TAYLOR BIRD
Sports Assistant
Offensive frustrations continued for the Pepperdine women’s soccer team over the weekend, as they dropped both matches of an Ohio road trip by 1-0 scores. The Waves (0-3-1) are still looking for their first goal of the season.
Friday’s match versus Ohio State in Columbus was mostly a defensive battle, and Waves’ junior goalkeeper Kayla Stolte delivered another strong performance.
The game was scoreless until the 71st minute, when Ohio State midfielder Ashley Bowyer snuck a goal past Stolte to get the Buckeyes on the board. Lara Dickenmann, a National Player of the Year candidate from Ohio State, assisted on the goal but was fruitless in five shot attempts throughout the rest of the match.
Stolte had a total of seven saves Friday, but Pepperdine was out-shot 21-4 and could not get anything started offensively.
Friday’s loss brought Pepperdine’s record to 0-2-1 while Ohio State improved to 4-0-0.
On Sunday, the first period was a back-and-forth battle between each team’s defense.
In the 2nd minute, Dayton’s freshman midfielder Jerica DeWolfe put a shot on goal that was saved by Stolte. Pepperdine answered back in the 7th minute with a shot on goal of its own by sophomore forward Courtney Price, but Dayton’s senior goalie Niki Reed was there to save it.
Both goalkeepers would block all scoring opportunities during the first half, Stolte saving four goals and Reed three.
Dayton finally broke the 0-0 tie in the 59th minute. A free-kick from 40-yards out was headed into the net by sophomore Lauren MacCormick, giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead.
Dayton would hold onto its lead for the rest of the match, improving its record to 3-1-0, while Pepperdine fell to 0-3-1. The Waves were out-shot 20-12, and Stolte finished with a total of four saves.
Amont Pepperdine’s West Coast Conference (WCC) rivals, No. 1-ranked Santa Clara is currently sporting a 2-0-1 record, followed by No. 4 Portland at 3-1-0.
Although the Waves have not yet locked down that first goal this season, junior defender Kelsey Baker, who started both games over the weekend, noticed that the offense looked better in Sunday’s match than it had up all season up to that point.
“We had a lot of really, really good opportunities to score,” Baker said. “Our offense has been creating a lot more dangerous opportunities that can lead to goals.”
Baker also said team morale is staying strong through this rough stretch early in the season, and Head Coach Tim Ward has not allowed his players to lose hope or patience.
“We are in good spirits still,” Baker said. “We are looking for another opportunity to play this weekend.”
The Waves will finally return to Malibu this weekend to open up a seven-game home stand after a grueling road trip. The 2007 home opener kicks off Friday at 3 p.m. against Las Vegas (2-2-0). Pepperdine will then play again at home Sunday against Denver (2-1-0) at 1 p.m.
09-13-2007
