It came down to the very last conference game of the season, but in the end, men’s lacrosse got a huge 18-12 win over Occidental College to clinch the final spot in the Southwestern Lacrosse Conference.

The game featured huge performances from top players for the Eagles. David Shaum, sophomore attacker and MCLA DII point leader, tallied five goals for the Eagles. Freshman attacker Jon Prichard added five goals as well and freshman midfielder Bryce Hummel notched two goals and four assists.

The win came after Biola had a huge second-quarter surge.

“We were tied after the first quarter and then in the second, we just took off,” Prichard said.

The Eagles scored seven goals in the second quarter, taking a 9-3 lead at halftime. The key component of the win was Biola’s ability to keep Occidental from climbing back into the game, something they’ve struggled with in part this year.

“We’ve been ahead in a lot of games against teams that have turned into close games,” Shaum said. “We were leading Northern Colorado at half. We were leading Santa Cruz at half.”

The Eagles ended up losing both of those games by several goals.

THE ROAD TO PLAYOFFS

“First half is our strong suit, so we’re focusing on finishing out games strong and playing to win,” Shaum said.

Going forward, the Eagles have one final regular season game this weekend against UC Irvine before the start of playoffs. The first-round game will either be against Cal State San Marcos or UC San Diego.

In the midst of the regular season game and the playoff game, the team is focusing on getting healthy and not taking any chances.

“Right now, we’re taking it easy and trying to rest up,” Shaum said.

Shaum, who recently injured his shoulder, has been staying out of practice to avoid any mishaps. Several other players have been dealing with nagging injuries, so for the time being, Shaum stated that the important thing is getting everyone healthy.

There is some confidence going forward, seeing how Biola has beaten both San Marcos and San Diego this season. However, both were close scorelines, with the Eagles winning 13-12 over San Diego and 14-12 over San Marcos.

The Eagles still have a bit of work to do over the course of the next week to be fully prepped for playoffs.

“We’ve been working on cleaning stuff up, like the little mistakes we’ve made over the season,” Prichard said.

With some big wins on their record and some standout players, it’s very possible this team could make a deep run into the playoffs with a title and trophy in mind.