After coming off of a tough loss, the women’s soccer team returned to their winning ways when they took down Trinity International University (IL) last Friday. The victory moved the women to a perfect 2-0 on the season. Freshman goalkeeper Lauren Gregston made it clear the women enjoy playing in front of the Biola faithful.
“Our fans are great,” Gregston said, “and it’s awesome to start out with a 2-0 record at home.”
The win came courtesy of a late shot from senior Bryna Neill in the 61st minute of action.
The lady Eagles began the night sluggishly allowing the Trinity offense to slice through their defense and score in the opening five minutes of play. However, rather than let that demoralize them, the goal seemed to light a fire under the Eagles, prompting quick retaliation.
Junior Brittany Neill and freshman Gabby Jolin worked together to create a scoring opportunity that resulted in Trinity inadvertently putting the ball in their own net.
With the score tied, the Eagles buckled down on defense, holding off the offensive onslaught brought on by the Trinity players. Finally, the ladies were able to break through about 15 minutes into the second half when freshman Janna Mora provided the assist to Neill, who shot the game-winning goal.
Defense again proved pivotal in the victory as keeper Gregston made four impressive saves during the game and helped the ladies pull back to an even 2-2 on the season. The ladies will play their next game Thursday as they take on NAIA Region II Cal State San Marcos at Biola’s own Al Barbour Field at 7 p.m.
As for the men, after three impressive victories, Simon Fraser College ended the winning streak defeating Biola’s men 1-0 last Saturday night in the championship match of the 2007 Biola Men’s Soccer Classic.
The men proved once again that they can certainly hold their own on the defensive side of the ball. However, the offense that had been so potent in their previous three matches was absent in the shutout loss.
The two teams were equally matched with both sides remaining scoreless well into the second half. Simon Fraser finally broke through in the 74th minute with a follow up shot by Fraser’s Josh Bennett.
As time ticked away, the men, led by sophomore Shalom Bako, mounted an intense offense but were repelled time and again by the tight-fisted Simon Fraser defense. As it would turn out, the one goal was all that was necessary to hand the Eagles their fourth loss on the season.
The men move to an even 4-4 on the season, and though the loss was a tough one, they were able to leave with something positive.
First, the men proved they can play with contenders such as NAIA No. 16 ranked Simon Fraser. Secondly, the men’s defensive unit, led by junior Brandon Gonzalez, showed they are the team’s strength. They have held opponents to one goal or less in all but one of their eight matches this season.
Gonzalez, whose stalwart defense has aided in keeping the Eagle’s in most of their games this season, believes that when the offense comes around the team will be ready to compete with any opponent.
“Defensively we had a good weekend,” said Gonzalez. “I definitely believe that our defense is what is going to have to keep us in games. However, things are getting better as we have been working on our weaknesses all week in practice and our forwards and middles are coming along.”
The men look to get the offense back on track again this weekend as they take on Master’s College on the road. The game starts at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
