LAST WEEK: W at Hawaii Hilo, 4-0; L vs Fresno Pacific, 2-1  (1-1 weekly record; 6-7-1 overall and 4-3 PacWest)

THIS WEEK: vs No. 8 Azusa Pacific (12-1-1, 7-0 PacWest) -  at home Saturday Oct. 27 at 4 p.m.; at Point Loma (9-5-1, 5-2-1 PacWest) - on the road Monday Oct. 29 at 1 p.m.

MULTIMEDIA: Live video and live stats for Saturday's match will be available at portal.stretchinternet.com/biola or http://livesports.biola.edu/msoccer/xlive.htm. Fans can send an email shoutout (to be read on air) during the match at eaglesbroadcast@gmail.com. Live stats (free) and a live stream ($7.95) for Monday's match will be available at portal.stretchinternet.com/plnu for the Eagles' road match against Point Loma.

BIOLA (6-7-1, 4-3 PacWest) vs. No. 8 Azusa Pacific (12-1-1, 7-0 PacWest): Saturday Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. \\ Live Stats \\ Live Video
Azusa Pacific moved up six spots on the NCAA DII Men's Soccer Top-25 Poll to No. 8 this past Tuesday after beating Fresno Pacific and Academy of Art last week. APU has allowed just two goals over its last five matches but its been that attack that's been taken to another level this season as the Cougars have taken the mantle of the PacWest's top team. Azusa Pacific has three goals or more in nine matches this season but scored just once this past Saturday in a home win against Academy of Art. The Cougars play Concordia later this afternoon, so Biola will get a chance to see if there is a trend that they can catch onto to keep APU's attack in check. Like Fresno Pacific's Anthony Velarde last week, Azusa Pacific's midfielder Gabriel Costa has also captained his teams' offense with 12 goals and 11 assists. After Costa, three other Cougars have at least five goals and APU has a total of 41 in 14 matches.

Saturday's matches will be part of Saturday's events for Biola Family Weekend and free hot dogs will be available at the matches courtesy of Biola's Student Government Association. Admission to the matches for Biola students and alumni is free along with fans who have made arrangements through Biola's Admissions department. Otherwise, general admission is $6 and admission for opposing students is $4.

BIOLA (6-7-1, 4-3 PacWest) vs. Point Loma (9-5-1, 5-2-1 PacWest): Saturday Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. \\ Live Stats \\ Live Video
Point Loma will play for the first time in a week when it hosts Biola on Monday for its senior day. The Sea Lions went 2-0-1 on their Hawaii trip, beating the same Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii Hilo teams that Biola earned victories against while the Eagles were on the islands. After going scoreless against the Eagles when these two teams met at Al Barbour Field, Tim Siegfried has caught fire for Point Loma to the tune of 12 goals in the last month. Siegfried leads the PacWest with 15 goals this season and has four multi-goal matches, including at hat trick against Dominican in the Sea Lions' last home match. Interestingly enough, all five of Point Loma's losses have come at home this season while it is 5-0-1 on the road. So this season's sample size indicates that Biola definitely has a fighting chance despite the 4-0 loss to PLNU at Al Barbour Field over a month ago. The Eagles have won three of their last five road matches against PacWest opponents.

ABOUT LAST WEEK:
Biola is coming off its best week of soccer this season as its heads into a Cornerstone Cup match with Azusa Pacific and came incredibly close to taking third place in the PacWest standing with a win over Fresno Pacific. The Eagles erupted for four goals against Hawaii Hilo last Tuesday, including three during a three-minute span at the start of the second half, to produce their biggest scoring output of the year. Then the Eagles took control of the second half against a Fresno Pacific team that came into Saturday's clash with 38 goals. Biola limited the Sunbirds to just four shots during the second half and found an equalizing goal on a penalty kick after Atu Galadima was fouled while making a nice run into the box with 15 minutes remaining in regulation. Two dangerous chances from Aaron Hontucan in the closing minutes made it seem like a strong possibility that the Eagles would take the match in overtime. But Sunbirds maestro Anthony Velarde sent a low line-drive toward goal on a corner kick that was headed home in the final minute to win the game for Fresno Pacific

CORNERSTONE CUP:
Biola is looking for redemption in year two of the Cornerstone Cup competition, which is presented by West Coast Sand & Gravel.The Eagles held a big lead in the head-to-head battle with Azusa Pacific in the 2017-18 year thanks to a strong fall, but eventually APU overtook the Eagles and took home the big trophy in year one. Biola and Azusa Pacific are tied with five point apiece after the Volleyball teams split their two meetings and 20 points are up for grabs this weekend with the two soccer matches.  The Following weekend both cross country teams will also vie for 10 points available for each sport at the PacWest cross country championships. Check back at athletics.biola.edu to see how all those meetings shake out.

HOME SWEET HOME:
The Eagles get to stay at Al Barbour Field on Saturday after playing five of their first six PacWest matches in the road and are hoping a home field advantage will help them deal with the red hot Azusa Pacific Cougars. The Eagles have played very well in conference matches at Al Barbour Field and went 2-1-1 at home in non-conference play, giving the indication that Head Coach Todd Elkins' team will upholds its long-standing history of success at Al Barbour Field. Biola has not had a losing record at home since 2001 and rattled off five wins in a six-match stretch a home in 2017 to guarantee a .500 record.

CONFERENCE TICKER:
The Eagles loss to the Sinbirds limits the number of potential paths Biola would have to qualify for NCCAA postseason play. Biola needs to finish in the top-three of the PacWest standings in order to vie for the NCCAA West Regional title and it seems like the Eagles only option is to take Point Loma's spot in the top-three by beating the Sea Lions and taking at least nine points over the next four matches. Beating Point Loma on Monday is a necessary condition of Biola's qualification for postseason play. And a tie or win against Azusa Pacific in the Cornerstone Cup match on Saturday would also go a long way in helping Biola control its own destiny as it headed into the final week of play. Without a win or a tie, Biola would have to hope that Azusa Pacific beats or ties the Sea Lions on Nov. 2.