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Scoreboard

The Official Athletic Site of the Biola University Eagles

Scoreboard

IGOR
Molli Kaptein
0
UC San Diego UCSD (0-0-1)
0
Biola BU-MS (0-0-1)
UC San Diego UCSD
(0-0-1)
0
Final
0
Biola BU-MS
(0-0-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 F
UC San Diego UCSD 0 0 0 0 0
Biola BU-MS 0 0 0 0 0

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Brandon Taylor, Assistant Sports Information Director

Starting Strong

Eagles start their season with an impressive draw against No. 4 UCSD.

LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The Eagles made their introductions to NCAA Division II men's soccer on Thursday night; Biola proved how excellent it plays at Al Barbour Field with a 0-0 tie against No. 4 University of California, San Diego.

The Tritons went 19-3-2 last season, were undefeated in three matches against PacWest teams, won the NCAA West Region and appeared in the national semifinals of the Division II soccer championships. Biola would not let its decorated opponent prevent it from continuing its tradition of success at home.

The Eagles have not lost a match in August since 2010 and are 7-0-1 in their last eight non-conference matches at Al Barbour Field.

"UC San Diego is a great team that came here with confidence and with a great system of play," said Head Coach Todd Elkins. "They just kept coming at us and made us earn our tie on the defensive side. To our guys credit they bent with the waves of attacks but did not break."

The Tritons dominated the statistics in the box score after 110 minutes. They outpaced the home team 12-0 in corner kicks and had 20 more shots than the Eagles. But goalkeeper Igor Puglia and the Biola back line proved they could manage UC San Diego's attack all night.

Puglia was especially adept at coming off his line at just the right moment to scoop up loose ball or punch away Triton crosses. He was at his most vulnerable when UC San Diego's Jonathan Stoop sent a rocket toward the right post in the 67th minute. But after Puglia palmed Stoop's shot away, Sammy McKay was there to clean up the loose ball before two nearby Triton attackers could do anything with it.

"Igor has come in very sharp and you can tell that he's been training a lot," said Elkins. "He's ready to go right now, but I think he's got more in him. He commands a lot in the box and he will get even sharper than he was tonight as the season goes on."

Elkins also saw great contributions from his substitutes and new players on the roster. Freshman Jack Cybulski and sophomore Alejandro Pelayo proved incredibly reliable as forward in the Eagles' formation and made strong contributions in the Eagles' half to challenge the Tritons combinations.

Freshman Steven Moya brought a spark to the pace of play when he subbed in midway through the first half. He seemed to be in the vicinity of the ball everywhere you looked and produced the Eagles' best offensive chance of the first half: his breakaway past the opponents' back line was halted by the Tritons' goalkeeper as Moya approached the six-yard area.

The combination of Pelayo, Hunter Finnegan and Keaton Kerr at the top of the formation also remained imposing throughout the entire match as the Eagles searched for a way to breakthrough. Kerr almost stole a victory for Biola with a breakaway in the closing seconds. He chased down a bounding ball midway through the Tritons' half of the pitch and had a step and a half on the two defenders chasing him. But his shot attempt sailed just a few feet high with 10 seconds left to finalize the result as a draw.

The Eagles' next match will be on Saturday against Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona, California at 7:00 p.m.
 
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