BOX SCORE
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Vitor Machado scored with just 38 seconds left in the first overtime as Fresno Pacific stunned No. 11 Biola with a 2-1 overtime victory in a GSAC match on Tuesday night on Al Barbour Field.
The Eagles, who moved up to No. 11 in the latest NAIA National poll released earlier in the day, drop to 10-2-1 overall and fall to 5-1-1 in conference play as they played in their third-straight overtime contest. The Sunbirds improve to 8-4-1 and to 4-2-1 in the GSAC.
Biola was by far the dominant team in the contest, but could not seem to find the back of the net despite holding a 25-12 shot advantage in the match.
The Eagles had a ton of chances in the 35 minutes, outshooting the Sunbirds 8-2 with six of those shots on goal. The best chance came very early on as
Marco Ruvalcaba had a great chance rattle off the post just 1:24 into the contest.
Biola then peppered the FPU goal with four shots from the 17th minute through the 22nd minute with all four ending in saves by the Sunbird goalkeeper Gildardo Villarruel.
Fresno Pacific broke through with the first goal as Nehemias Blanco blasted a free kick from 35 yards out to the far post in the 36th minute. It was his first tally of the year and the first time Biola trailed in six matches.
However, the Eagles wasted no time getting that goal back as Ruvalcaba scored his 10th goal of the season with a shot on the run from 25 yards out just under two minutes later.
The second half was a bit more even, though Biola still had a number of great chances. With time running out on the half, the Eagles mounted a furious charge which nearly culminated in a late winner.
Abraham Gomez had a breakaway chance in the 88th minute which was again denied by the woodwork as his shot rang off the crossbar and stayed out.
The story was the same in overtime as Biola dominated play, spending the better part of the extra time in the FPU half. Biola recorded six corner kicks in the overtime session and recorded four shots including a header by
Derek Friehe off a corner kick which hit off the crossbar.
That proved to be the start of the end of the contest for the Eagles as Villarruel quickly sent the ball ahead to Machado who worked past the Biola defense and cracked a shot from 20 yards out. Biola goalkeeper
Aaron Fenlason made the initial save, but the ball went right back to Machado, who lofted a shot over Fenlason into the goal for the match-winner.
Fenlason suffered his second defeat of the season, allowing a pair of goals and making two saves in the contest. Villarruel made eight saves on 25 shots to earn the victory.
The pair of goals by Fresno Pacific were the fourth and fifth allowed by the Biola defense in the last three matches after surrendering just three goals in the previous 10. The Eagles have also scored five goals over that stretch after recording 34 in 10 matches prior.
The loss drops Biola into third place in the GSAC standings, two points behind The Master's College and Azusa Pacific. The Eagles still control their own destiny as wins in their final three matches would give them the GSAC regular season title and homefield advantage throughout the conference tournament.
Biola will look to rebound from the tough loss on Saturday (Oct. 24) against Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. The match is slated to begin at 2:30 p.m. The Eagles close out the home portion of the regular-season schedule on Wednesday (Oct. 28), hosting Vanguard University at 7:00 p.m.
