TAYLOR BIRD
Sports Assistant
The women’s soccer team won its first game of the season, 3-0 over Denver on Sunday. With the victory, the Waves (1-4-1) also ended their streak of five games without scoring.
The match opened up with each team struggling to get control of ball, as both offenses attempted to get on the board early.
Pepperdine’s scoreless drought ended in the 23rd minute when sophomore Courtney Price broke the tie, smashing a goal past Denver goalkeeper Mackenzie Snyder to give the Waves their first lead of the season.
After a group hug by the players and standing ovation by the electrified crowd, it was back to business on the field. The Waves were able to hold their opponents down for the rest of the first period and would carry a 1-0 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Waves kept the pressure on Denver, who could not manage to get anything started offensively.
This paved the way for Price to score her second goal of the game with only ten minutes left on the clock, giving the Waves a 2-0 lead.
Pepperdine’s offensive explosion continued into the final minute of the match, when junior forward Amanda Rupp scored, creating what would be the final score of 3-0. This gave Pepperdine its first victory of the young season.
During the match, Pepperdine out-shot its opponent 12-2. Denver did not manage any shots after the first half and was unable to put any shots on goal throughout the game.
The players could not help but voice their enthusiasm after finally putting an end to the team’s losing streak.
“It’s about time,” said junior goalkeeper Kayla Stolte. “This team has worked for it, and we deserved it. And it’s the first string of many.”
Waves’ head coach Tim Ward praised his players for not giving up after a rough beginning to the season.
“I’m really proud of the girls. We’ve been playing really well; we just hadn’t been scoring,” Ward said. “You play to win, rather than play not to lose.”
Pepperdine’s homestand will continue this Friday, Sept. 21 at 3 p.m., when the Waves go up against UCLA.
09-16-2007