Freshman Joshua Crichton | Olivia Blinn/THE CHIMES

For the last four years, brickwall goalkeeper Aaron Fenlason roamed between the posts, stabilizing Biola men’s soccer’s back end and leading the Eagles to a Golden State Athletic Conference championship and two NAIA Tournament appearances. So it’s fitting that Fenlason served as goalkeeper coach in 2012, easing the transitions of freshman goalies JT Addington and Joshua Crichton into their first years at the collegiate level.

“It’s been crucial,” Crichton said of Fenlason’s coaching role. “Stuff like timing and positioning from all the experience he’s had, even little things like how to prepare for a game … I’ve really appreciated the time he’s put into it. He gives me a standard to look up to on the field.”

Helping bring the team to the GSAC tournament

It was Crichton who won the job in August, eventually starting 17 of the team’s 19 games in net and bringing a young team to its fifth consecutive GSAC Tournament. His 1.26 goals against average, third in the conference individually, helped Biola to a second-best 1.25 team GAA.

Crichton earned GSAC Defensive Player of the Week honors in mid-October, stemming from back-to-back conference wins against San Diego Christian College and Vanguard University. The wins propelled the team to a 4-2 finish down the stretch, securing the three-seed in the GSAC Tournament.

Despite Saturday’s second round loss to San Diego Christian, Crichton sees a bright future for a team stacked with freshman talent.

The future of the program

“We’re the future of the program and we’ll just continue to bond together,” Crichton said.

Crichton is one of eight freshmen, and with five sophomores, more than half of the team was comprised of underclassmen in 2012. Immediately following Saturday’s loss, the first of many organized team events were underway, all of which Crichton says can only improve the team’s chemistry.

“We’re going to know each other like the back of our own hands,” he said.