JANE LEE
Sports Assistant
The nationally ranked Pepperdine women’s soccer team shut out Hawaii and Eastern Michigan to take the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Soccer Classic title in Hawaii over the weekend.
The two victories by the Waves improved the team’s record to 4-0, which marks its best start in school history and propelled them up the national rankings. They are now ranked No. 12 by Soccer Buzz magazine and No. 15 by Soccer America and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
“Considering it was our first road trip, we handled it very well,” Coach Tim Ward said. “We executed our game plan, and we just stayed focused and disciplined.”
In the first game Friday night at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium, senior forward Jenna Fodor and junior forward Lindsey Redlin each scored goals to lead Pepperdine to a 2-0 victory over Hawaii (1-2-0).
The Waves took a 1-0 lead at the 20:41 mark when Fodor scored on a penalty kick.
The score remained the same until the 73:26 mark when Redlin received an assist from senior forward Megan Woods and scored her third goal of the season.
Senior goalkeeper Anna Picarelli earned the shutout in goal as she tallied four saves.
“Hawaii’s a very good team at home,” Ward said. “As the visiting team we sort of had the referees against us and a crowd of about 1,500 against us, but we just took advantage of all the opportunities we had.”
Closing out play on the island of Oahu Saturday, junior forwards Jennifer Brewer and Redlin each scored goals to lead Pepperdine to a 2-0 shutout over Eastern Michigan (1-2-0).
The Waves, who controlled the ball for the majority of the game, got on the board quickly when Brewer sent the ball 25 yards from midfield to the back of the net at the 12:29 mark.
The team would get another shot from distance in the 80th minute when Redlin’s 30-plus-yards shot got past the Eagles’ goalkeeper.
The Waves held a 17-6 shot advantage over Eastern Michigan and held the Eagles to no shots on goal until the last minute of the first half.
In addition to winning the classic, Pepperdine had six players named to the all-tournament. Fodor, Redlin, Picarelli, junior defender Courtney Nelson andjunior defender Lauren Treinen were named all-tournament while Woods earned Most Valuable Player honors.
“Megan had a great weekend and I’m proud of all the girls,” Ward said, “but I thought one big omission was (senior midfielder) Kelsey Quane because I thought she played excellent.”
Pepperdine returns to action Sunday when it travels to San Diego to face Kansas in the San Diego Tournament.
“Kansas will be the best team we’ve played so far,” Ward said. “I have a lot of respect for them and we just need to focus on our game plan.
“We need to continue to do what we’ve been doing but just a little better.”
The Waves’ trip to Hawaii began a three-week stretch in which Pepperdine plays five consecutive road contests. Following this week’s action, the road trip ends the weekend of Sept. 16-18, when the team travels to Texas to meet Texas Christian and Southern Methodist.
A sixth road match against Tulane as part of the San Diego Tournament on Sunday was cancelled due to Hurricane Katrina.
Pepperdine finally returns home Sept. 23 to host UNLV beginning at 3 p.m.
09-08-2005
