MACK CARROLL/Staff Photographer
TAYLOR BIRD
Sports Assistant
The women’s soccer team dropped their season-opener 1-0 to Las Vegas on Friday at Tari Frahm Rokus Field in Malibu. The Waves (0-4-1) are still looking for their first goal of the season.
Pepperdine got off to a strong start and had control of the ball for the majority of the match’s first 25 minutes. The offense created several opportunities to score but could not capitalize.
It was Las Vegas that got on the board first. In the 25th minute, Rebels’ midfielder Brianna Moore found a hole in the Waves’ defense and snuck the ball through to feed it to fellow midfielder Erica Jensen, who scored.
“The goal was sort of weird. It kind of came out of nowhere,” said Pepperdine Head Coach Tim Ward. “After that [the goal], it looked like we were stunned.”
Pepperdine was unable to put any shots on goal for the remainder of the period, and the first half ended with the Rebels ahead 1-0.
The second half was almost a mirror of the first, as the ball remained in Pepperdine’s possession for most of the period.
Pepperdine appeared to be hungry for their first goal of the season as the clock ticked down. In the last ten minutes, the Waves put several shots on goal, including one by sophomore forward Courtney Price and two by sophomore forward Alexis Farler.
But Las Vegas goalkeeper put on an impressive show, saving each and every one of Pepperdine’s shot attempts during those last ten minutes of the game.
“I told the girls it’s hard to believe that one of those balls didn’t go in,” said Ward. “I think it was one of the more exciting finishes you are going to see here. The girls never gave up.”
Despite losing their fourth straight match and being winless to start the season, the Waves are showing signs of moving closer and closer to locking down that first goal. They out-shot Las Vegas 11-2, and both of Las Vegas’ shots came in the first period.
“I think that our team is definitely going somewhere,” said Farler. “We had a rough start, but I think that the second half showed that we’re moving in the right direction.”
Ward noticed that his players’ spirits took a hit from this loss but still has a positive outlook for the rest of the season.
“It’s unfortunate their spirits are a bit down,” he said. “There’s only one direction we can go, and that’s up.”
Pepperdine’s next match will be at home on Sunday at 1 p.m., against Denver.
09-14-2007