The dark cloud of struggles continued to hover over the Eagles’ offense while in San Diego on Oct. 8. With a 2-1 victory over the Westmont Warriors on Oct. 4, the Eagles aimed to carry over their best offensive game in two weeks against the San Diego Christian College Hawks, but could not do so in a 1-0 overtime loss.
Biola controlled the time of possession, showing their dominance early on. However, empty scoring opportunities continued to plague one of the strongest teams in the nation. On the bright side, the defense prevailed like clockwork as they do week in and week out.
The second half proved more of the same for the Eagles with dominant play despite zeroes on the board. Though the Eagles man-handled the Hawks, they kept Biola off the board at the same time. With regulation in the books, the Eagles went into extra minutes for the third time this season.
With two epic overtime wins already this season, the Eagles sought to make it three. Biola continued to play stingy defense in the first overtime and then translated it into the second overtime period. Unfortunately, in the 107th minute of play, a successfully converted Hawks’ corner kick sent the Eagles home with their fourth loss this season.
The heartbreaking double overtime loss pushes the Eagles down the the Golden State Athletic Conference standings with a mediocre 3-3 record in conference play. By eye, the Eagles seemed the better team — dictating every facet of the game. Nevertheless, their talented offense has continued to come up short on numerous scoring opportunities throughout the season. The Eagles have the scorers in place for offensive fireworks with the likes of senior forward Leonardo Contreras and senior midfielder Devin Leon. However, unlucky breaks and untimely shots persistently weigh down the Eagles’ chances of coming out on top over their opponent.
After a mixed-result road trip, the Eagles come home next week for the alumni game on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m.
