After watching the Eagle men shut out APU 1-0 in a thriller, the women were up. APU came in undefeated in GSAC play and showed why. Azusa Pacific outshot the Eagles 15-2 and 2008 GSAC player of the year, senior Theresa Broad scored twice to help the No. 4 Cougars overcome an early 1-0 deficit and defeat the Eagles 3-1.
In the 4th minute, Azusa goalie Alexa Douglas came out of the crease attempting to clear the ball, but Biola senior Ashley Moseley beat her to it, and scored to give Biola the early lead. The game stayed like that despite an onslaught of shots from APU on sophomore goalkeeper Erin Frushon, until the 28th minute when Broad cut across the top of the box, and scored her 9th goal of the season. In the 30th minute, APU freshman Natalie Sun found Broad with a centering pass that she buried in the back of the net to give the Cougars a 2-1 lead.
“That early goal was a mistake, but the girls kept playing,” said Jason Surrell, APU head coach. “We always try to be at our best against any GSAC opponent, but it’s fun coming out here and playing Biola.”
The second half was pretty even. The ball went back and forth, without too many scoring opportunities. In the 41st minute, Sun found the net through a crowded goalie box and 3-1 was the final.
“We look for positive aspects out of this game,” Biola head coach Todd Elkins said. “The early goal was a positive. They may not have been expecting us to put so much pressure on their backs and goalkeeper … We need to work on transitioning from defense to attack, because if they don’t have to work on defense, it does no good.”
Azusa moves to 5-0-0 in GSAC and 9-2-0 overall, while Biola falls to 1-3-0 in conference and 5-3-1 on the season (a recent loss against Hope International dropped the women to 5-4-1).
“It’s still early in conference,” Elkins said. “It’s up to the girls now. We still have something to say for this season if they keep working hard.”
Tuesday night, Hope came to town looking for their first conference win of the season. It wasn’t long before the teams, coaches, and the rain had settled in for the long haul. It was very evenly played through 90 minutes, with both nets untouched. Each team had 14 shots and each goalkeeper had 3 saves. Per NAIA rules, the teams went into the first of two 10-minute overtime periods. The rain kept falling and the game went back and forth until the first overtime expired without score. It was the 107th minute when Hope’s Harmony Pruett hooked the game-winning shot from the right into the left corner of the net for the win. Biola is 5-4-1 overall and 1-4-0 in conference. Prior to this victory, Hope was winless against the Eagles in 16 matches.
The Eagles next game is Sat. Oct. 17 in Irvine as they will face Concordia.
