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Mikalson vs Vanguard

Women's Soccer Brandon Taylor, Sports Information Assistant

Biola Rides A Missile from Mikalson

Bri Mikalson’s goal headlines a statement 1-0 win for Biola.

Bri Mikalson races to celebrate with her bench after scoring in Biola's 1-0 win over #10 Vanguard
Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Saturday's match against #10 Vanguard held so much significance for the members of Biola Women's Soccer. It was an opportunity to make a statement by taking first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference with a win against a top-10 team the Eagles had not defeated since 2011. And boy did the Eagles ever rise to the challenge, posting a 1-0 win that they worked for tirelessly from the opening whistle.

Things got started quickly, as the Eagles showed firm determination that they were not going to wait for Vanguard to come to them. Biola was going to take the game for itself and press play into Vanguard's defensive third.

Within the first six minutes, the Eagles downhill running and sharp passing produced two potent strikes from Taylor Venegas and Samantha Verduzco that were just slightly mistimed. But for all its struggling, Vanguard could hardly produce a reply. Biola's compression of play constricted the Lions attacks all match, ultimately putting the fire blanket on an offense that takes over 20 shots and scores an average of three goals per match.

Vanguard finished the match with only seven shots on the evening, and it was not until minute 25 that the Lions got their first chance at goal. As it turns out, the shot from forward Danyelle Allen would be the most dangerous chance for the visitors all night, as her strike from outside the eighteen screamed pass the leaping Christina Rodriguez only to squarely hit the crossbar and ricochet away.

By the time that 25 minutes had passed in the match, Biola had already scored and was looking for more breathing room. It would be extremely difficult to hit top left corner any better than Bri Mikalson did to put Biola up 1-0 in the 17th minute, and all it took was a rocket from 45 yards out for the junior defender to display her precision.

Setting up for a corner kick after a Verduzco run, Ashley Ramirez looked to put the ball in the free space occupied by Mikalson and set up a delayed cross for the Eagles. But as defenders Mikalson and Kayla White have already established with goals earlier this season, the dump into space does not necessitate a cross into the box.

Mikalson touched once to get momentum and then sent the ball sailing to the top left corner of the net, surprising the Vanguard defenders the box and bringing elation to her teammates.

That would be all the cushion and motivation Biola would need to earn their first victory against a ranked team this season. Defenders Madyson Brown and Cat Newberry made indelible impressions with their work rate, taking positive steps forward to challenge Vanguard attackers before they could even pass the ball to space. And front formation players like Venegas, Verduzco, Jessie Burns, and Sarah Jeffries wrecked havoc on the Vanguard midfielders with physical play that forced the Lions to fight for the passes that usually come easy to them.

With the win, Biola propels itself into first place in GSAC and remains the only undefeated team still standing in the conference. Having passed one gut check, the Eagles will look to regather for another as they travel to Santa Barbara on Wednesday for an afternoon match against #3 Westmont at 3:00 p.m. It will be the first conference road match for Biola this season and marks the first of a three match road stretch before the team returns to Al Barbour Field on Oct. 22 for senior night.
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Players Mentioned

Madyson Brown

#14 Madyson Brown

D/MF
5' 6"
Sophomore
Jessie Burns

#18 Jessie Burns

MF
5' 7"
Senior
Bri Mikalson

#2 Bri Mikalson

Def
5' 3"
Junior
Cat Newberry

#21 Cat Newberry

Def
5' 6"
Junior
Ashley Ramirez

#19 Ashley Ramirez

MF
5' 5"
Junior
Taylor Venegas

#23 Taylor Venegas

Fwd
5' 10"
Senior
Samantha Verduzco

#26 Samantha Verduzco

F/D
5' 9"
Junior
Kayla White

#7 Kayla White

D/MF
5' 2"
Senior
Sarah Jeffries

#16 Sarah Jeffries

F
5' 7"
Freshman
Christina Rodriguez

#1 Christina Rodriguez

GK
5' 5"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Madyson Brown

#14 Madyson Brown

5' 6"
Sophomore
D/MF
Jessie Burns

#18 Jessie Burns

5' 7"
Senior
MF
Bri Mikalson

#2 Bri Mikalson

5' 3"
Junior
Def
Cat Newberry

#21 Cat Newberry

5' 6"
Junior
Def
Ashley Ramirez

#19 Ashley Ramirez

5' 5"
Junior
MF
Taylor Venegas

#23 Taylor Venegas

5' 10"
Senior
Fwd
Samantha Verduzco

#26 Samantha Verduzco

5' 9"
Junior
F/D
Kayla White

#7 Kayla White

5' 2"
Senior
D/MF
Sarah Jeffries

#16 Sarah Jeffries

5' 7"
Freshman
F
Christina Rodriguez

#1 Christina Rodriguez

5' 5"
Freshman
GK
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