PORTLAND, Ore. With just the paint on the goal post as the last defender, Whitman's women's soccer team came that close to breaking a tie in the waning minutes of Friday evening's Northwest Conference match at Griswold Stadium, eventually surrendering a game-winning goal four minutes into overtime to host Lewis & Clark College in a 2-1 loss.

Early in the 85th minute Susanna Williams pinged one off the post, the echo of the ringing near miss haunting Whitman (1-11-1, 1-7-1 NWC) perhaps through the final minutes of regulation.

The Blues re-grouped and headed back down the pitch as the overtime period opened, with Pagan Hetherington taking a feed and getting a shot off, but one that sailed over the crossbar.

The ensuing transition downfield turned into the final pitch-length run for both teams as McKenzie Wingard of L&C (3-8-2, 2-6-1) finished the run up the right side and slotted a shot inside the right post at the 94:14 mark, tickling the net behind goalkeeper Allie Seracuse who had withstood the Pioneers' pressure for the most of the night.

Seracuse finished with seven saves, most coming at clutch times in the game. Just 81 seconds in she was forced into action for her first save, and midway through the second half she registered three more within a six-minute span. On the possession before Williams' heartbreak she picked up another save, and then with just over four minutes left in regulation Seracuse stopped an Emily Tash shot to keep the score deadlocked at 1-1.

The goal surrendered earlier was a Beckham-type goal from 30 yards out by Caroline Hennes, who curled a blast from well outside the box into the upper right corner, grazing the underside of the crossbar during its last moments of flight in the 18th.

Whitman had been out shot 8-3 during the opening half but made the last one count, barely.

Eliza Van Wetter had peppered a shot wide late in the 38th, but the Pios had trouble maintaining possession in transitioning through the midfield.

With the public-address announcer counting down the final 10 seconds of the half, Van Wetter gained possession above the left corner of the box and ripped a shot a step or two later into the top, left corner for an uplifting equalizer with six seconds left in the half.

The second half was a lot of Seracuse, and a lot of clearing away by the Whitman defense as L&C ran up a 9-2 edge in shots during those 45 minutes.

That second shot, and the clanging of the post, left the Blues inches away from victory.

Whitman will stay on the coast over the weekend and will complete its swing West with Sunday's conference match in Salem, Oregon, at Willamette University.