Men’s soccer traveled to Fresno, California on Saturday for a matchup against the Fresno Pacific University Sunbirds. The Eagles played an uneventful first half, but found their rhythm in the second to produce two goals past the Sunbirds, 2-1.
DOWN BY ONE
Biola got on the front foot with an early shot by freshman forward Moose Bonat in the first minute, but it was easily saved by Fresno goalkeeper Matteo Swenson. Throughout the half, the Eagles battled for possession and attempted seven shots overall, yet the Sunbirds dominated with cleaner passes and more shots on goal.
In the 29th minute, FPU knocked in a goal past redshirt sophomore goalie JD Gunn, creating a 1-0 advantage. Biola was close to equalizing in the 33rd minute, but redshirt senior midfielder Theo le Calve’s shot ricocheted off the near post.
CALLING THE SHOTS
The Eagles quickly got their equalizer at the start of the second half when Le Calve’s free kick outside the box found redshirt junior defender Izaac Zausch, who headed the ball straight into the net. Later in the 74th minute redshirt junior defender Haiko Hovak’s near-goal attempt shot off the crossbar, knocking down a Sunbird in the process to procure a yellow card.
The winning goal came in the final minutes when a foul from the Sunbirds led Le Calve to a stunning free kick into the net. Biola finished the night with 16 shots to Fresno’s eight, ultimately triumphing 2-1.
Men’s soccer (6-4 overall, 2-1 conference) will continue PacWest play against Chaminade University of Honolulu in Hawaii on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 5:30 p.m. The livestream will be available on the Biola Athletics website.
