The No. 11 women’s soccer team earned a must-win against The Master’s College on Oct. 24 after a crucial loss to No. 15 Vanguard University on Oct. 20. Biola currently sits on top of the Golden State Athletic Conference but will have to outlast Vanguard and No. 5 Westmont University in the remaining games of the season.
Extended Streak
Biola traveled to play Master’s for the two team’s first match-up of the season. The Eagles had not lost to the Mustangs since Nov. 2013, and extended that streak after winning 1-0 in Biola’s second to last game of the season.
The first half of the game proved a defensive battle with no scores. Senior goalkeeper Marina Rodiguez made two crucial saves for the Eagles, sending both teams to the locker rooms at half with a score of 0-0.
Both teams maintained the shutout for the first 43 minutes of the second half and with less than two minutes left, it appeared the game would head into overtime. However, Junior midfielder Kayla White scored a dramatic, game-winning goal to give the Eagles a 1-0. This marked White’s second goal of the season.
One Game Left
With only one game left for the Eagles in the regular season, Biola finds themselves three points ahead of Vanguard and four points ahead of Westmont. The Eagles’ last game is against Arizona Christian University on Oct. 31. The Firestorm are currently last in GSAC with a conference record of 0-9.
Not only have the Eagles been able to beat the Firestorm in every match-up since ACU joined GSAC in 2012, but they have never been scored on by the Firestorm. In the two teams’ five games against each other, Biola has outscored ACU by a score of 24-0.
If Biola beats the Firestorm on Oct. 31, it would improve the Eagles to a conference record of 7-1-2, resulting in 23 conference points. Westmont still has one game against Hope International University and San Diego Christian College left in the regular season, both teams they have already beaten this year.
A Potential Tie
If the Warriors win both games they will finish their season with a 7-1-2 record, potentially matching the Eagles and resulting in a tie for conference. In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker would be points versus opponents both Biola and Westmont have played this year, since none of the earlier tie-breaking policies would apply to the teams.
Another potential winner of the GSAC conference is Vanguard University. The Lions currently hold a season record of 5-2-1 and sit behind both Biola and Westmont with 16 conference points. With two games left in the season, the Lions have a potential for 22 conference points, one less than both Biola and Westmont’s potential.
A Fight Ahead
Biola is not only in a must-win situation against the Firestorm in their last game of the regular season on Oct. 31, but they will be forced to fight for as many goals as possible. The number of goals scored could be the difference in the event of a tie-breaker against Westmont.
