Riverside, Calif. - It was a match dominated by defense, and the Golden Eagles came away with a 1-0 win, over Benedictine University. La Sierra improved to 4-3 in the Cal Pac (11-4 overall) and took a big step towards securing a spot in the conference tournament in just their second year back as a program. The team could move even move from the fourth seed to the third seed, pending the outcome of matches over the next couple of weeks.
Mariah Anaya scored the only goal of the match, unassisted, in the 60th minute of play. But the story of the day was La Sierra's defense that held the Redhawks to just two total shots and one shot-on-goal. La Sierra finished with nine shots, including five shots on goal, and they had a few point blank chances that just went off target.
Since the University of California – Merced defeated the Golden Eagles in their head-to-head match; La Sierra would have to finish with more points in the conference standings, as they would lose any tiebreaker to the Bobcats. Both teams will close out the regular season with a match versus Marymount University. A La Sierra win against the Mariners would force the Bobcats into a must win situation, in their match versus Marymount, to hang on to the number three seed. A La Sierra loss would seal the four seeds as they stand right now.
The University of Antelope Valley holds tiebreakers over Merced and La Sierra and therefore only needs a win or tie in one of their two remaining matches (at Sierra Nevada, at Soka).
Benedictine University and Sierra Nevada are not mathematically eliminated from the discussion, but must win their remaining two matches to have any chance in qualifying.
The women's soccer team will travel to El Camino College, this coming Thursday, at 1pm, to face Marymount University. The Mariners are currently 1-3-1 in Cal Pac play (3-7-2 overall). With a win or a tie in Thursday's match, the women's soccer team will secure a berth in the conference tournament.
