With Saturday marking the final regular season game of the Biola lacrosse season, the team is going to be entering the playoffs without senior midfielder David Sigley. Sigley suffered a severe leg injury in the team’s 16-12 victory over Pepperdine University on Saturday, March 30.

“It's pretty tough, especially since this is the first major injury that I've had,” Sigley said. “I've played sports non-stop ever since I was little, and I've never missed a single game due to injury. God has blessed me with good health my entire life and I'm trusting that he has a plan for me to go through this right now.”

Sigley’s absence comes just before the playoffs

Despite the optimism Sigley showed about the long-term ramifications of his injury, his absence will affect the team in their drive toward the postseason.

“Sigley was playing a huge role, especially in transition and ground all play. We knew that while he was on the field he was going to get it done and done right, whatever he was doing,” freshman midfielder Matt Young said.

With the team currently in first place of the Southwestern Lacrosse Conference Division II, the Eagles are poised for a playoff run. They have one more conference game against California State University Channel Islands, and a win would lock up a first place finish.

Biola has overmatched opponents all year, winning convincingly over the likes of Occidental College, California Lutheran University and University of California San Diego.

“We have a lot of talent and have a solid amount of guys who can consistently score goals as well as play lock-down defense. We have too many weapons for our opponents to focus on just one guy. Our defense has stepped up and carried us at times as well,” Sigley said.

The injury could not have come at a worse time for Sigley as it was senior night and the team had one more game before playoffs.

“This is the last thing I wanted to happen, especially during my senior night, but I'm trying to press into the Lord and hear his voice during this difficult time,” he said.

Sigley sees the team flourishing after he’s gone

Sigley has nothing but praise for the program he will be leaving behind this year, commenting on the nature in which the team has grown on the field as well as off.

“I've had an incredible four years as a part of the Biola lacrosse family. Anyone who is familiar with our team will tell you that this team really is a brotherhood full of guys who encourage each other and push each other to be the best lacrosse players and the best men of God that we can be,” Sigley said.

With one more game to go before the playoffs, Sigley sees a key way that the team he left on the field will be able to succeed.

“We have to continue to be unselfish and play within our individual roles,” he said. “We've done a good job of that so far this season, but some guys are capable of stepping up into bigger roles and we have to have more offensive productivity for us to succeed. We have great offensive players and we need to prove that with lots of goals so that our defense can be more aggressive and play the physical game of lacrosse that we want to play.”

Even with the intense and strenuous nature of playoff time, Young accepts and is looking forward to the challenge.

“Playoffs are a time of serious competition and it proves that we belong where we are in the standings. It's going to be really fun pushing ourselves to perform well and as a unit that can flow offensively and dominate and lock off defensively,” Young said.

The conference semifinals are set for May 5 with the finals the following day.