The Pepperdine women’s soccer team closed out the regular season in style Saturday with a 2-1 win over the University of San Francisco ending the 2009 campaign on a three-game winning streak. Senior Sophia Medina netted her fifth goal of the year to put the Waves up early 1-0 but the Dons battled back.
Led by sophomore Molly Hall San Francisco scored in the 57th minute to tie the game at 1-1. Hall scored the equalizer off an assist from teammate Joan Piasta catching Pepperdine freshman goalkeeper Roxanne Barker off guard. It was only the 20th goal in 19 total games to get by Barker this season. She also pitched eight shutouts throughout the year the third highest individual total in team history.
With the help of a rock-solid defense behind them for most of the second half the Waves’ offense was able to squeak out a goal and hang on for the win. Freshman Callie Payetta scored in the 78th minute on a penalty kick to seal the victory giving Pepperdine its first 11-win season since 2006.
“Our squad did an outstanding job of maintaining their composure executing the game plan and getting a much-deserved win said head coach Tim Ward. From start to finish it was probably our best performance of the year.”
The Waves finished in a tie for fourth place in the West Coast Conference with archrival Loyola Marymount placing behind University of Portland Santa Clara and San Diego.
With all but two starters on offense expected to return and the entire cast and crew on defense the Waves look to establish themselves as a perennial power in the conference once again.
“Our seniors have done an amazing job resurrecting our program and we feel like we are going in a really positive direction Ward said.
The players feel much the same way.
I feel like I accomplished a lot my first year of college soccer and am very excited for next year Payetta said.
However, while losing four seniors to graduation will inevitably pose some challenges, the Waves’ upbeat attitude will continue to be a mainstay on and off the field.
Everyone is going to need to step their game up in order to fill the seniors’ shoes Payetta said. It is going to take a lot of hard work.”
Finding a core leadership group will be paramount if the Waves are going to build on this season’s success.
“We lose some wonderful seniors as their leadership for our squad has been invaluable Ward said. So a new leadership group will have to emerge.”
Going into next season Ward is optimistic about his chances of vying for a WCC championship and making a run deep into the NCAA tournament.
“We’re just really excited about the foundation we have here at Pepperdine for the future of this program Ward said. The last couple of years have been a bit of a reloading process and we think the pieces are in place to get us back to the top of the national soccer scene.”