Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola welcomes the student body back by continuing its high-scoring start with an 8-0 rout of the Bethesda Flames. The victory moves the Eagles to 2-0 on the season and gives the Flames a loss in their first match of the year.
 
The goals came early and they came often as Biola proved to be too much for a developing Bethesda squad just starting its season. The Eagles' speed and size won out as they outjumped, outran and outmuscled the smaller, slower, and less experienced Flames.
 
The tone was set just six minutes in when Miranda Starbeck overpowered her defender to sneak a header past the goalie off of the corner kick from Amanda Lillicrop. Starbeck's goal, her second of the season and 10^th of her career, set the tone for a game full of some excellent, aggressive set plays by the Eagles.

"We tried to set the tempo throughout this match," said Head Coach Todd Elkins. "We did not want the game to set the tempo. When the other team is not bringing on pressure, that is not an excuse for us to slow our game down. We had to work hard to keep the tempo up tonight."
 
Starbeck would repay Lillicrop for the assist just three minutes later, when she played a beautiful through ball to set up Lillicrop one-on-one with the keeper, keeping the tempo up, just as Elkins wanted. Lillicrop fired it easily into the far corner for her first goal of the season.

"In the attack we tried to be quick and tried to be dangerous," said Elkins. "We tried to create chances that we would create in any situation. Since the starters did a great job of capitalizing on those chances we were able to get a lot of players in the match."
 
With the difference in quality between sides evident and the goals quickly mounting, Biola's many new faces were able to get in early and rack up valuable developmental minutes.
 
The next two goals came from a returner taking on a big role, Brittney Sayre, and a freshman, Ashley Ramirez, who started for the first time. Those two goals pushed the match out of reach, as it was 4-0 with a whole half yet to play. Starbeck got a foot in on Sayre's tally, giving her a second assist on the evening.   
 
The second half offered no respite for the Flames, as Biola added four more goals, including another link-up from Starbeck to Lillicrop. The Eagles could have had another five or six goals with some more precise finishing. Biola set a new program record for shots in a single match, tallying 48 total, with 19 of them being shots-on-goal.

"We combined well to set players up tonight," said Elkins. "Sometimes we just did not make the most of our chances."
 
Biola's defense was dominant throughout the contest, getting interception after interception in the midfield. The Eagles turned these turnovers into quick-strike opportunities like Rachel Giles' goal in the 73^rd minute. Giles' opportunity was created by Briana Mikalson's interception and pass through the box to get the assist.
 
In an attempt to slow down the Eagles, Bethesda made a goalie switch late in the game to a more aggressive keeper. While the switch helped shutdown some of Biola's long through passes, Biola adjusted to a slower, more methodical attack. In the final minute of the game, Andrea Devere took the ball to the top of the box and fired the eighth and final goal just under the crossbar.
 
The Eagles hope to keep their hot start going as they travel to Long Beach City College on Thursday to play Marymount (CA) at 2 p.m.