TAYLOR BIRD
Sports Assistant
The Pepperdine women’s soccer team bested Cal State Northridge, 3-1 Sunday for its second victory of the season, in an aggressive battle at Tari Frahm Rokus Field in Malibu. The Waves (2-4-3) have not lost in their last four matches.
Pepperdine’s offense got started early. In the 3rd minute of the match, senior midfielder Mckenzie Hill fed the ball to freshman forward Kylie McDonald who kicked it past the right post for her first goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
The Waves scored again in the 29th minute, when junior forward Amanda Rupp crossed from the right to pass the ball to sophomore forward Sophia Medina who snuck it past Northridge goalkeeper Kellie Drenner to score.
The Matadors crept closer in the second half, courtesy of a goal by forward Poirsha Woolfork to make the score 2-1 in favor of Pepperdine.
But Waves’ freshman midfielder Nicole Romanowski put the game out of reach in the 82nd minute, when she smashed the ball up the center that deflected off Drenner’s outstretched hands, making what would be the final score of 3-1.
Despite winning the match, Pepperdine Head Coach Tim Ward felt Cal State Northridge played “a bit overly aggressive” during the game. But he said he was pleased by the way his players responded.
“I thought our girls handled themselves in an incredibly professional way,” Ward said. “We maintained a level of class and professionalism that really befits Pepperdine soccer players.”
Both teams were neck-and-neck throughout the match, managing 12 shots apiece and creating several chances to score.
“We’re doing good now,” said sophomore forward Courtney Price. “We fought through and through even though they [Northridge] were cheap and dirty.”
Rupp feels the team has put its struggles from the first part of the season behind it.
“I think we’ve definitely got our chemistry together,” she said. “We have a bright future ahead of us.”
The Waves will wrap up its seven-game homestand next weekend when they go up against Sacramento State on Friday and the University of Hawaii on Sunday.
09-30-2007