SOCCER (M)

10/14/09 - Royals Come Back But Come Up Short In Overtime

La Mirada, CA- For the fifth time this season, Men’s Soccer found themselves in overtime on Wednesday night.  Though they ultimately fell 3-2 to #20 Biola, the fact that they forced overtime after being down 2-0 speaks volumes.  Freshman Edgar Bran continued his strong play as he scored both goals for the Royals.

The first five minutes of the contest belong to the Eagles (10-1, 5-0 GSAC) as they had three corners, two shots, and a goal before the Royals (5-6-3, 0-5-1 GSAC) even registered a stat in the game.  Biola took the 1-0 lead after Zach Bautista found an opening down the middle of the Royals’ defense and laid off a ball for Humberto Toscan who found the net.

Over the next 40 minutes, Biola outshot Hope International 7-3 yet did not put one shot on goal.  However, the Royals had a chance late in the first half but Bran’s shot was denied by one of the Biola defenders.

After the break, the first shot by either team found the back of the net and gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead.  A long kick by Eagles Goalkeeper Aaron Fenlason and quick cross resulted in a goal for Kennedy Chongo.

Less than six minutes later, the comeback for the Royals was on as Junior Perris Rowan played a long ball behind the Eagles’ defense that created a 1 on1 for Bran.  Bran beat Fenlason to bring the Royals to within one score at 2-1.

In the 71st minute, the Royals took advantage of a Biola foul just outside the box when Bran drilled the ensuing free kick into the goal.  Bran’s 15th goal of the year equated to the first time this season that the Royals have come back from more than a one goal deficit.

Freshman Matt Howard put a shot on goal in the 77th minute but Fenlason recorded his only save of the game to deny Howard.

Senior Goalkeeper Matt Fike recorded two of his three saves on the day in the final 10 minutes to preserve the tie and send the game into overtime.

Like the first two periods of the game, the Eagles scored in the fifth minute of the overtime period after a corner kick was not cleared completely by the Royals and Shalom Bako one timed a shot off the far post  and in to give the Eagles the win.

Though the Royals are disappointed with the result, they have nothing to hang their heads about as the two goals they scored are the first goals allowed by the Eagles in GSAC play this season.  In fact prior to the Royals scoring, the Eagles had only allowed three goals the entire season which all came in one game.

With a bye coming on Saturday, the Royals will use every bit of the extra time to heal and prepare for a tough meeting with California Baptist on Tuesday at 3:00 pm.

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