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SPOKANE, Wash.- Elly Bulega's goal with 1:37 to play lifted Whitworth to a come-from-behind win over visiting Linfield in a Northwest Conference men's soccer match on Sunday afternoon, keeping the Pirates atop the conference standings.

Barnhill tied it, then assisted the winner

The 22nd-ranked Pirates (11-2-1 overall, 7-2 NWC) have 20 points in the NWC standings, one point ahead of Whitman (6-1-2 in the NWC) after the Missionaries defeated Willamette 2-1 in overtime on Sunday.

Linfield put the pressure on Whitworth early, forcing two corner kicks within the first five minutes. But the Pirates regrouped and nearly took a 1-0 lead when John Prugh (Sr., F, Bozeman, Mont.) broke free for a shot that went just wide of the left post.

The Wildcats then took full advantage of their best scoring opportunity of the match. Kyle Wallace led a counter attack up the right side and sent a perfect pass ahead to Kurtis Wong, who fired a goal past Whitworth keeper Brian Sherpe (Fr., Centennial, Colo.) in the 21st minute for his sixth goal of the season.

Linfield keeper Jon Thompson made a diving save on a shot by Eddy Prugh (Fr., F, Bozeman, Mont.) in the 40th minute. And on the ensuing corner kick, Bryan Olson's (Jr., D, Boise, Idaho) shot was wide.

Whitworth continued to keep the pressure up in the second half as the Wildcats dropped back into a more defensive alignment. Thompson made four saves in the first 15 minutes of the period as Whitworth was able to keep the ball in Linfield's half of the field.

The Pirates finally tied the match when Caleb Barnhill (Sr., F, Sultan, Wash.) scored his league-leading 10th goal of the season in the 67th minute.

Now tied, Linfield began to assert offense again and Travis Isaacs had a good chance go high in the 86th minute.

Whitworth then attacked deep inside Linfield's box and when Barnhill and Thompson went for the ball at the same time, Bulega (Jr., F, Tacoma, Wash.) came away with possession, turned and fired into the upper-right corner of the net in the 89th minute for his second game-winning goal of the season.

Linfield had one last shot to tie the match, but Isaacs' clean attempt from the top of the box with less than 30 seconds to play went high.

Whitworth outshot the Wildcats 23-9, including a 10-1 edge in shots on goal. Thompson finished with eight saves for Linfield, while Sherpe did not have to make a save.

Whitworth will head to Tacoma for an important pair of matches next weekend. The Pirates will take on Pacific Lutheran (Saturday) and Puget Sound (Sunday), both at 2:30 p.m. Linfield returns to action on Sunday at home against Pacific.