WALLA WALLA, Wash.  Calling it a golden goal understates the value of the ball that Whitman junior midfielder Jacob Fritz pounded into "the back of the ol' onion bag" -- his words -- 3 minutes, 13 seconds into overtime for a 1-0 victory over visiting University of Puget Sound on Saturday in a Northwest Conference men's soccer match.

Fritz's goal wasn't just a game-winner, it was a dam-breaker. It could change the course of a season that had left Whitman clinging to a glass-half-full narrative based on its conference-best defense while leaving opposing nets oh-so-empty.

"We've been unable to put it in the back of the net," Whitman senior defender Trayvon Foy said. "This week, we talked about finishing. Our practices were all about finishing."

"We haven't been conceding," added Fritz, "but we haven't been getting goals. The most difficult set of games is coming up for us. We're really getting into the belly of the beast."

On Saturday, Whitman (8-4-4, 4-2-4 in NWC) was the beast. Fritz's goal felt inevitable and deserved and emblematic of the somehow scoreless 93:13 which preceded it.

"It was symbolic of how we play," said Whitman head coach Jose Cedano, who picked up his first career victory over UPS. "We were patient."

Fritz's goal was set up by the last of dozens of masterful bits of wing play, this time by junior forward Ben Freedman. Freedman had spent most of the match in the center of the pitch, but found himself one-on-one on the left sideline, directly in front of his own bench. Freedman touched the ball once with his left boot and then flicked it past his man with the right, never breaking stride.

"Touched one way, went the other. Call it a self-pass," Foy said.

Freedman's brilliance in isolation gained him possession and an umarked head of steam down down the sideline, while a horde of teammates flowed into the penalty area awaiting his cross. Freedman's pass caromed through traffic, Eric Conte tapped it free, and it found the toe it had been looking for.

"Ben burned them," said Fritz, who collected his second goal of the season and first since a Sept. 24 victory at Pacific Lutheran. "Our wingers were putting in really good balls all day. Noah Cavanaugh, Jadon Bachtold, Luca (Barsher)...they were scary down the line."

Whitman's wing play complemented the steady defense of Foy, the rock-solid midfield work of Paal Nilssen and the every-dangerous forays of attackers Gabe Jacobson and Jimmy Jacobsen. The hosts controlled possession in the first half and had an overwhelming, 9-1 advantage in shots after halftime.

"We got better as the game went on," Cedano said. "That second half was our best period of soccer. We were patient, we kept the ball on the ground, we connected our passes and we avoided turnovers."

Whitman scored three goals in a shutout win against George Fox Oct. 1, but proceeded to score just twice in its next four matches, netting three ties and a loss. On Saturday, it fired 16 shots, including six on frame. Distribution, pace and service were top-notch -- especially on the most memorable sequence, as Whitman moved into third place just a point behind UPS.

"(Ben) has a lot of speed and he's very strong," Cedano said. "He's starting to use his creativity more.

"That cross was great," he added. "That's something we've been working on."

"Ben whipped it back post," said Foy.

Owen Davis-Bower had three saves in keeping the sheet pristine. No save was larger than his point-blank denial of UPS's Ezra Kraus, the conference's third-leading goal scorer, on a wide-open attempt seconds into overtime. Whitman's defense allowed 10 shots, with just three coming after halftime.

"Shout out to the defense," Foy said.

At long last for Whitman, the offense had its say, too.