JANE LEE
Sports Assistant
Her teammate said, “It’s been like watching a magic show.”
That may be the best way to describe senior Megan Woods’ performance on the Pepperdine women’s soccer team over the past four years.
“You never know what she is going to pull out of her bag of tricks next,” teammate and friend senior Jenna Fodor said.
In her fourth and final season, Woods has established herself as one of the top scorers in Pepperdine history, sitting in fourth on the all-time points list with 71. She’s also fourth in goals with 26 and assists with 19.
“Megan has left a remarkable imprint on this program,” Head Coach Tim Ward said.
As an explosive offensive player and a respected teammate, Woods has proven to be unstoppable both on and off the field.
Ever since age 4, soccer has always been a major aspect of Woods’ life.
“I played in recreational leagues for as long as I can remember,” she said. “Both my parents and my sisters have always been involved in sports, so early on, my family was definitely my biggest influence when it came to playing.”
Woods began to play on competitive teams in sixth grade and enjoyed an outstanding career at La Costa Canyon High, where she holds the single-season school record for goals and led her team to back-to-back CIF Division I championships and a two-year record of 20-0-3.
Coming into Pepperdine in 2002 as part of a recruiting class that was ranked No. 15 in the West Region by Soccer Buzz magazine, Woods tallied nine goals and four assists and received honorable mention All-West Coast Conference honors as a freshman.
“She has had a major impact on our program since the time she arrived as a freshman,” Ward said. “In her first year she scored some incredibly important goals for us, including game winners at then No. 2 Portland and the equalizer in our first-ever WCC match.”
As a junior, Woods led the Waves with 13 points and five goals en route to being selected first team All-WCC, as well as being named to the WCC All-Academic team.
“She is very competitive and optimistic,” Ward said. “The bigger the game, the better she plays, and that, to me, is a sign of a great player.”
As one of six seniors on the Waves’ roster, Woods has been a major factor in Pepperdine’s highly successful start.
“We’ve started out great this season,” she said. “I think we owe our success to team chemistry. When we’re playing our best and things are going our way, it’s because we’re there for each other.”
Fodor said she thinks it’s Woods’ deceptiveness that makes her different from other players.
“She may not have always been the biggest player, but she has always played like she was,” Fodor said. “She gives everything she has into every game, as well as the way she is a friend outside of soccer.”
For the past couple of years, Fodor has lived with Woods.
“She has always been a supportive and great friend, and we have made amazing memories together on and off the field,” Fodor said. “We’ve shared numerous laughs together, and we have gotten each other through rough times.”
At school, Woods is majoring in advertising with a minor in multimedia design. She said a future in photography is possible, but she’s keeping her options open.
“My plans for the future aren’t concrete, but I know I want to travel everywhere and anywhere,” Woods said.
As far as her soccer future is concerned, “It’s been great, but a consuming part of my life for as long as I can remember,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to being able to do other things for awhile. I’d love to be able to incorporate soccer in the future, but I’m not worried about figuring out how yet.”
Until then, Woods will just keep that magic running on the field.
10-31-2005
