With the season coming to a close, men’s soccer searched for their fifth place PacWest finish in their game against the Concordia University Irvine Eagles. The matchup became a key factor into whether or not they would meet Biola’s self-imposed requirement for postseason play in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association. The two teams fought to a 0-0 tie on Oct. 21, further reducing Biola’s margin for error heading into its last four games of the year.
FUTILE STRONG START
The visitors started strong, recording the first two shots of the game within the first 15 minutes. However, Concordia goalie William Whiddon saved senior midfielder Jarrett Pugh’s shot and junior midfielder Kousei Mattox’s attempt missed high. From there, the first half lacked much in the way of scoring opportunities, with senior goalkeeper Igor Puglia only needing to make one save in the first 45 minutes. Biola pressed for a score as the half wound down, but had nothing to show for their efforts despite generating four corner kicks.
Biola continued its excellent work on defense in the second half, but the team’s offense went stagnant. The visitors could not string together consistent pressure on Concordia’s goal, and yellow cards on Pugh and junior defender Parker Setran did not help matters either. Looking to be the hero once again after his double-overtime golden goal on Oct. 11, sophomore defender Jake Munivez attempted a shot as regulation time wound down, but Whiddon came up with the save to send the game into overtime.
SCORELESS OVERTIME
Both teams fought the impending cover of darkness as they attempted to play out overtime on a field without stadium lights. Both teams combined had only one shot on goal, and Puglia made another easy save on the Concordia attempt for his fourth shutout in PacWest play.
Concordia and Biola each recorded 11 shots, with three on goal for the former and six on goal for the latter. Biola had seven corner kicks while Concordia had five. Each team also received two yellow cards. Pugh led all players with four shot attempts (three on goal).
Biola moves to 6-6-2 overall and 5-3-1 in the PacWest. They are currently tied with Concordia at 16 conference points, but the school from Irvine, Calif. holds the tiebreaker due to their slightly better 5-1-1 conference record. Biola will return to Al Barbour Field to face off against third-place Cal Baptist University on Oct. 23.
