Biola Men’s soccer continues to advance further into the NAIA National Championship in close fashion as the Biola men’s soccer defeated Hastings (Nebraska) in a penalty kick shootout. Unseeded Biola advances to the quarterfinal round and will compete against No. 3 Rio Grande (Ohio) on Wednesday.
After knocking off the University of Texas at Brownsville in penalty kicks, the Eagles again used penalty kicks to defeat Hastings, 5-4 in seven rounds. In the 56th minute, Hastings’ Ryan Robinson hit a rocket that was deflected along the way into the back of the net to give Nebraska an early 1-0 lead.
Biola responded in the 67th minute when sophomore, Marco Ruvlacaba scored on a penalty kick. The two teams combined for 34 fouls throughout the game and battled to a tie at the end of regulation. The Eagles had several chances in the first overtime period as they peppered Hastings’ goalie Cody Poteat with 4 shots in 10 minutes. Then, with seven seconds left in the second overtime, Hastings’ AJ Dingledine’s shot on an empty net ended up going wide left. After no shots found the back of the net after two overtimes, Biola looked to advance on their second straight tie.
In the first round, Hastings scored and Ruvlacaba’s shot was blocked. After both teams scored in the second round, Eagles sophomore goalie Aaron Fenlason blocked a shot to his right to give the Eagles a chance to tie things up. Unfortunately, Shalom Bako’s kick sailed high and the Eagles were still down by a goal after three rounds. Then, in the fourth round, Hastings missed a shot and Eagles’ sophomore Abraham Gomez was able to tie the shootout to 2-2 after four rounds. After both teams scored in the ensuing fifth and sixth rounds, the score was 4-4 heading into the seventh round. Fenlason saved the shot setting up a game winning opportunity for his junior brother, Jared. Jared converted the shot which sends the Eagles to the quarterfinals.
Biola has not been shutout all year through its first 21 games setting a season record. Despite advancing to the quarterfinal round, the Eagles have yet to win in the NAIA tournament. Because the first two games technically ended in ties, Biola is 0-2-4 all time in the NAIA tournament. Master’s College, the only other GSAC team in the NAIA tournament, has won its first two games and looks to advance on Wednesday as well.
