The Biola women’s soccer team fills with anticipation and excitement as they head into the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament. The Eagles enter the tournament ranked fourth overall and will face fifth place Concordia University on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at Al Barbour Field in the first round of playoffs.

Making it to the national tournament, which has not happened since 2004, marks one of the team's goals this year. Senior midfielder Miranda Starbeck shares that the team’s hashtag for the season has been “#roadtonationals,” and that road starts now.

The Eagles faced Concordia earlier in the season and recognize that game as the first big loss in conference play.

“The last time we played Concordia was kind of a negative turning point in our season. Since then we have kind of struggled to get back to playing the way we were at the beginning of conference,” Starbeck said. “We have slowly been getting back to that point but we have not really been full strength since that game.”

The game against Concordia ended up in a tough loss in early October, but the Eagles feel prepared to face them once again.

“The game against Concordia was the first loss we had in GSAC, so that was sort of a stumbling block,” sophomore midfielder Jessie Burns said. “We just weren’t playing our best that game. We watched tape and learned what we did wrong and are trying to grow from that, so Tuesday will be a test of whether or not we have improved.”

The women’s team completed their final game of regular season conference play against Westmont University on Saturday, Nov. 1.

“It’s a really quick turnaround from Saturday so we really only have one practice to prepare for this game,” Starbeck said. “All of our practices since that game have been working towards preparing for playoffs.”

Concordia ended the season ranked directly below the Eagles at fifth place. The Concordia women’s team has a few talented attacking players that the Eagles hope to shut down defensively, but they stay more concerned with playing at their best level.

Senior midfielder Amanda Lillicrop says, “We are focusing on refining ourselves more than what their game is.”

As the Eagles head into postseason, they remain adamant about keeping their focus on the right things.

“We play for Christ first and foremost, but we have focused a lot on just loving each other and respecting each other,” Burns said, “Ultimately we are playing for Him first then each other and ourselves last.”

The team gathered together prior to the final practice before Tuesday’s game to emphasize these things.

“We really wanted to refocus on making sure we all felt important,” Lillicrop says. “Making sure that we were satisfied with our role and glorifying God to the best of your ability where you are.”

If the team finishes with a victory against Concordia they will play the following Friday in the semi-final round. The results of the other conference tournament games will determine location and opponent.

The Eagle’s stay focused and ready to avenge their early season loss to Concordia.

“It will be nerve-wracking, but I think we are due for a big win,” Burns said.