SPOKANE, Wash.  Whitman's men's soccer team exceeded expectations with Saturday's cold and snowy double-overtime victory at rival Whitworth University. The 2-1 win at Pirates Park allowed the Blues (9-7-3, 8-3-3 NWC) to leapfrog Whitworth (10-8-1, 8-5-1) in the Northwest Conference standings and lay claim to a third-place finish. Not bad for a team picked to finish sixth in the league in the NWC coaches' preseason poll.

By the time CJ Fritz's shot found the back of the Pirates' frame in the 106th minute the turf was tinted white from snow that began falling early in the first half on a low-30-degree afternoon.

Fritz collected a turnover just above the box and made quick work with a heavy shot that beat Whitworth goalkeeper Tony Watters to end the season and suddenly warm up Fritz, his teammates, and the accompanying Blues fans bundled up in the stands.

Action on the turf kept the players warm, as play traveled from end to end and resulted in a combined 47 shots. Each team came up with nine shots on goal, some more exciting than others.

Late in the 26th minute the Pirates nearly converted a corner kick opportunity, getting a header on goal that looked like the first marker of the game. Whitman goalie Owen Davis-Bower was in the air attempting to fist the ball away from danger, but Whitworth's Kyle Morris arrived a second earlier and got off a flick that was clearly going to slip under the crossbar. But defender Ridley Eastland-Fruit had come off the near post behind Davis-Bower and leaped into the air to add his own flick of the head to keep the game scoreless.

The teams headed into the intermission locked at zeroes, but it didn't stay that way for long once the second-half whistle blew.

Four minutes into the half, Alex Cooper made a strong run down the inside of the right edge of the box, driving deep toward the end line where he was able to launch a low cross through the six-yard box. Waiting on the back side of the box was Erik Nielsen who dived toward the cross and headed a shot inside the left post behind a helpless Watters.

Despite the Pirates building up an edge in shots, Whitman's defense was holding off the team that was voted in the preseason to win its sixth consecutive NWC title.

An unlucky foul in the box, however, provided Whitworth with the opportunity to square things 12 minutes later. Jonah Snyder converted the penalty kick against Whitman keeper Matt Reich, who'd taken over between the pipes coming out of the halftime break, and the game was tied.

It stayed that way through regulation time and across the initial 10-minute overtime period, though Whitworth pushed two shots in the final minute tantalizingly close but outside the right post.

Fritz's pick up of the turnover and shot was the first and only shot of the second overtime, and gave the sophomore his fifth goal of the season.

Davis-Bower collected five saves in the first half, with Reich earning the win after making three stops over the game's final 60 minutes.

The eight conference wins by Whitman are the most since the 2013 squad collected the same number. It also doubles the team's NWC victories from the 2016 season.