Women’s Soccer:
Noah Godwin
Sports Assistant
Photo Courtesy of Ath. Dept.
Junior forward Jenna Fodor provided the game-winning goal that propelled No. 24 Pepperdine to a 1-0 win over University of Arizona on Friday.
The Waves’ win lifts the team to 7-2-1 for the season. Arizona’s four-match winning streak came to a halt as it fell to 8-2-0 for the year.
Senior midfielder Jenna Ainsworth found Fodor about 25 yards out during the 52nd minute.
“Ainsworth, to her credit, quickly recognized the advancing Arizona back-line and chipped the ball over it to Fodor,” Head Coach Tim Ward said.
The victory was Pepperdine’s fourth 1-0 victory of the year and its seventh shutout of the season.
Arizona held a slim 7-5 advantage in shots in the scoreless first half, but Pepperdine reversed that trend by out-shooting the Wildcats 8-3 in the second half.
“Arizona came out firing in the early parts of the game, and we made four substitutions that really helped us, because those girls were a little fresher and had gained some perspective on what was going on,” Ward said.
Arizona goalie McCall Smith was tested early and often by an aggressive Pepperdine offense. The Waves generated 10 shots-on-goal in the match, compared to Arizona’s five.
“We have a ton of belief that our offense is going to catch fire, and when that happens we will be one of the toughest teams in the country to beat,” Ward said.
Fodor paced the Waves with four shots-on-goal. Junior forward Megan Woods also tested the Arizona goalie with three shots-on-goal.
“It was a really great result to go on the road and beat a team that is going to be successful even in the Pac 10,” Ward said.
Junior goalie Anna Picarelli recorded yet another shutout, increasing her school-record total to 22.
“Our entire team has a great attitude toward defending all year,” Ward said.
Picarelli’s 0.293 goals against average is No. 1 in the country, and her shutout percentage of 70 places her fifth in the NCAA.
“Anna made a big save late in the second half that took the wind out of Arizona’s sails,” Ward said.
“They threw a bunch at us in the second half trying to tie the match, but we’re good when the other team is scrambling a little bit because we can sit back, defend well and then spring our forwards to generate some offense,” Ward said.
The road victory at Arizona was the final tune-up before the Waves begin a grueling West Coast Conference schedule.
The first of those contests comes Sunday at Loyola Marymount University. Sunday’s contest will be the second match in a four-game road swing for the Waves.
“It has been really great for us to get a chance to play on the road because we’ve learned that sometimes you have to be better than your opponents and their fans – and even occasionally the referees,” Ward said.
LMU boasts a 7-3-2 record following a 3-1 victory against Eastern Washington Sunday.
“Every time we play each other it is a physical, emotional affair for both sides,” Ward said.
Pepperdine leads the all-time series 8-3-1.
“Most of the time the game against LMU seems a little sloppy because of the intensity both teams bring, and generally the team that scores the first goal goes on to win the match; we’ll be sure to make our team aware of that,” Ward said.
10-07-2004
