Right from the opening kick the Pepperdine women’s soccer team looked like it was a class above dominating virtually every aspect of Sunday’s game. The Waves shook off the cobwebs from last week’s contest and showcased its truer form defeating Hawaii 2-0 at Tari Frahm Rokus field.
While the offensive scoring chances were the talk of the game the Waves’ defense didn’t disappoint either. Playing with some of the best energy seen thus far this season the Waves held Hawaii to three total shots in the first half and allowed only one corner kick. Freshman goalkeeper Roxanne Barker made one save and tallied yet another shutout.
“Overall I was very pleased with our performance head coach Tim Ward said. I felt we dictated the rhythm and tempo of the game and the possessions were great.”
On the other side of the ball Pepperdine took control early and never looked back. Senior Sophia Medina netted a goal inside the 33rd minute off a deflected pass just outside the near post her second of the season. This came just after a flurry of close calls where the Waves had one shot ricochet off the crossbar and one bounce off the far post. Needless to say Hawaii had its hands full attempting to stifle a resurgent offense.
In the 45th minute following yet another shot off the crossbar this time by freshman Kasey Kanada sophomore Michelle Spacciapolli corralled the rebound and put it in the back of the net giving the Waves a 2-0 advantage.
“We only had two goals but I know we could have had a few more Ward said. Defensively it’s nice to get another shutout but we need to get a little sharper in front of [the] goal on offense.”
Aggressive play by the Waves both on offense and defense highlighted the second half. Hawaii’s physical style proved insignificant for a more talented and balanced Pepperdine squad. With emotions running high and frustrations boiling over Hawaii’s Skye Shimabukuro received a yellow card in the 60th minute for a deliberate shove away from the ball that sent a Waves player tumbling to the turf.
While Pepperdine held the slight edge in fouls 11-8 it dominated where it counted. The Waves outshot Hawaii 22-4 in the game and won the corner kick battle 8-1.
The team will travel to Long Beach State on Friday for a 3 p.m. match and then return to Malibu on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Sacramento State where it hopes to keep its undefeated 3-0 home record intact.
