With their victory over William Jessup University on Oct. 27, the women’s soccer team earned their first-ever undefeated overall record, according to records of Biola Athletics. Although their undefeated season does not guarantee a conference championship, the Eagles remain highly ranked among National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics competition.

A challenge

“The game against William Jessup was a challenging one,” said Madyson Brown, sophomore defender. “The field was slippery and muddy, unlike any field we have played on, so it mostly affected the defense.”

It only took one goal for the Eagles to secure their undefeated season. After freshman forward Paula-Marie Labate dribbled into the box and shot the game-winning goal at 34:54, Biola’s defense held the Warriors scoreless through the remainder of the match.

An undefeated record

As a result, the Eagles became the second team in the NAIA to finish the season undefeated. Spring Arbor University, who topped the NAIA with a 16-0-1 overall record, share the undefeated feat with Biola.

“An undefeated season definitely contributes to the momentum moving forward,” Brown said. “Our next goal is to win the tournament, so we are going to pull all our focus on one game and that’s the semifinals.”

Since 1992, as far back as Biola Athletics has statistics on women’s soccer, the Eagles’ last undefeated conference record came in 2004 when they went 10-0 and lost in the second round of the NAIA national championship. However, the 2004 Eagles finished the regular season 16-2-1, making this the only year that women’s soccer finished with an undefeated overall record since at least 1992.

Unfortunately, their 8-0-2 conference record fell one win short of Vanguard University, who took first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference by one point with their 9-1-0 record. Regardless, their 14-0-2 overall record earned them the third highest winning percentage in the NAIA.

Evidence of success

The fact that the Eagles ranked in the top ten of many of the conference statistics serves as evidence of their regular success. Senior forward Taylor Venegas finished the season atop the conference with 75 shots and averaged 5.36 shots per game. In fact, she sits in the top 10 of nearly every offensive category in the GSAC.

The Eagles’ freshman goalkeeper, Christina Rodriguez, finished with the best save percentage and allowed the second lowest number of goals in the conference. She topped the GSAC with eight shutouts, three of which ended as one-goal victories.

By taking second place in the conference, the Eagles earn a bye into the semifinals of the GSAC tournament. While their opponent remains unknown, the semi-finals take place at Biola on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 5 p.m.