Freshman forward Laura Cole scored twice and senior goalkeeper Kayla Stolte posted her fifth shutout of the year as the Pepperdine women’s soccer team routed conference rival Saint Mary’s 4-0 on Sunday afternoon in Moraga Calif. With the win the Waves (8-9-2 3-3 WCC) moved up to fourth in the conference and now have just one game left to play.
“We were playing very well with each other Stolte said. Our combination play was some of the best it’s been all season.”
Pepperdine jumped ahead of Saint Mary’s (8-8-2 1-4-1 WCC) early scoring on an impressive shot by senior midfielder Ashley Copp from nearly 40 yards out with 12:36 showing on the clock. This goal gave the Waves a 1-0 lead and set the tone for the rest of the match.
In the 37th minute junior forward Sophia Medina crossed a ball that bounced off the head of a Saint Mary’s defender. While the ball was still in midair Cole struck it into the net from 18 yards out for her first goal of the game and a 2-0 Pepperdine edge.
Waves senior forward Amanda Rupp gave the Waves their third point near the beginning of the second period. At 50:49 senior midfielder Emily Wynne fed the ball to Rupp who went one-on-one with Saint Mary’s goalkeeper Tara Larson. Rupp won the breakaway for her team-best tenth goal of the season.
The Waves then wasted no time in scoring their fourth and final goal. In the 54th minute Cole connected on a pass from Rupp and knocked it into the far post to record her second goal of the day and third of the season. Pepperdine would not require any more scoring for the rest of the game as the back line held Saint Mary’s to just two shots in the match’s final 35 minutes to seal the 4-0 victory.
“We [the defense] focused on communicating Stolte said. We just worked together and played together and got the job done.”
The Gaels’ offense could not get much going throughout the game as they managed only four shots to the Waves’ 14. Stolte blocked both of Saint Mary’s shots on goal to earn her fifth shutout of the season. Wynne led the team with five shots while Medina came in second with four.
The 2008 season comes to a close for Pepperdine on Saturday at 1 p.m. as the Waves will play San Francisco at Tari Frahm Rokus Field in Malibu. Before the match the women’s soccer program will honor its six-member senior class in the annual Senior Day ceremony.