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Rodriguez

Women's Soccer Brandon Taylor, Sports Information Assistant

Rainy Conditions Wash Out Eagles Offense

A wet day in Atherton puts a damper on match pace and leads to 0-0 tie.

Christina Rodriguez earns her eighth shutout of the season in a 0-0 tie at Menlo.
Box Score ATHERTON, Calif. --- For the second time this season Menlo College was able to put the brakes on a winstreak for No.5 Biola, forcing their second tie against the Eagles on Thursday with a 0-0 result after two overtimes.

The match would be characterized by weather and defense, as the Northern California downpour put a damper on the offense for both sides and tilted pace of play toward a Oaks side that emphasizes defense first.

It only took eleven minutes for each team to have two shots on goal, but that only seems to help the keepers zero in. All match, Kaylin Swart and Christina Rodriguez showed they are goalies worth their keep and worthy of all-conference honors by digging into the slippery conditions and earning shutouts. Swart technically had to work harder throughout the 110 minutes of play according to the stats, recording nine saves to Rodriguez two.

But as time elapsed and as the midfield became drenched headed into the second half and overtime, the match began to turn. Play shifted to a lot of back and forth running as both teams had to exhaust themselves through the trenches and puddles in midfield just to get into the attacking third. This allowed the Oaks to take the lion's share of possession and forced the Eagles to spend most of their time scrambling on defense until the final whistle.

But Biola was able to withstand Menlo's push for a late victory thanks to clutch performances from freshmen inserted into the starting lineup. The underclassmen effort was led by first-time starter Sierra Miller, who played all 110 minutes at left back after being thrust into the starting 11 for the injured Kayla White. Paula-Marie Labate also played the entire match after starting in place of captain Taylor Venegas.

Although Biola saw its six match winning streak come to an end, it should take solace in the solid performance of the six freshman who took the pitch for the Eagles at the opening whistle. Headed into their final match of the regular season on Saturday, the Eagles still stand as one of the four remaining women's soccer teams in the NAIA and still have a shot at the regular season Golden State Athletic Conference title should two results fall their way.

The Eagles sit in second place in the GSAC at 13-0-2 (7-0-2) after Thursday's tie and are one point behind first place Vanguard. Should the Eagles win on Saturday in Rocklin against William Jessup, Biola can still win the regular season title with a Vanguard loss or tie in its match against The Master's.

Biola's match against the 5-11-1 Warriors begins at 2:30 p.m.
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Players Mentioned

Taylor Venegas

#23 Taylor Venegas

Fwd
5' 10"
Senior
Kayla White

#7 Kayla White

D/MF
5' 2"
Senior
Sierra Miller

#13 Sierra Miller

D
5' 6"
Freshman
Paula-Marie Labate

#28 Paula-Marie Labate

F
5' 6"
Freshman
Christina Rodriguez

#1 Christina Rodriguez

GK
5' 5"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Taylor Venegas

#23 Taylor Venegas

5' 10"
Senior
Fwd
Kayla White

#7 Kayla White

5' 2"
Senior
D/MF
Sierra Miller

#13 Sierra Miller

5' 6"
Freshman
D
Paula-Marie Labate

#28 Paula-Marie Labate

5' 6"
Freshman
F
Christina Rodriguez

#1 Christina Rodriguez

5' 5"
Freshman
GK
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