[Women's Soccer] Royals Win Against Former GSAC Rival Biola 4-0

La Mirada, CA - The Hope International women's soccer team had a shutout Exhibition match against Biola University, winning 4-0.
The Royals took on the Biola Eagles in a match that was classified as an exhibition for both teams and saw several promising performances from its returning players, including athlete of the week Jazzmyn Esquivel (SR/Hacienda Heights, CA) and Leigha Williams (JR/Fountain Valley, CA).

The match was competitive and scoreless the first 30 minutes but the Royal's came out fighting with their first shot on goal at around the two minute mark. Biola answered with several shots on goal of their own while adequate pressure from Royals defenders kept the shots wide and out of the net. At the 28th minute powerhouse forward Jazzmyn Esquivel found the back of the net and very quickly after, less than three minutes later, again picked up a rebound scoring a goal. She single-handedly brought the score to 2-0 at the end of the first half. Carrying that momentum forward, less than five minutes after the start of the second half, Sierra Chhoeung and Leigha Williams each scored a goal, bringing the score to 4-0 within a twenty minute window.

Coach Matt Sanger is excited about the season after seeing the team on the field last night saying: "The girls are coming along very well. We feel like we have a very strong and talented team, but we have struggled with our consistency. We didn't perform as well as we wanted to on Friday, so it was great to see the girls respond in such a positive way. Biola is always very strong, so we knew that we needed to come out firing. Once we got the first goal, everything settled down and we were able to play the game that we had wanted to. This group is very exciting, we can't wait to see what they are able to accomplish!"

Women's Soccer hasn't seen a win against former GSAC conference rivals Biola since 2009. Keep an eye on the Royals this season and catch the next home match this Saturday at Fullerton JC at 12pm against Benedictine Mesa. Follow here or on social media @HIURoyals.