WALLA WALLA, Wash.  Jadon Bachtold's header off a free kick by Noah Cavanaugh was all the scoring Whitman would need Sunday in its 1-0 Northwest Conference victory over visiting University of Puget Sound.

The win by the Blues (6-7-3, 5-3-3 NWC) helped rid the sour taste of a 1-0 loss to the Loggers -- on a penalty kick -- from earlier in the conference slate.

The Bachtold tally came late in the 30th minute, on Whitman's eighth shot of the contest. The Loggers (7-6-1, 5-5-1), in contrast, had registered just one shot during that same time span, albeit a shot on goal which Owen Davis-Bower had to stop.

The Blues came close to doubling their lead late in the opening half when an Austin Betschart shot from the left of the goal was saved by a diving Wren Norwood.

Puget Sound came out of the halftime break and put pressure on Davis-Bower and the Whitman defense with extended possessions. Shots from Luke Murdock and Zac Lokay both required saves from the Blues' goalie to keep the one-goal advantage in tact.

The best defense was often a good attack by the Blues after Lokay's shot on frame. Quick transition work from back checks and steals resulted in four more Whitman shots -- possessions that kept the ball out of the Blues' defensive third.

The Loggers did squeeze off one more shot in the contest amidst Whitman's grip on the possession clock, but Dan Schatz's attempt in the 69th was high and harmless.

Davis-Bower finished with three saves in recording his third shutout victory of the season. Norwood was dealt the loss between the pipes for UPS, despite his six saves.

The home victory was a good way to send off the departing Whitman class of players on Senior Day. Cavanaugh, Ben Freedman, Jacob Fritz, Gabe Jacobson, and Ridley Eastland-Fruit (a junior in the 3-2 pre-engineering program) played their final game on the Athletic Fields grass.

The Blues finish their 2017 schedule on the road at Pacific (Ore.) University on Friday, at George Fox University on Sunday, and in a season-ending contest Saturday, Nov. 4 at Whitworth University.