Senior forward Daniel Chew battles Concordia senior Max McCrink for the ball during the game on October 5. Concordia is the men's first loss of the season. | Karin Jensen/THE CHIMES
Despite starting off the season with a bang, men’s soccer dropped their previous two games to Golden State Athletic Conference teams and moved to 7-2-1 on the season.
The first loss came on Saturday at the hands of Concordia University Irvine. Biola had their seven-game win streak at home stripped, thanks to a brace from Concordia striker Mario Soto.
Both Eagle teams played to a scoreless 0-0 draw in the first half. The game began to pick up intensity in the second half, though. In the 60th minute of the game, Soto headed in a shot off the crossbar, putting Concordia on the board and leading Biola 1-0.
Less than a minute later however, Biola quickly came back when a corner kick by BU junior midfielder Stephen Campos resulted in a head shot by senior forward Daniel Chew, assisted by junior midfielder Stephen Day. The five seconds of action put Biola on the board and brought the score up to a tie of 1-1.
“I hoped that my goal was the inspiration we needed,” Chew said. “Steve [Campos] sent a perfect cross into me for a clean finish.”
Emotions were running high as fans cheered on both teams to take the lead. After multiple shots from both teams, Soto scored the go-ahead goal for CUI in the 80th minute, which ultimately would prove to be the game-winner.
DESPITE LOSSES, EAGLES PLAY HARD
“We never gave up, we kept fighting the whole 90 minutes,” Biola sophomore midfielder Joey O’Keefe said. “We didn’t finish our chances to score when we had them. I felt like I had a few quality chances to score, but I couldn't find the back of the net during the game and that is always a frustrating feeling. We didn't play like the No. 8 team in the nation, so it's back to the drawing board for our upcoming game.”
O’Keefe had a total of four shots at goal, the most from any individual player on the team in the game.
On Tuesday the Eagles went to Scottsdale to play Arizona Christian on their home turf. Biola hit the ground running, taking 14 shots within the first half of the game.
Like the game against Concordia, Biola and ACU managed to keep each other off the scoreboard well into the second half. However, in the 58th minute, ACU junior midfielder Carlos Villa scored a penalty kick goal, bringing the score to 1-0. Biola played hard to score, taking 19 shots in the second half.
With just five minutes left in the game, Villa scored a second goal, assisted by ACU freshman midfielder Carlos Mendoza. Biola was unable to come back from the second hit, and they were shut out by ACU with a final score of 2-0. Overall, Biola took a grand total of 33 shots in the game with 13 on goal, while ACU took 7 with 6 on goal.
Both games this week were a tough loss for Biola. They now stand at a current record of 7-2-1 and are looking for a comeback at home against Westmont College this Saturday.
