BOX SCORE
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Junior Derek Friehe came off the bench late in the match and scored the match-winner with just 39 seconds left in regulation as Biola pulled out a 2-1 GSAC victory over California Baptist on Tuesday night.
The Eagles snapped a five-match winless streak with the victory and improve to 7-6-2 on the season and 2-5-2 in GSAC. The Lancers fall to 7-6-3 and 3-4-2 in conference action.
Biola got off to a sluggish start in the match as Cal Baptist quickly took control, recording three quick shots and getting on the board with the third. Willie Rupert's corner kick was sent high into the box where it was collected by Osvaldo Bastida, who then turned and fired it into the goal. The early tally gave the Lancers and early 1-0 lead just eight minutes into the contest.
However, the goal awoke the home side as Biola clamped down on defense and picked up its offensive attack. On the defensive side, the Eagles would not allow a shot for the next 44 minutes after the goal went in.
Offensively, Biola had a number of strong chances with the best one of the match coming just after the start of the second half. Freshman Marco Ruvalcaba blasted a shot which hit off the crossbar and was cleared from danger just over a minute into the second period.
The Eagles pressure kept up and finally paid off as sophomore Jake Ravenscraft got the team on the board in the 51st minute. Ravenscraft deflected a cross from freshman Zach Bautista into the net for his third goal of the season, tying the game at 1-1 and giving Biola new life.
The two teams then battled back-and-forth for the next half-hour as the Lancers created a number of scoring chances of their own. However, the game changed with about five minutes remaining when Cal Baptist's Spenser Steele reached out and stopped a ball from going into the goal with his hands earning him an immediate red card and leading to a Biola penalty kick. Senior Nick Bautista stepped up to take the spot kick, but CBU goalkeeper Jeff Redinger made an amazing diving save to keep the ball out and the score remained knotted at 1-1.
With the man-advantage, Biola kept up intense pressure and brought in a pair of fresh players off the bench--Friehe and junior Humberto Toscan. Toscan quickly got in the action, blasting a shot from short-range which was blocked by a sprawling Lancer defender. Shortly after that, Nick Bautista cracked a shot from the top of the box that rattled off the post and was cleared from danger.
But Biola finally recorded its first lead of the match with a nifty goal by Friehe with just 39 seconds remaining in the contest. Freshman Tony Montalvo worked around a pair of Lancer defenders and sent a long cross to the far side of the box where Friehe deflected it past the advancing keeper and into the back of the net to give Biola the 2-1 lead.
The Eagles defense was simply outstanding in the contest, holding Cal Baptist to just four shots after the initial barrage to start the match, including the stretch of 44 minutes without a shot immediatly following the goal. Goalkeeper Aaron Fenlason made four saves and repeatedly thwarted offensive scoring chances by CBU by coming off his line to keep the Eagles in the contest.
The victory also moves the Eagles back into the GSAC playoff picture as losses by Hope International and Point Loma Nazarene have Biola in eighth place in the conference standings. The Eagles can clinch a spot on Saturday (Nov. 1) as they close out the season against winless San Diego Christian College in El Cajon. The match is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. kick off.
