As the rain poured down and puffs of breath plumed all over Biola’s Al Barbour Field, it was a back and forth game between the Biola men’s lacrosse team and the Metropolitan State College Roadrunners Wednesday, March 23. The Eagles were fresh from a win over Central Washington University on Monday, March 21 but didn’t have enough juice to pull out of the 10-9 loss.
Eagles win two out of three games this week
It was a bittersweet week for Biola men’s lacrosse that brought plenty of challenge. They played three games, facing two teams for the first time. By the end of the week, the Eagles collected two of their three wins this season.
Unfortunately, the Eagles have been struggling to find their rhythm and motivation for the offense. Several players were injured at the beginning of the season and many of the guys are new to the team. The result: their current division record is 1-2 and their overall is 3-7. But this hasn’t put a damper on their spirits or efforts. They continue to play “good lacrosse” and represent Christ on the field.
Biola loses to Metro State
The Roadrunners jumped out first, claiming a goal early on in the match. A little later, junior midfielder David Sigley evened the odds, scoring with a man-up advantage. Senior defenseman Sean Lane put Biola ahead for the first time but the Roadrunners quickly met with retaliation. A goal by sophomore attackman Jeff Clark gave Biola a 5-4 lead going into halftime.
Last minute goal by Biola not enough
Marching back onto the field, both teams were prepared for the quick paced brawl. Sophomore midfielder Robby Roach won his first career goal, helping Biola stay up to speed with Metro State. However, the score was 9-7 Roadrunners as the clock rolled into the fourth quarter. With minutes left in the game, Biola was scrambling to make things happen. Junior attackman Marc Morgan finally broke through the Metro defense with 30 seconds left. He snapped a shot and scored but only brought Biola within a point of tying.
“Losing by one point is killer,” said freshman attackman David Martin. “Especially when you lead the game for three quarters of it, and it hurts you. But on the other hand you look at it, especially our coach, he’s just so gentle, but he’s also a truth speaker. And he just knows how to communicate with us, and he’s like ‘guys you played well. Don’t miss that. Yes, it stinks to lose, it really does. But you played solid lacrosse, let’s take that into Saturday.’”
Eagles shut out Marymount College
And that’s exactly what they did, earning Biola lacrosse its first ever shutout in a walloping match against the Marymount College Mariners on Saturday, March 26. The Eagles scored 24 goals, and Martin and Roach performed hat tricks.
“It was definitely like a gold rush for shots,” Roach said, “especially ‘cause everyone just wanted to shoot.”
But the team also took the opportunity to work on field mechanics and fine tuning plays. They forced themselves to slow down, pass the ball, and allow everyone a chance. New players got more playing time to show what they had. Roach scored the first goal, earned two more and scored the last goal for a total of four.
Character shows in victory
In spite of the all-out scoring fest, character was not forgotten.
“Everyone on the team was still super supportive of each other,” Martin said. “I know every time everyone got their first goal, and I think five players got their first goals, like everyone on the sidelines was just so amped –– jumping and hollering. Like that kind of stuff just builds brotherhood and is just showing each other Christ’s love. And the other team got to see like how we interacted, and they noticed that we don’t cuss, that we’re not yelling at each other, it was just pure encouragement.”
Biola’s witness touches opponent
At the end of the game, Marymount was encouraged and noticed Biola’s gracious winning. Many Mariners joined the Eagles for prayer, calling it “Jesus time” and left knowing that something is different with those Biola lacrosse guys.
