SALEM, Ore. --- The Eagles' team values of belief, desire and gratitude fueled their perseverance through another overtime match on Saturday.

After the Eagles and Corban University Warriors held each other scoreless through regulation, forward Samantha Verduzco deposited a big cross from Colie Martin into an open net to give Biola victory in the 94th minute.

Biola sweeps its Oregon road trip and improves to 2-0 on the season with the win. The Eagles are the first PacWest Conference team to reach a 2-0 record.

"I thought the ladies played well, especially with the quick turnaround on Tursday," said head Coach Erin Brunelle. "We started out better than we started out Thursday, but I thought we still lacked some fight and intensity. We were a bit slow at connecting passes and really moving the ball around. But we got better as the game went on, so that has been a good thing to see."

Biola's familiar defensive pressure was a huge factor from start to finish in the first half. The Eagles were able to keep the ball in their opponents' half for the majority of the first 45 minutes and prevented the Warriors from taking any legitimate shots at goalkeeper Christina Rodriguez.

The Warriors managed just two shots during the first half, both of which landed gently in Rodriguez' gloves without much fanfare.

Because of Corban's struggle to push the ball out of their own half, the Eagles were able to capitalize on the franticness and take a few chances at goal of their own. Verduzco actually had a chance to open up the scoring five minutes into the match when she sliced behind the Warriors' back line, but her shot sailed ever so slightly high and ricocheted off the crossbar.

In her first start of the season, junior Madyson Brown found herself in the thick of plays all over the pitch. Brown had an opportunity to net her first goal of the season in the 28th minute when her header from 10 yards out was saved by the keeper. Brown led the team with three shot attempts on Saturday and quickly sprinted back to her center back position after each try.

The Eagles withstood a few threats from the Warriors as the pace of play accelerated in the second half. But the back four always seemed to be in the right place at the right time to poke the ball away just as Corban was sizing up for a real chance.

"We played some stingy defense and were able to create a lot of scoring opportunities," said Brunelle. "We haven't been able to capitalize on a lot of the opportunities we're creating, so we're looking for our ladies to get better at finishing with quality. But the group is coming along and had to fight through two overtime games. After coming back twice on Thursday, they held a shutout here today and found another game winning goal in overtime."

The overtime period belonged to Biola from the kickoff. The Eagles took all three shots during extra time and made the Corban keeper save the first two attempts before Verduzco finally beat Sheyenne Brusven for her second goal of the season.

"We knew we needed to come out the stronger, more hyped up, team and not settled into the 10 minute overtime," said Brown. "Sam's goal started with the ball moving from the center backs up the side of the field for [Colie's] beautiful cross that same Sam capitalized on."

As Martin took the space she was given down the left sideline, Verduzco lurked near the far post in preparation from the cross. With just one dribble between her and the end line, Martin left-footed an excellent ball toward the six that was easy for Verduzco to line up. The forward one-timed the ball to the top left corner and sprinted away to celebrate with her teammates.

"It was a good trip overall, so we're looking forward to coming back home," concluded Brunelle. "We have a good, strong opponent coming up on Saturday in San Marcos, so that will be another good test for us." 

The Eagles return to La Mirada for their first home match of the year on Sept. 9. They welcome the CSU San Marcos Cougars to Al Barbour Field with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m.