BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Junior forward Kennedy Chongo sent home a blast off a great cross just over two minutes into the second overtime to give Biola a 2-1 victory over Vanguard University on Wednesday night on Al Barbour Field.

The victory moves the Eagles to 12-2-1 on the season and to 7-1-1 in GSAC play. It also proved to be a key three points for Biola in the conference race, putting them within two points of first-place The Master's College. The two teams will battle for the GSAC regular-season title as they close our the season on Saturday in Santa Clarita.

The loss drops the Lions to 7-6-3 overall and to 4-3-2 in the conference.

Biola came out of the gate with a strong attack, but was unable to find the back of the net despite outshooting Vanguard 7-2 in the first half. Two of those chances came in the closing minutes as Chongo beat the Lions defense and created one-on-one chances against the Vanguard keeper. However, Trevor Herrera got the best of Chongo on both occasions, stopping his shot with a sliding save on the first and getting to the ball before he could get a shot off in the second.

After going to the half tied at 0-0,  the two teams came out firing in the second, combining for eight shots over the first 15 minutes. However, neither team was able to find the back of the net.

Biola broke the stalemate in the 78th minute as senior Derek Friehe scored on a scramble in front of the net, helping him make the most of his final regular-season home game in a Biola uniform. Friehe won the ball after Chongo sent a pass into the fray.

However, the Lions came roaring right back and found the equalizer just two minutes later. Alejandro Lopez fired a long blast as Vanguard came back on the attack after a Biola push.

Neither team had a good scoring chance through the rest of regulation, though Vanguard controlled much of the possession.

In the first overtime, it appeared as though the Eagles were able to record the match-winner early in the period. After an initial shot by Friehe was saved by Herrera, two minutes into the extra session, Abraham Gomez blasted home the rebound into the empty net. However, he was called offside on the play negating the shot.

But the Eagles were able to capitalize in the second overtime as Marco Ruvalcaba skipped a ball into the box from the far side where it found the foot of Chongo who blasted the ball into the goal for the match-winner then ran off the field and down into the parking lot to escape his on-rushing teammates.

The goal was the seventh of the season for Chongo while Friehe's goal was his fourth.

Sophomore goalkeeper Aaron Fenlason recorded three saves and face 12 shots to pick up his 12th victory of the season.

The GSAC season will come down to the final match as the two of the top three teams will square off on Saturday (Oct. 31) for the conference title. The Master's and Azusa Pacific are tied atop of the GSAC standings with 24 points each while Biola is in third with 22. APU is off on Saturday and is out of the mix for the title while Biola and The Master's square off in Santa Clarita. A victory by the Eagles would give them their first conference title since 2002 while a win or a tie would give the Mustangs their first GSAC crown. In addition, the winner will assure themselves of home-field advantage throughout the GSAC tournament. The match is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.