Biola Eagles’ Men’s Soccer (1-4-1) beat Sonoma State Seawolves (2-3-1) 3-0 gaining their first win of the preseason on Saturday afternoon.

The Eagles started the first half as strong as possible with an early goal by junior forward Justin Eissenman. Ethan Hardin, who went on to score two goals, spoke on the mentality the early goal had on the team. 

“After playing several games without scoring, getting that first goal really inspired even more confidence [as it] sets us up for success and takes some pressure off our back line so we can play with freedom,” he said. 

Biola took the pressure off their defense with three corner kicks in the ten minutes after their first goal. Eisenmann took a good look at the goal but it was blocked by Sonoma’s Jack Chapman. Biola kept their 1-0 lead going into the break as they held the Seawolves to only four shots, only one being on goal.

Biola and Sonoma State exchanged corner kicks within the first ten minutes of the second half with nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. Biola goalie Gijs van Schouten finished the game with three saves and had his first game with no goals allowed as he recorded his second in the sixty-second minute.

Hardin added to the lead with an assist from Andrew Darke which changed the score to 2-0. Not satisfied with this, Hardin scored just a couple minutes later assisted by Eismann and gave his team a daunting 3-0 lead. Biola prevented Sonoma State from scoring the rest of the game and sealed their first win of the preseason. 

After their first win, Hardin was asked about the level of competition in the preseason and how it affected the team’s goals. 

“We have a really stacked and difficult preseason schedule for a reason,” he said. “It is essential every game is approached in the same way with the same mindset. his game is just something to build on.”