The Biola women’s soccer team lost to National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics No. 5 Concordia University 2-0 on Saturday and then rebounded with a 3-0 home win against Hope International University on Tuesday. The games bring the Eagles’ record to 4-5 overall and 1-1 in the Golden State Athletic Conference.
Biola starts out with strong defense
The tables were turned on Biola, who came into the game after a 3-0 victory over Marymount last week, but were unable to score against Concordia.
“It was definitely hard going from winning 3-0 to a loss against Concordia,” junior Katie Cabuling said. “However, I really thought we outplayed our opponents for a good portion of the game and we just need to learn from our mistakes and continue to build off of the positives we can take from the game.”
Biola played well in the first half and locked down on the defensive end, holding Concordia scoreless.
“I think we had an incredible first half,” Cabuling said. “We had most of the possession and we were defensively solid. The only thing missing was finding the back of the net.”
Concordia takes over in second period
The second half was much more exciting with the teams firing a combined 14 shots as opposed to only three in the first half. Just 1:06 into the second period, Concordia’s junior Jacqueline Turner scored a goal to give them a 1-0 lead. Twenty minutes later, she assisted an insurance goal by freshman Arianna Vaughn to increase their lead to two.
Biola attempted six shots over the final 25 minutes of the game, but was unable to get past the quick hands of Concordia’s goalkeeper, junior Bekah Garvin, who stopped five of those shots.
Biola rebounds with a dominant win against Hope
The Eagles then took out their frustration from Saturday’s loss to Concordia with a dominant 3-0 victory over Hope International University at home on Tuesday night.
Austin leads Eagles’ offense, Andre scores her first goal
Sophomore Jessica Austin scored one goal in each half to increase her team-leading total for this season to five and also contributed her first assist of the season. Sophomore Michelle Andre added one goal, her first of the season.
Austin broke the ice with a breakaway goal down the middle 30 minutes into the first half off an assist by freshman Miranda Starbeck. Solid defense from both teams kept the score at 1-0 for the rest of the period.
Biola’s second goal came from Andre, with the assist from Austin to bring the score to 2-0.
“My personal goal for this season was to score my first goal here at Biola. I knew that it was going to be hard because I am a defender and we rarely get the chance to go up and score,” Andre said.
“I could not believe it went in … I am just happy that I contributed to the team and to the win.”
After the second score, the Eagles looked like they already had the game wrapped up. However, their offensive rampage was not finished yet.
At the 72-minute mark, Austin received a lead pass from junior Taylor Lundquist to face off one-on-one against Hope’s sophomore goalkeeper Savannah Wood. Austin scored again to put the finishing touches on the victory. The Eagles had 17 shot attempts in large contrast to the Royals’ mere five, none of which could get past goalkeeper senior Erin Frushon.
This was Frushon’s third shutout of the year. She currently is second in the GSAC in saves and saves-per-game and ranks sixth in save percentage. Austin’s fifth goal pushes her into the top 10 in the GSAC as well.
“It was an important win for us because it boosted our confidence and anytime we get a win we get pumped up for our next game,” Andre said. “We know that we have a chance to do well this season and it feels good to know that we can be a challenge for teams.”
The Eagles return to action at San Diego Christian University in an away game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8.
