It’s always tougher playing on an opponent’s home turf and the Pepperdine women’s soccer team found out just how true that statement is on its two-game West Coast Conference road trip on Friday and Sunday.
The Waves battled No. 16 Santa Clara on Oct. 23 to a 0-0 tie after regulation until the Broncos finally squeezed out the win 1-0 in double overtime.
“On Friday night I think we battled until the very end said sophomore midfielder Michelle Spacciapolli. We played like a team the entire game and everybody showed their heart.”
Pepperdine had some trouble getting the offense going and to date has only scored three goals since Sept. 28.
The Waves were outshot 15-4 and all four shots on goal came off the foot of Spacciapolli.
“We played really well against a strong team and adjusted well to [Santa Clara’s] attacking game plan said freshman forward Kasey Kanada. We had our opportunities and they had theirs but we really made them earn their win.”
Despite the tough loss freshman goalkeeper Roxanne Barker continued to shine in goal collecting a career-high six saves and keeping the Broncos off the scoreboard for 102 minutes. In the 103rd minute however Santa Clara’s Allie Vernon headed in the winning goal to win it 1-0.
Head coach Tim Ward was pleased with his team’s showing especially on the defensive side of the ball despite the loss.
“Our team defense at Santa Clara was fantastic and yes Roxy had a monster game for us Ward said. She made a couple of great saves to keep us in that match and it was pretty heartbreaking to concede with just six minutes to go.”
On Sunday Pepperdine lacked energy at the start and the Waves couldn’t quite get on track losing 2-0 to the University of San Diego which hit close to home for Spacciapolli.
“We knew that we needed a win or at least some points moving forward in the season Spacciapolli said. I’m from San Diego and know the coach and other team very well so there was a little extra incentive there.”
Although the Waves returned home with an overall record of 8-7-1 (1-3-1 WCC) some positives were still taken away from the weekend.
“I thought our fight against Santa Clara was awesome Spacciapolli said. Our team has been about that the entire year. We are still a young team and have things to work on but the fight and heart is an attitude and that is something that will always be there.”
With only three regular season games remaining Pepperdine looks to finish strong and make a push for the conference playoffs.
“We will not be satisfied with losing but as long as we are growing learning and getting better we can be confident that better results are ahead Ward said. When we score at least one goal we are 8-2 so we just need to find the back of the net and the rest will take care of itself.”
The Waves take to the field today at 3 p.m. as they play host to Seattle University in a non-conference showdown. The team returns to conference action Nov. 1 against St. Mary’s.