Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Any time two teams ranked in or around the top-10 in the nation go toe-to-toe you can expect it to be the type of game that keeps you glued to your seat in anticipation.
 
On Monday night, in front of a solid home crowd, No. 11 Biola and No. 8 Rocky Mountain played a game that went exactly like that. After almost 60 minutes of deadlocked defensive play the Eagles would take a 1-0 lead and swing the momentum just enough to help them earn a 2-0 win against the higher ranked side.
 
"Rocky Mountain came down to play two solid opponents. They just lost to Vanguard the other day, so the downside for us it that they came in tonight and really wanted to put in their best performance of the trip," said Head Coach Todd Elkins. "I thought they played significantly better tonight than they did against Vanguard, which made it tough for us. We had to deal with some extra from the other team tonight, and the guys dealt well with that against a pretty good side that made it to the elite eight last year."
 
The first 45 minutes of this match were dripping with intrigue as the two teams battled it out, physically and strategically, to try to stake their claim as the better team in this match.
 
The ball spent a majority of the time in the midfield throughout the first half as the two back lines held tough and did not relinquish any really good looks. There were no shots-on-goal in the first half, and the only two close opportunities were both instances where Biola got behind the defense and fired just wide. One of those narrow misses was Jarrett Pugh, more on that later.
 
"Those two good chances in the first half were encouragements to us that we were able to unlock their defense and break through their experienced team," said Elkins. "Rocky was not making it easy for us at all. They played with confidence, even when we put them under so much pressure. We just had to keep at it and keep at it. That started to pay off for us in the second half."
 
It was an individual playmaker that made all the difference in the middle of the second half when the Eagles were finally able to get on the board. When everyone else left to break back up the field for defense, Leonardo Contreras broke aggressively towards the RMC left back in an effort to intercept a pass from the Battlin' Bears' keeper. It worked! The senior captain corralled the ball, dribbled it to his left a bit and fired one on goal to make the score line change with the Eagles' first shot-on-goal of the game.
 
"Leo really got in the groove in the second half and did what he does very, very well," said Elkins. "He can make something out of what the other team sees as nothing. He is a special player on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively."
 
After that the Battlin' Bears lost two players to red cards. One was ejected following his second bad tackle of the game and the other earned a straight red when he took down a Biola midfielder from behind.
 
Immediately after the second red, as Biola played its first possession of 11-on-9, Jarrett Pugh capitalized on a goalie deflection and cashed in his first goal of the season. Contreras earned an assist on the play as he was responsible for the original shot.
 
"The second goal was really just a result of keeping with it," said Elkins. "I know Jarrett really wanted a second chance after that narrow miss in the first half. He is tenacious. He never stops working hard, and I am glad for him to get that score."
 
After it got a chance to breath with a two-goal advantage Biola went into maintenance mode and just controlled possession and pace of play for the final 17 minutes of play.
 
The Eagles improve to 2-1 on the year and more than doubled what their season goal output was coming into this contest. Rocky Mountain falls to 1-2, with both losses coming at the beginning of this California road trip.
 
Biola is back in action on Thursday afternoon as it plays at CSU San Marcos. This is the last preseason road match and comes before a stretch of six straight matches at Al Barbour Field for the BUMS.