Freshman stepped up to help Pepperdine Women’s Soccer prevail in a physical game against the Pacific Tigers on Oct 4, at Tari Frahm Rokus Field.
Freshman forward Julia Quinonez and redshirt freshman forward Kendall Campbell each scored in the first half while sophomore goalie Taylor Rath put on a strong defensive showing, allowing the Waves to win their first WCC game of the season.
“It means the world,” Campbell said. “We’ve been working so hard. With everything we’ve been through we earned it.”
It did not take long for the Waves to pull ahead, as Quinonez put the ball in the upper corner of Pacific’s net for Pepperdine’s first goal. The young freshman created enough separation between her and Tiger defenders for the shot with use of impressive footwork.
Unfortunately for the Waves, Pacific equalized nine minutes later. Tigers sophomore forward Alexis Pashales had a spectacular goal, perfectly placing the ball just out of the reach of Rath.
Following Pacific’s goal, Pepperdine entered a period of frequent yet unsuccessful offensive attacks. From the 33rd minute to the 40th minute, offside calls spoiled three of the Waves attacks.
“The first half we were playing with three forwards, we got called a couple times for offsides, and it kills a really good attacking moment,” Head Coach Tim Ward said. “We solved it by changing our shape.”
With three minutes left in the first half, the Waves could finally find success as freshman midfielder Kyra Murphy drew a penalty in the box. Rather than taking the penalty kick herself, she passed the opportunity onto Campbell, who put the Waves ahead 2-1 with her first career goal.
“Props to her [Kyra Murphy] for believing in me,” Campbell said.
The Waves came out of the second half looking to lock down Pacific’s offense. However, that would not be an easy task as the Tigers ranked 3rd in the West Coast Conference in goals scored coming into the game, according to the WCC.
Pepperdine achieved the challenging tasks on the back of Rath who had four saves in the second half alone. Rath’s best performance came in the 73rd minute, as she blocked a Pacific shot with a sliding kick.
Although the Tigers came close to a draw, Ward said he was very optimistic about the Waves overall performance.
“Tori had a good couple look, Quinonez had a couple good looks at a header that was point blank, Melina Livadas had one right in front of the next,” Ward said. “We win 2-1, but it could have been 5-2 or maybe 5-3.”
The Waves will continue their season against Saint Mary’s on Oct 7. at home.
_______________
Follow the Graphic on Twitter: @PeppGraphic
Email Alex Clarke: Alexander.clarke@pepperdine.edu
