LA MIRADA, Calif. --- There's no question that Biola Men's Soccer circled this week's matches against the Azusa Pacific Cougars and Concordia Eagles at the start of the season and they;ve grown in importance now that all three teams are in the top-half of the PacWest table. 

With four matches left in the season, Biola finds itself in fourth place in the conference with 14 points and its eyes set on its best finish since joining the PacWest for the 2017 season (the Eagles finished in fifth place in 2018 after placing in sixth during their first NCAA DII season two years ago). Biola certainly brings some good momentum into its rivalry matches this week, having won two matches in a row while moving into a positive goal differential with 18 goals this season compared to 16 for its opponents.

At the center of that scoring improvement has been junior Jack MacDonald, who has scored in each of the last two matches while taking eight shots over the same span. MacDonald is now tied for the team lead with four goals this season and should be brimming with confidence this week, especially headed into the Concordia match. He scored the first goal of Biola's 3-2 win over CUI in the non-conference matchup between the teams earlier this season and played a season-high 83 minutes in the Eagles last match this past Thursday. 

MULTIMEDIA: Live video and live stats will be provided free of charge for all Biola home contests. See links and cost for road contests in the previews below.

TICKETS: Biola home events are always free to Biola students, staff, faculty and alumni. Children 12 and under are also always free. General admission is $6 and discounted tickets for opposing school students, guests under 18 and seniors are $4. See ticketing information for road contests below each preview below.


BIOLA (6-5-3, 4-1-2 PacWest) at No. 1 Azusa Pacific (14-0, 7-0 PacWest): Tuesday Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m.\\ Live Stats \\ Live Video
Azusa Pacific comes into Tuesday's match as the No. 1 team in NCAA Division II for the last four weeks. The Cougars have three men who have scored six goals or more and have a 41-to-11 goal differential this season. But the Cougars have shown more vulnerability over recent weeks, at least in comparison to their five-match shutout streak from the end of September to the middle of October. 

Since Oct. 19, Azusa Pacific scored just one goal in a 1-0 shutout of Concordia at home and gave up at least one goal to each of the Hawaii schools it hosted. That included at 3-2 win over Hawaii Hilo in which the Cougars needed a golden goal after losing a 2-0 lead. The Eagles will actually come into the match having allowed fewer goals over the teams' last six matches, so there's plenty of reason to believe that Biola's best effort combined with a little Cornerstone Cup magic can help the Eagles to a major upset. 

Tuesday's match will count for 10 points toward this year's Cornerstone Cup if one team wins or five points a piece if the teams draw. Biola currently leads the Cornerstone Cup 20 points to five thanks to the men's and women's cross country teams' performances at the PacWest Championship. 

BIOLA (6-5-3, 4-1-2 PacWest) at Concordia (7-6, 5-2 PacWest): Thursday Nov. 7 at 2:30 p.m.\\ Live Stats \\ Live Video
Biola defeated Concordia 3-2 in convincing fashion at Al Barbour Field earlier this season, knocking CUI off balance with two long throws from Hunter Finnegan in the first half that resulted in two goals. Since that match, Concordia has gone 5-2, averaging over three goals a match in those victories and being shutout in its losses. CUI also match Biola's 2-1 record against the Hawaii schools, losing to Chaminade but defeating Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii Hilo. 

One of the main things that has changed in the Concordia attack since CUI lost to Biola is the contribution of sophomore forward Luke Ryan, who came into the first Biola match with zero goals and played 22 minutes without any shots at Al Barbour Field. Ryan now has the third-most goals on his team, scoring four times in the six matches since he played Biola and is coming off a brace against Hawaii Hilo this past Saturday.