McMINNVILLE, Ore. -- (From Kelly Bird, Linfield SID) Defending champion Whitworth and Linfield fought to a 3-3, two-overtime tie Saturday in Northwest Conference men’s soccer.

Varlamos scored twice for the Pirates

Whitworth slipped to 2-0-1 and Linfield to 0-1-1 in the conference. Overall, Whitworth - ranked seventh in the West - is 3-2-2 and Linfield is 3-2-1.

The game was marked by aggressive defensive play on both sides; 45 fouls were whistled, 25 on Linfield.

Whitworth scored first with 11:42 left in the first half. Niko Varlamos scored from 15 yards on the left side off an assist by Skye Henderson.

Linfield tied the score at 1 with 1:10 left in the half on Adam Jaffe’s grass cutter from 10 yards on the left side with an assist by Nick Jauregui after the ball had pinballed around the penalty box.

Whitworth scoring star Ali Seyedali, who had been held without a shot by the close marking of Thomas Ryan for the first 62 minutes, put a 22-yard free kick into the upper left corner to break the tie with 27:52 left.

Mike Grabast tied it at 2 on a rebound with 16:22 left on a play that started with Andy Sharp’s long hooking shot from the left side.

Shortly after that, Grant Williams blocked a close shot by Henderson and a Wildcat teammate blocked Henderson’s even closer rebound attempt.

Linfield took a 3-2 lead, its first of the game with 4:17 left, on a header by Chris Paradis off a long cross by Spencer Hunter. But Whitworth tied the score at 3-3 only 47 seconds later. Williams made a diving block but the ball rebounded right to Varlamos, who put it in from the right side.

In the third minute of the second overtime, Whitworth’s Chris Johnson shot wide left at an open goal from about 10 yards, while in the fifth minute, Linfield’s Grabast split defenders but shot into the side of the net.

Whitworth led in total shots 23-25 and in shots on goal, 15-7. Williams had 12 saves for the Wildcats and Whitworth's Kevin Bostock came up with four shots.

Whitworth was ranked seventh in the West region of NCAA III Tuesday by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).

Whitworth plays Pacific of Oregon at Forest Grove Sunday at 2:30 p.m.