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Burns PK

Women's Soccer Brandon Taylor, Sports Information Assistant

Eagles Claw Back For a Late Equalizer

Jessie Burns converts a late penalty kick to eventually earn Biola a draw.

Biola celebrates Jessie Burns fourth goal of the season, which earned a 1-1 tie against Menlo.
Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif.--- For the first team this season, the #11 Eagles experienced the downside of being a match favorite and met by a well-prepared, unranked challenger. The Menlo Oaks turned the tables on the Eagles, imposed their pace on the match from the get-go with an early goal and limited Biola to 1-1 tie in a pivotal Golden State Athletic Conference match at home.

"As a coaching staff, we were pleased with the ways the ladies responded to build momentum throughout the game and apply some pressure during the latter stages of the match," said Head Coach Erin Brunelle. "It's unfortunate we couldn't convert a second goal, but they were a very organized defensive side with a tremendous goalkeeper."

The Menlo keeper, Kaylin Swart, proved why she earned All-GSAC recognition as a sophomore in 2015 by neutralizing numerous Eagles attacks on Saturday. The Eagles took 27 shots on the evening, about two more than their average for shots per match this season. But Swart was able to keep them out of the net until the 88th minute, racking up seven of her eight saves during the second half and overtime.

Swart's play, combined with the way the Oaks defense cut off many of the Eagles attempts to pass to teammates' feet, looked like it might have been enough for Menlo to steal away with a victory after the visiting team scored in the 24th minute. When a Menlo midfielder crossed the ball into the penalty area, the ball stayed in the box after the Eagles defection attempt misfired. Danielle Robinson took advantage of the bouncing ball, scoring from inside the six after the ball was poked to space by Danielle McCarthy and forcing Biola to fight uphill the rest of the match.

Despite the uncustomary lack of precision in the Biola attack, the Eagles certainly would not be faulted for a lack of effort. Biola peppered the Menlo defense with 12 shots in the second half, eight more than their opponents, and finally broke through on a late crossing run from Jessie Burns that resulted in a penalty kick. Ironically, Swart's aggressive decision to leave her line and challenge Burns' run made all the difference for Biola. After the two collided, Burns stepped to the penalty spot without hesitation and beat the keeper to the lower right corner, evening the score with three minutes left in regulation.

"One of the ways Jessie leads our team [as a captain] is with her confidence of play," said Brunelle. "With that decision to take the PK herself, she showed that she was ready to put the game on her shoulders in that crucial moment and get us level."

The Eagles would make a late scramble again in the final three minutes of overtime to make a run at victory, forcing Swart to make two saves within a minute of each other and swinging in a dangerous ball on a corner. But as it did all afternoon, the Menlo defense remained solid and salvaged one point on their two match swing to Southern California for conference play, improving to 5-2-2 and 0-1-1 in GSAC.

Biola is currently third on the GSAC table at 7-0-1 (1-0-1 GSAC), but will return to action at home and look for more points on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. against The Master's.
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Players Mentioned

Jessie Burns

#18 Jessie Burns

MF
5' 7"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Jessie Burns

#18 Jessie Burns

5' 7"
Senior
MF
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