The Biola men’s soccer team improved to 3-0 with wins over Marymount College and Whittier College this week. On Friday, Sept. 2 several Eagles stepped up in their 4-1 win against visiting Marymount College — four different players put the ball in the back of the net propelling the Eagles to victory.
Senior forward Marco Ruvalcaba started the scoring in the 20th minute, putting in a pass from sophomore forward Daniel Chew. Chew then added a goal of his own in the 31st minute, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
The score remained 2-0 until the 42nd minute when Marymount junior Rimar Daisley-West snuck a breakaway goal past Biola goaltender, senior keeper Aaron Fenlason to make it a 2-1 game.
Breakaway goal separates Biola from Marymount
The Eagles bounced right back in the 49th minute when sophomore forward Carlos Ballesteros added a breakaway goal of his own off of another assist from Chew.
Sophomore midfielder Kevin Kiser put the game away for Biola with a beautiful goal from 37 yards out in minute 62 to give the Eagles a comfortable 4-1 lead.
“We stayed with a lot of heat and intensity,” Ruvalcaba said. “It shows a lot from practice.”
Biola kept up the pressure throughout the entire game and prevented the Mariners from making many moves. The Eagles held the middle of the field keeping Marymount out of their half.
Four goals were plenty of support for Fenlason who, while allowing one goal, also had one save in the victory.
Eagles shutout Whitter 4-0
Fenlason had another great game in the second match of the long weekend leading the Eagles to a 4-0 shutout win over the Whittier College Poets on Monday, Sept. 5.
Ruvalcaba also had another huge game for Biola scoring two goals while also notching an assist.
The scoring started in the 14th minute for the Eagles when freshman midfielder Scott Hayes took a cross from Ruvalcaba in front of the goal and put it in the back of the net.
Ruvalcaba then added a goal of his own in the 51st minute which really got the team rolling. Chew followed with his second goal of the season to give the Eagles a 3-0 advantage.
In the end it was Ruvalcaba again who put the finishing touch on the win over the Poets when he chipped in his second goal of the night, finishing off an eight-minute span where the Eagles scored three times.
Biola has dominated this series, outscoring Whittier 24-0 overall in the past five matches.
Fenlason earns GSAC Defensive Player of the Week
Much of the Eagles’ success this year can be credited to Fenlason, who was voted Golden State Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week. He finished the game with four saves against the Mariner attack.
“He’s been spot on and is the anchor of the defense,” senior defender Cody Shelton said. “This defense is the best it’s been.”
“He [Fenlason] has picked up for our guys when there are lacks in the back,” Ruvalcaba said.
It was the first time a Biola men’s soccer player has earned player of the week since Fenlason was selected at the end of the 2009 season.
Marymount had one last chance to get a goal against the Eagle defense on a corner kick in the final minute, but the Biola defenders who finished the game strong foiled this attempt.
The Eagles hit the road for the first time this season with a tournament at Master’s College where they will take on Holy Names University on Friday, Sept. 9 and Westminster College of Utah Saturday, Sept. 10. Biola wraps up the road trip with a match at La Sierra University the following Thursday, Sept. 15.
