipponi saved Whitman on powerful strikes from Pacific players, once getting just enough of a fist on a shot surely heading under the crossbar to deflect it over the top of the frame by mere inches. Thommasen also picked up a nice save in extra time to save his team from defeat.

Frustration, from both sides, was clearly evident when the final horn sounded, as each team felt that it let one get away.

Still, Whitman has to be satisfied that the process of a surging program is becoming well defined. With 11 points in conference play, from three wins and two ties, not even halfway through the league slate it is already better than half way to the 18 points the team registered for a full season of NWC play two seasons ago.

Whitman gets a chance to vault upward in the league standings in its next outing, taking on visiting Whitworth University (4-1-1 NWC) -- the current league leader with 13 points -- on Saturday at 2:30 p.m on the Athletic Fields.