SANTA CLARITA, Calif. ---
Jessica Austin netted her team-best eighth goal of the season in the second minute of the second overtime period to give Biola a 2-1 victory over The Master's College and clinch no worse than a third-place conference finish with the victory on Wednesday.
The Eagles improve to 9-6-0 on the season with their sixth win in their last seven matches. They also remain tied for second in the GSAC standings with Azusa Pacific at 6-2-0, though the Eagles hold the tiebreaker after beating the Cougars head-to-head. The Mustangs drop to 9-8-0 on the season and to 3-5-0 in conference play.
The match seemed to be a carbon copy of Biola's upset win over Azusa Pacific a few weeks ago as the Eagles jumped out early, allowed a late tying goal, then won in overtime.
Biola struck first with a goal just two minutes before halftime. With The Master's pressing forward, Michelle Andre gathered possession and cleared the ball. However, that ball cleared the defense and forward Chrissy King ran onto the ball, beat the keeper with a good move and shot far post for the match's first goal.
The Eagles happily took that lead to the half as the fast and furious pace picked up in the second half. The Master's cracked 11 shots in the second period after four in the first. The Mustangs attacking stye of bringing huge numbers forward finally paid off in the 86th minute as they overloaded the defense on one side freeing up Bobbie Roberts, who found the back of the net with a solid shot to tie the game.
Biola had a few chances at the end of regulation and nearly won without overtime. The Eagles cracked four shots but weren't able to get that goal as the teams went to extra time.
After no scoring in the first 10 minutes, the Eagles came out firing in the second. Just under two minutes in, a hard foul by the Mustangs resulted in a free kick for Biola about 45 yards away from the net. Victoria Dalla Zanna played a short ball to Morgan Gage, who played it right back to Dalla Zanna who sent a long pass over the defense to Austin, who took a trap and poked it past the keeper for the match-winner.
"It was a battle of a game," said Head Coach Todd Elkins. "The Master's is a high-energy team which puts a lot of pressure on the defense. They work hard and play with intensity and our defense stepped up and met the challenge. It was a hard-fought win and a big win on the road."
The Eagles have been one of the hottest teams in the GSAC since conference play started in October. Overall Biola has gone 9-3 after starting the season at 0-3. A finish in the top four in the GSAC assures the Eagles of hosting a first-round GSAC Tournament match. By winning their final match on Saturday, the Eagles would wrap up a second-place finish in the conference and would host two GSAC tournament matches should they win their first.
Biola has only finished in the GSAC top three in two previous seasons since joining the conference in 1994. The last came in 2005 when the Eagles tied for third with a 5-2-3 record and the other was in 2004 when the team won the title with a perfect 10-0-0 record.
The Eagles close out the regular season on Saturday with a home match against No. 25 Vanguard University at 7:00 p.m. The match will also feature senior night festivities and will be part of the Associated Students Fall Ball celebration. The GSAC tournament begins on Tuesday, November 1.
