Taylor Bird
Assistant Sports Editor
It was a roller coaster of a weekend for the Pepperdine women’s soccer team, as the Waves jumped all over Idaho State, 6-0, on Friday at home before suffering a 2-1 loss at UC Irvine on Sunday. The victory against Idaho marked Pepperdine’s highest scoring game since Sept. 5, 2003, when the Waves (4-5-2) defeated San Jose State, 7-0.
Friday’s match was scoreless for much of the first half, as Bengals goalkeeper Maren Eves-Williams picked up two saves before the 40-minute mark to keep the Waves off the board.
But, freshman forward Laura Cole delivered Pepperdine’s first goal at 44:02 from inside the 18-yard box. Less than a minute later, freshman midfielder Melissa Trammell followed suit with a shot that ricocheted off the foot of a Bengal defender and into the net for a 2-0 Waves edge just before the buzzer. These goals were the third and first of the season for Cole and Trammell, respectively.
Senior forward Amanda Rupp provided Pepperdine’s third goal of the day in the 51st minute, when she received the ball from senior midfielder Samantha Hire and slipped it past Eves-Williams.
The Waves scored their next goal in similar fashion, as Rupp passed the ball to senior forward Emily Wynne, who won a breakaway against Eves-Williams at 66:25. The Waves now had a comfortable 4-0 lead with less than 25 minutes to play.
Pepperdine wasn’t finished, however. In the 82nd minute, junior midfielder Joanna Idom notched her first goal of the year, which was assisted by Rupp and senior defender Haleigh Guertin, pushing the score to 5-0.
As if that wasn’t enough, Rupp provided some extra insurance at 82:50 with her second goal of the match for a 6-0 Pepperdine lead. This closed the books on the Waves’ best offensive performance in five seasons.
“The efficiency with which we were finishing was really good,” said Head Coach Tim Ward. “It was good for the girls because they deserved to win like that.”
Pepperdine dominated all sides of the field, posting a 22-7 shot advantage and limiting Idaho (2-6-2) to just two shots on goal.
Waves’ senior goalkeeper Kayla Stolte tallied a pair of saves to pitch her third shutout of the season. This was also the 100th shutout in the 16-year history of the women’s soccer program.
On Sunday, UC Irvine (6-5) grabbed an early 1-0 lead on forward Alyssa Humphrey’s header in the 12th minute.
The Waves struggled to find their offensive rhythm until the second period. They created a myriad of opportunities to score just after halftime and finally earned the equalizer in the 77th minute, when Cole fired the ball from 30 yards out and buried it in the right side of the net.
But, UC Irvine had an answer for the Waves just four minutes later. With 80:31 showing on the clock, Anteaters midfielder Milana Shabestari knocked a free kick into the 18-yard box, where it made contact with midfielder Sarah Busby. Then, forward Amanda Phillips got a piece of it and delivered a header out of Stole’s reach.
“It really looked like … we were going to go on to win the game,” Ward said. “We gave away a silly goal on a set piece. That has been our Achilles’ heel all season long.”
This turned out to be the game-winner for the Anteaters, as they kept the Pepperdine offense in check for the match’s final nine minutes to wrap up a 2-1 victory.
Ward said health has been a concern for his team this season, as 17 of the 26 players on the roster are currently fighting a “freakish” amount of injuries.
“To prepare for the road trip going forward, we need to get healthy,” Ward said. “The girls who are healthy are warriors, and they are battling through.”
The course ahead will not get any easier for the Waves, as they will take on No.-2 UCLA (7-0-2) tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the second match of a testing six-game road trip. After that, they will head north to face Cal State Bakersfield on Oct. 11 before West Coast Conference play begins at Loyola Marymount on Oct. 13.
10-02-2008
