Box Score ROCKLIN, Calif. --- Biola Men's Soccer finished its regular season with a result that ensured it would be in the 2016 Golden State Athletic Conference tournament. Unfortunately, that result still was not a positive one as William Jessup stole a 3-2 win with a late goal.
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Biola scored the first two goals of the game, both in the first half, but the Warriors answered back with goals in the 52
nd, 69
th and 89
th minutes to take the victory. The Eagles got zero points out of their road trip to Northern California, but are still guaranteed a top-6 finish based on their earlier merits.
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The Eagles opened the game's scoring in the fifth minute as
Leonardo Contreras worked his way through the Jessup back line and scored with a powerful shot from the left post.
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It was exactly the type of start this Biola team was looking for as it was looking to continue its hot stretch of scoring and hopefully see a defensive return to form.
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Things got even sweeter in the 26
th minute when Contreras drew another penalty and
Jarrett Pugh stepped forward to finish it. It was Pugh's fifth goal of the year and second by way of PK conversion.
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Biola's defense held the Warriors to just three first-half shots on a spongy-sloshy field under threatening rain clouds. It was a good sign headed into halftime that the defense league's best defense was back on track.
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Things changed in a big way in the second period as Jessup found its form and forced the ball into the attacking third with much more regularity. The team took 12 shots and was deadly accurate getting six of them to go on goal.
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Igor Puglia pulled out three saves, but he also allowed three goals as the Warriors stole a victory in the second-to-last minute. The first two goals came off of balls served into the box and finished by one-time shots (one off a corner and one off a cross). The final goal was booted from 25 yards out and deflected past the keeper.
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Biola falls to 10-6 (5-5 GSAC) while William Jessup improves to 9-7-1 (4-5-1 GSAC). The Eagles will play on the road for the first round of the GSAC Tournament (Nov. 5). Biola's opponent for that first round will be determined as the rest of the results finish up today.
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