LA MIRADA— The Biola men's and women's soccer teams are set to kick off Fall 2023 for Biola Athletics with the first official games of the season. 

Both teams have their non-conference season-openers on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m., just 16 days away. The women will begin their 17-match season against Western Washington at Al Barbour Field and the men will be away, starting their 18-match Fall at Cal Poly Pomona. 

When men's soccer head coach Joey O'Keefe was asked what excited him most about his team's Fall 2023 schedule he responded,"What we're looking forward to most as a team is the opportunity to test ourselves early in the season against some of the top programs in the nation." 

O'Keefe added, "Scheduling a difficult non-conference schedule has been crucial for us because it exposes our team weaknesses early so that we have the opportunity to put together a polished team come PacWest Conference play."

The men's soccer teams' non-conference slate also includes matches against CSU San Bernardino, CSU San Marcos, CSU Los Angeles, Chico State, Sonoma State, Stanton University and Life Pacific. 

When asked the same question, women's soccer head coach Brett Croft commented, "We are excited to have a balanced schedule. Our first official contest is against the reigning champs Western Washington, which will be a great early test for us. We are also looking forward to having a pre-conference trip up to NorCal which will not only help us build chemistry on the field, but will also help us build team camaraderie off of the field."

"The players are looking forward to home night games at 7 p.m. under the lights," added Croft.

The women's soccer teams' remaining non-conference schedule includes matches against CSU Monterey Bay, CSU East Bay, Sonoma State, CSU Los Angeles, Chico State, and CSU San Marcos.

The final 10 games of the men's and women's soccer teams' season are conference games. Both programs open conference play at Concordia University Irvine on Wednesday, Sep. 27. The men play first at 3:30 p.m. and the women will follow at 6:30 p.m.

At the core of the soccer teams' 10-match conference stretch is a nine-day road trip to the Hawaiian Islands where the Eagles will begin at the Big Island against Hawai'i Hilo on Monday, Oct. 16 and end in O'ahu where they will compete against Chaminade (Thursday, Oct. 19) and close with Hawai'i Pacific on Saturday, Oct. 21. 

Once the Eagles return from Hawai'i, both teams have just three games remaining in the regular season which includes their senior matches on Saturday, Nov. 4 where the men are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and the women at 7 p.m. against Academy of Art. 

CLICK HERE for the full women's soccer schedule.
CLICK HERE for the full men's soccer schedule.