JANE LEE
Sports Assistant
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Sara Nemecek/Photo Assistant
It was a weekend of mixed emotions for the No.-9 Pepperdine women’s soccer team. It picked up a win over Utah but suffered its first loss of the season in a heartbreaker to UCLA in front of home crowds at Tari Frahm Rokus Field to move to a 9-1-1 record.
The Waves edged Utah 1-0 Friday afternoon as sophomore midfielder Samantha Hire’s first goal of the season proved to be enough for a Pepperdine victory.
The game was a physical test for the Waves as Utah came out strong and controlled possession for most of the game.
The lone goal of the match came at the 27:19 mark when senior forward Megan Woods crossed the ball from the right corner to Hire, who drove the ball beyond the net to put the Waves on top 1-0.
“The only goal we scored was a thing of beauty,” Head Coach Tim Ward said. “It was a perfect example of counterattacking soccer, just textbook.”
The Utes (7-4-0) had several attempts to score in the second half, but senior goalkeeper Anna Picarelli came up with numerous key saves, while the Waves defense protected the net. Picarelli recorded her fourth shutout of the season.
“We were very proud of our girls,” Ward said. “Sometimes in soccer you have to weather storms, and we did that very well in that game.
“We defended great as a team and had big performances from our goalkeeper, midfielders and defenders.”
Two days later, the Waves were defeated 2-1 by No.-4 UCLA as the Bruins’ Danesha Adams scored two goals in the second half for a come-from-behind victory.
At the 12:15 mark, the Waves picked up the momentum after Picarelli dove to her right and came up with a crucial save on a Bruins penalty kick.
Pepperdine’s defensive intensity helped the Waves create a scoring chance that resulted in a goal at the 16:45 mark. Junior forward Lindsey Redlin and Woods pressured the goalkeeper as Redlin played off a tap from Woods to drive the ball into the net to put the Waves up 1-0.
Pepperdine continued to keep the pressure on the Bruins’ defense to keep the lead at the half, but UCLA intensified its offense in the second half and delivered two back-to-back goals off of breakaways from Adams at the 63:11 mark and 66:39 mark to make it a 2-1 game.
Despite defending the ball and having a few breakaways, the Waves couldn’t find the back of the net in the final minutes of the match.
Although UCLA (10-1-0) outshot Pepperdine 17-9, the Waves recorded six shots on goal compared to the Bruins’ seven. Picarelli tallied five saves.
“You can’t win them all,” Ward said. “It was not our intention to sit back and play to protect the lead.
“UCLA did a good job of keeping us in our half and combine that with the fact that the referee had a tough time controlling the game for both teams, it made for a very difficult second half for us.”
Despite the loss, the Waves have scored at least one goal in 11 straight matches, which is one shy of the school record of 12 set in 2000.
Pepperdine opens West Coast Conference play when it hosts Loyola Marymount on Sunday at home in a 1 p.m. contest.
“We were incredibly proud of the way the girls competed this weekend,” Ward said. “We look forward to our bounce back against a very good LMU team.
“We will continue to do what we have done all year and that is focus on our strengths, and try to play to and through them.”
10-06-2005
