Biola scored in final five minutes of regulation to bring down Golden State Athletic Conference leader Concordia University in Irvine 2-1. All season long, men’s soccer has preached that they always play for the “W,” and Saturday night at Al Barbour Field, they affirmed that message.

Freshman Joey O’Keefe played a huge role in the Eagles victory, knocking a ball to freshman forward Aaren Lewis, who flicked it into the back of the net for Biola’s first score in the 33rd minute. After Concordia tied it up in the 78th minute, O’Keefe showed he wasn’t done yet by putting away the game winner in the 87th minute from 15 yards out to seal the game for the Eagles.

The men had many opportunities throughout both halves to run the score up, outshooting Concordia 23-14, but thanks to some superb goaltending by Concordia keeper Julio Trejo, who notched 9 saves, the scored remained close the entire game.

The match was huge on many aspects for the Eagles. Most importantly, it showed the Eagles are ready to take on any team. After losing earlier this season to Concordia, Biola knew the rematch would test them and find if they were ready to take on big teams. The win against Concordia represents Biola’s first win against an NAIA-ranked opponent this season, a stat that looks favorable heading into postseason.

The Eagles currently sit in third place in GSAC play with a 9-5-1 overall record, 5-3 in conference, with San Diego Christian College just 1 point ahead of the Eagles. The final two regular matches of the season for the men pit them against Arizona Christian University and Westmont College. Both matches look favorable for the Eagles as ACU and Westmont have lost to Biola earlier in the season and both sit at the bottom of the GSAC conference.