Lacrosse wins in overtime

Senior Ben Agadoni and teammate part of Biola's Lacrosse team scrimmaging during their daily practice. The men are 7-1 currently.

Michael Villa

No scholarships? No problem. Despite limited funding, the Biola lacrosse team continues to impress.

For some players on the team, it is their first year of lacrosse.

“Guys on the team are becoming more familiar with the game of lacrosse,” said sophomore goalie Jonathan Lowell. “Just like with any other sport, practice makes perfect.”

The practice has paid off, as the men are now 7-1 over the past eight games. Over the eight-game stretch, the Eagles have outscored their opponents by a combined 47 goals.

The red-hot Eagles continued their winning ways on Friday, defeating Pepperdine 11-10 in overtime.

The Waves rallied from a three-goal deficit twice, but the Eagles were able to outlast them in the slugfest.

It was a slugfest in every sense of the word, as senior midfielder and team assist leader Ben Agadoni was the recipient of an illegal hit at the end of the third quarter. Agadoni was helped off the field, blood trickling down his face from a cut freshly opened under his eye.

Biola came into the fourth quarter on a mission, scoring three goals in the first two minutes; however, the Waves battled back once again, knotting the score at 10 at the end of regulation.

Biola made its charge in overtime on the heels of senior Ryan Smith’s steal. Senior Jon McMahan started the fast break for the Eagles, and got the ball in the hands of a bandaged Agadoni. Agadoni found junior attacker Brad Westcott, who put a nifty move on the Pepperdine goalie and sent the ball into the back of the net to win the game .

It was Westcott’s second goal of the contest. Sophomore midfielder Jordan Adams led the Eagles with four goals and an assist. Agadoni added a goal and two assists to go along with a few stitches under his eye. Lowell came up huge for Biola, racking up 17 saves on the evening.

The victory was an important one for the Eagles, as they are likely to see Pepperdine in the WCLL championship. “For the playoffs, it gives us a slight edge,” said Adams. “We’ll have the confidence of knowing we’ve already beat them.”

Pepperdine is the only team to score double-digit goals against Biola in the last month of the season. The Eagle defense has flexed its muscle, and Lowell has posted an impressive .637 save percentage.

“A lacrosse goalie can only be as good as the defense that is in front of him,” Lowell said. “My defense is doing what it needs to be doing.”

The Eagles are now 8-6 on the season and are alone atop the WCLL Division II South standings. They will round out division play this Saturday when they take on the UC Irvine Anteaters in Irvine.