TAYLOR BIRD
Sports Assistant
The Pepperdine women’s soccer team split its first two home matches of the season over the weekend, falling 1-0 to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Friday, and then taking Sunday’s game by a score of 3-0, over the University of Denver.
The Waves (1-4-1) entered the weekend still looking for their first goal of the season.
They got off to a strong start in Friday’s match and had control of the ball for most of the first 25 minutes of play. The offense created several opportunities to score but was not able to capitalize.
As a result, UNLV got on the board first. In the 25th minute, Rebels’ midfielder Brianna Moore found a hole in the Waves’ defense and fed the ball to fellow midfielder Erica Jensen, who scored what would be the match’s only goal.
“The goal was sort of weird. It kind of came out of nowhere,” said Waves’ Head Coach Tim Ward. “After that, it looked like we were stunned.”
Pepperdine was unable to put any shots on goal for the remainder of the period and the first half ended with the Rebels out in front 1-0.
Pepperdine appeared to be on the verge of scoring its first goal of the season, putting four shots on goal in the last ten minutes of the game alone. But the attempts proved fruitless, as UNLV goalkeeper Alicia Lugo slammed the door shut.
“I told the girls it’s hard to believe that one of those balls didn’t go in,” Ward said. “I think it was one of the more exciting finishes you are going to see here. The girls never gave up.”
On Sunday, the Waves got on the board early, finally putting an end to their five-game scoreless streak.
Sophomore forward Courtney Price smashed the ball past University of Denver goalkeeper Mackenzie Snyder in the 23rd minute to break a scoreless tie and give the Waves their first lead of the season.
After the team came together for a group hug and the Pepperdine crowd’s standing ovation, the Waves’ defense immediately got busy, holding their opponents scoreless for the rest of the period.
Pepperdine came out of the gates strong in the second half, keeping the pressure on a Denver squad that struggled offensively throughout the match.
At the end of the 80th minute, Waves’ senior forward Loretta Younkin passed the ball to Price, who slipped it into the net for her second goal of the game and a 2-0 lead with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.
“God is faithful, and he totally just blessed us today,” said Price, following the game.
But Pepperdine wasn’t finished. With only 32 seconds left in the game, freshman forward Kylie McDonald took advantage of a Denver misplay and passed left to junior forward Amanda Rupp, who kicked the ball past the goalie for the final score of 3-0.
Pepperdine dominated offensively throughout the match, out-shooting the Pioneers 12-2. Denver did not manage a single shot after the first half.
Waves 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.”
Ward said he had to admire his players’ refusal to give up, even after being denied a victory in each of the season’s first five matches.
“I’m really proud of the girls. We’ve been playing really well, we just hadn’t been scoring,” Ward said. “We have this phrase: ‘You play to win, rather than play not to lose.’”
Pepperdine’s homestand will continue next weekend, when the Waves take on No. 5-ranked UCLA (3-1-1) on Friday at 3 p.m., at Tari Frahm Rokus Field.
09-20-2007
