Men’s soccer completed their third straight shutout in a row with tonight’s 1-0 win over Notre Dame de Namur University. Freshman goalkeeper JD Gunn remained stellar for the Eagles, making a number of saves that helped Biola earn the clean win.
Senior forward Leo Thompson scored his fourth goal of the season within the first three minutes of play. NDNU center back booted a pass from senior defender Hunter Finnegan, giving Thompson possession of the ball to get Biola on the scoreboard early in the game. The Eagles would rely on this one goal to give them the victory over the Argos.
Gunn saw zero shots on goal from Notre Dame de Namur in the first half, but robbed multiple goals from the Argos in the second. The freshman goalie from Panama made four second-half saves and guarded additional shots in the air from going into the net. He has kept his opponents from finding the net for three straight games now.
GUNN ON GUARD
“It feels great,” said Gunn about the team’s win. “It means I am doing my job well. Thanks to my defense as well, making it easy for me most of the time. Hopefully, we can keep getting shutouts and wins.”
Three of Gunn’s diving stops came at the 72nd minute as Notre Dame de Namur searched to find the back of the net. Gunn remained focus and denied each of these attempts by NDNU. Having already won PacWest Freshman of the Week to open the season, Gunn continues to be an important piece for Biola’s success.
Head Coach Todd Elkins was also impressed by the freshman’s performance.
“I’m really proud of our defense and our backline,” Elkins said. “JD really had some good saves and he made some tough saves look easy.”
LOOKING FORWARD
The notable performances by Biola’s defense continue to keep each of their games in close margins, and they are hungry to continue winning.
“I feel like we have to win every game to get to the playoffs,” Thompson said. “So we are just taking each game one at a time.”
The men work to keep the pressure on their opponents, always trying to remain a threat to the other team that Biola is capable of scoring.
“We got to be more relentless,” Elkins said. “We got to create more chances even if we score.”
They are now the only other team next to Azusa Pacific University that is undefeated in the PacWest conference. This win advances Biola to 2-0-2 in conference, moving them to 4-4-3 overall. They send NDNU home with another loss, falling to 1-5 in PacWest play.
The men will have a full week to prepare for their next match. Biola will be back on the turf at Al Barbour Field when they host Hawaii Hilo on Oct. 26.
