TAYLOR BIRD
Sports Assistant
The Pepperdine women’s soccer team was defeated in its final home game of the 2007 season Sunday, 2-0 to No. 3-ranked Portland at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. The Waves fell to 2-3-1 in conference play and 5-7-6 overall with the loss.
The Pilots struck early with a goal in the third minute of play. Midfielder Keelin Winters brought the ball up the middle and passed it to fellow midfielder Sophie Schmidt. Schmidt then played it to forward Michelle Enyeart, who slipped it into the goal for a 1-0 lead.
“If you take away the first five minutes, then we sort of settled into the game and did alright,” said Pepperdine Head Coach Tim Ward.
Portland added its second point in the 86th minute on a corner kick by midfielder Angie Wonzuk. After the kick, the ball was passed from defender Stephanie Lopez to Winters and back to Wonzuk, who then knocked it past Waves’ junior goalkeeper Kayla Stolte.
With the victory, Portland (14-3-0, 6-0-0) clinched its ninth West Coast Conference title and extended its winning streak to seven games, earning an automatic spot in the NCAA tournament. This was also the Pilots’ fifth consecutive shutout.
“To be fair, Portland was better than us today, and that’s a very good soccer team,” Ward said. “I thought we played pretty well in the majority of the [second] half. The problem was we didn’t get any clean, clean looks at their net. There’s a reason they’re the No. 3 team in the country.”
Before the match, seniors Mckenzie Hill, Katie Rokus and Loretta Younkin were honored as part of the annual Senior Day event.
“It’s always tough when you have an emotional presentation like that,” Ward said. “It felt like we weren’t really focused.”
Pepperdine could only manage three shots during the match, one from sophomore forward Courtney Price and two from freshman forward Sage Coralli. Two of those shots were put on goal, and Stolte racked up six saves to keep her team close throughout the game.
“They’re a really good team. I think we played them really, really well,” Stolte said. “It wasn’t like they had a ton of chances. They were very efficient though; they finish what they get.”
Price said the team put out a strong effort in what was arguably the toughest match-up for the Waves this season.
“It’s a rough loss, but I think we showed up today,” she said. “We played well, and we just got to look forward to Gonzaga and win there.”
Ward believes his players will see this loss as a learning experience and finish the season on a high note.
“I’m really pleased with the way we responded,” he said. “When that’s the No. 3 team in the country, and we’re playing that well with them, there’s a lot of positives that can be taken away. We just need to rebound and win our last game of the year at Gonzaga.”
Pepperdine will wrap up its 2007 campaign Saturday at Gonzaga (11-7-1, 2-4-0).
11-08-2007
