At halftime, the Eagles found themselves coasting to a likely victory as they led 2-0 against the William Jessup University Warriors, their Golden State Athletic Conference foes. In stunning fashion, the Warriors broke through, scoring three unanswered goals to upend the Eagles in the final regular season match of 2016.
The Eagles got on the board quickly as senior forward Leonardo Contreras scored his second goal in as many days only 4:26 into the game. Junior midfielder Jarrett Pugh continued his recent offensive surge as he assisted on Contreras’ sixth goal of the season.
After 21 minutes passed, Pugh, who had the hot leg for the night, converted on a penalty kick to put the Eagles ahead 2-0. With the first half in the books, the Eagles looked as if they would run away with the game. However, the Warriors did not give in to the Eagles’ substantial lead.
Six minutes in, the Eagles gave up the Warriors’ first goal of the game, in which a Warriors player headed in a corner kick to make the score 2-1.
With the Warriors surprisingly outpacing the Eagles offensively, Biola found themselves with their backs against the wall when William Jessup tied the score at two with 21 minutes left in the game.
This game began to look awfully familiar to their last game on Oct. 27 when the Eagles’ defense let up on their aggression and gave up two unanswered scores to the Menlo College Oaks.
With two minutes to play in regulation of the regular season and the game tied at two, the Warriors put the nail in the Eagles’ coffin as they scored on a shot from 25 yards out, which junior goalkeeper Igor Puglia deflected into the net.
After what seemed a walk in the park early on, the Eagles lost in another shocker, dropping the game to the Warriors by a final score of 3-2.
After the disappointing road trip to end the season, the Eagles will take on the Vanguard University Lions in the first round of the GSAC Tournament on Nov. 5 at 2 p.m.
