HILO, Hawaii--Biola's Hayden Gehring scored six and a half minutes into the match and Adrielle Salvador added insurance in the 60th minute as the Eagles stunned PacWest champion Point Loma in the semifinals of the conference tournament, 2-1. 

Biola now advances to Saturday's championship match against the winner of today's other semifinal, Concordia vs. Hawaii Hilo. Point Loma, ranked No. 5 in the NCAA West Region coming into the tournament, will now have to wait out the rest of the weekend results from the three west region conferences to determine their postseason fate. They will wait with a 10-3-5 overall record.

The Eagles move to the title match with a 9-5-3 mark. 

Today's result seemed improbable if you just looked at the results between these two teams earlier this year. Point Loma dispatched of Biola twice, 4-0 and 2-0. In fact, the Sea Lions had won six straight matches before coming to the Big Island, outscoring their conference opponents 21-3.

But Biola set the tone early today. They got on the board first on a moon shot off the foot of Gehring from about 30 yards out, that just slipped over the outstretched arms of PLNU keeper Cameron Simmons into the top part of the goal. That was the first goal that the Eagles had scored against the Sea Lions this season. 

The Eagles kept the pressure on in the first half, and Point Loma didn't get their first shot until 39:21. They got another in the 44th minute that was saved by Biola keeper Sami Robinson, the first of a number of excellent stops that she would have on the day. The score would stay 1-0 at the break.

In the second half, Robinson had another point blank save four minutes in. Then, in the 66th minute, Salvador picked up a deflected ball in the box and flicked it home for a 2-0 lead. The goal result was challenged but confirmed to give BU a two-goal lead. 

Robinson continued to direct the defense, making another diving save with just four minutes left. Still, Point Loma stayed alive when a collision gave Nikki Ross a penalty kick at 88:42, and she converted to pull her team within one goal at 2-1. Point Loma had one last great opportunity with 16 second left on a scramble near the goal but Robinson pushed the shot out of play and the clock ran down to send the Eagles streaking on to the field in celebration. 

The Sea Lions owned the stat column with a 14-5 shot advantage, including 8-2 on goal. Robinson, who usually splits time in the goal, played the entire 90 minutes and notched a career-high seven saves.

QUOTES TO COME