Missed opportunities and an unfortunate red card spelled doom for Biola men’s soccer as they fell to league rivals Azusa Pacific University Wednesday and Westmont College Saturday.
The Eagles battled back and forth against the APU Cougars Saturday, making it a thrilling match to watch. As both teams struggled to score, it was obvious that one play would be the deciding the factor of the game.
This proved true as neither team could get anything going offensively in the first and most of the second half. The scale was tipped when Biola defender Alex Honore made a dangerous tackle on a Cougar forward from behind, earning him an immediate red card and forcing Biola to play down a man for the final 20 minutes of the game.
APU took immediate advantage of Biola’s handicap, eventually scoring the lone goal of the game in the 81st minute after frequent attacks on the goal.
Men’s soccer went into the home game against Westmont Wednesday determined for a win after the loss against APU.
Once again, the game was decided by a trivial play that resulted in a 1-1 tie instead of a league win for Biola. In the first half brothers Zach and Nick Bautista had chances to put the Eagles on the scoreboard, but couldn’t get the ball past Westmont goalie Justin Etherton on two open shots.
Although Biola’s Zach Bautista would score the first goal of the game after a strong start in the second half, Westmont responded with a goal of their own, dropping Biola to a 1-5-2 record in GSAC play.
The Lady Eagles soccer team didn’t fare much better than the men as they also took on Westmont and APU, losing both games by a tight margin as well.
A large crowd gathered to watch them take on rivals APU on Saturday at home. Biola was unable to crack the notoriously tough Cougar defense and gave up three goals in the first half. Biola would stop the scoring attack in the second half, but could not score any goals of their own, losing 3-0.
The game on Tuesday went better, as Biola almost pulled off a historical win against No. 19 ranked Westmont, but fell short by a single goal. The Eagle’s defense continues to get hammered by the opposition’s offensive attacks, with Westmont dispatching six shots on goal in the first half compared to Biola’s one.
A late goal by Westmont was the only one scored in the game, resulting in a 1-0 loss. The Eagles drop to 5-6-2 overall and 1-5-2 in GSAC play and look ahead to the oncoming league games this week.
