SPOKANE, Wash.  The final game of the regular season ended in a 1-1 double-overtime draw for Whitman College and host Whitworth University Saturday afternoon. Ben Freedman scored for the Blues and Jonah Snyder added the equalizer for the Pirates in a Northwest Conference contest at sunny Whitworth Soccer Field.

The results push Whitman's season record to 8-7-5 overall and 4-5-5 within the league, while Whitworth (12-3-3, 10-1-3 NWC) remained the league leader and earned the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III men's soccer championship after the draw.

The scoreboard nearly got a workout in the game's opening minutes as Whitman pressured the Pirates' defense.

Freedman drove in with possession from midfield and with a clean look on frame got off a shot that beat Whitworth goalkeeper Timmy Costa with the first shot of the contest only 86 seconds after the opening whistle.

Not even five minutes later the Blues' Gabe Jacobson put one on goal that would have cleared Costa, but the Pirates' Caleb Bia stepped in in just the knick of time to deflect away what could have become a two-goal advantage in less than seven minutes.

The pressure didn't let up from Whitman but the Pirates found a small crack of opportunity in the 39th to strike home the equalizer, with Jonah Snyder converting a pass in deep from Tyler Pangia to square things at 1-1 in the 39th.

Though knotted at 1's entering the halftime break it was Whitman that had consistently gotten the better of play, racking up a 9-4 advantage in shots that included a 6-2 edge in shots on goal.

The league-leading Pirates found better footing in the second half, but the Blues were not disadvantaged either as they still came up with three shots to just five from the Pirates. Neither team could find the netting behind either goalie, sending the contest into extra time.

The initial 10-minute overtime period was tame, but the second period included several game-winning opportunities.

Six minutes into the second extra stanza Whitman's Collin Faunt broke free down the right touch line and angled in towards the near post. A Whitworth defender raced over from the middle and at the last moment forced Faunt to adjust his breakaway shot to where it would lift over the crossbar.

One minute later Jacob Fritz completed a quick transition on the left side by ripping a shot from 20 yards out toward the near post, but the Pirates' Tony Watters -- who entered the game for Costa in the 30th minute -- snared the laser to force play to continue.

The dying moments of the game brought action into Whitman's defensive third and the game ended with a header from Austin Cassity that was the right height but a little outside the left post where Owen Davis-Bower easily corralled the effort to suppress the last ditch play. Davis-Bower took over in goal for starter Jack Filipponi coming out of the halftime break.

The draw gives Whitman its first winning record since the 2011 season (10-8) and more than doubles the wins total (3) from the 2015 schedule.