Eagles win two of three this week
The Biola men’s soccer team followed up a 4-3 double-overtime loss to Westmont College on Wednesday, Oct. 19 with a 2-1 victory over Point Loma Nazarene University Saturday and a 2-0 shutout win over The Master’s College on Tuesday.
Westmont struck first in the game with Sebastian Kent heading in a goal from 10 yards out in the 18th minute.
After being shut out in the rest of the first half, the Eagles finally retaliated with junior midfielder Julio Cuevas knocking in a rebound from a senior midfielder Zach Bautista shot that drilled off the post.
Moments before this Biola goal, freshman forward Alex Kincade was whistled for a double yellow and was ejected from the match. This expulsion forced the Eagles to play a man down for the remainder of the match.
“We played extremely well on the attack, but the double yellow to Alex Kincade led to us playing a man down. Even playing a man down, we handled Westmont thoroughly,” head coach Bryan Kuderman said.
The Warriors quickly fought back scoring in quick succession in the next five minutes, notching two short-range goals, one in the 66th minute with the second in the 69th minute to put them up 3-1.
Senior defender Cody Shelton brought the Eagles within one when he took an unassisted shot from the right side and into the net in the 84th minute to make it 3-2. Less than six minutes later the Eagles had another chance when the Warriors were flagged for a foul inside the penalty box. Shelton lined up to take the penalty kick and drilled it into the back of the net for the equalizer with under a minute to play.
The teams adventured into overtime with both Biola and Westmont going scoreless in the first overtime period. In the second period though, the Warriors broke through the Eagles’ defense. Doug Harrell tallied the winning goal for the Warriors, heading in a cross pass.
The Eagles outshot Westmont that evening with Bautista firing in nine of the Biola shots.
Biola senior keeper Aaron Fenlason only had one save in what was not his best game of the year.
“The difference in the outcome was goal keeping. Our goalie was not able to make saves and the Westmont goalie had a great night,” Kuderman said.
Biola beats Point Loma 2-1
The Eagles then moved on to Point Loma where Shelton again saved Biola late in the game.
The Sea Lions struck first in the 58th minute to take an early 1-0 lead, but the Eagles rallied.
Freshman defender Collins Egbe launched a deep pass from the right corner, which Shelton was able to head in from 10 yards out in the 87th minute to even the game at 1-1.
The Eagles and Sea Lions headed into overtime to settle the draw with Biola having outshot Point Loma 20-10 in regulation.
Less than seven minutes into overtime senior forward Marco Ruvalcaba lined up for a corner and dropped it right in for Shelton who quickly passed it to Bautista who drilled home the winner.
Fenlason recorded three saves on the day for the Eagles while Keith Cline stopped 11 for the Sea Lions.
“Cody’s goals were so huge and important for us the last two games. His work ethic and heart shows what kind of leader Cody has been for this team. He is our MVP, if you ask me,” Bautista said.
Biola tops Master’s 2-0, wins Kuderman’s 100th career victory
The Eagles wrapped up the road trip with a journey to The Master’s College where the victory was the 100th victory at Biola for Kuderman who has been at the helm since 2002.
Bautista got the Eagle’s going in this momentous game where he knocked home a rebound to give Biola an early lead in the 31st minute.
Both teams remained scoreless in the remainder of the first half with the Eagles outshooting the Mustangs 7-1.
Ruvalcaba capped off the victory with a goal that deflected off a defender with the assist coming from senior defender Bryan Dunckel.
Fenlason recorded two saves for the Eagles while the team outshot the Mustangs 13-7 overall.
Kuderman has a .588 winning percentage while at Biola with an overall record of 100-68-14.
Injuries have ravaged Biola this year and many of their struggles can be traced back to them.
“If we had no injuries, we would be competing for a GSAC championship. We have a very good team, but we have four players out on season ending injuries. We are a wounded team with the loss of Tony Montalvo, Joao Toscan, Ben Ortega and Nate Robison. Kevin Kiser is now back and we hope to surprise some people in playoffs,” Kuderman said on the extent of the injuries.
The Eagles look to wrap up the season on a high note with a home game against Vanguard on Friday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m.
“With the overtime win at Point Loma we felt a sigh of relief and satisfaction because with that win we were guaranteed to make playoffs,” Bautista said. “We are starting to peak at the right time going into playoffs and our confidence is continuing to grow.”
