No. 17 Pepperdine Faces San Diego On The Road Before Hosting Cal State Northridge This Weekend
10/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
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Oct. 26, 2005
Malibu, Calif. -
THIS WEEK: The nationally-ranked Pepperdine women's soccer team nears the end of regular season play as it concludes road action this weekend. The Waves travel south to San Diego to face the Toreros in a West Coast Conference match before heading back to Malibu to host Cal State Northridge in a non-conference game.
The Waves will face San Diego on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Cal State Northridge on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.
Pepperdine remains in the Top 25 as it is ranked No. 17 by Soccer Times, No. 22 by Soccer America and No. 25 by Soccer Buzz.
The Toreros are 5-11-1 overall and 1-4-0 in the WCC, while the the Matadors are 11-6-0 overall and 3-4-0 in the Big West conference.
SINGLE-SEASON HIGHS: Senior Megan Woods and junior Lindsey Redlin are both having stellar seasons and have crept into the single-season records in points, goals and assists. With a team-high nine assists, Woods shares a first-place record and with three games remaining in the regular season has a chance to stand alone at the top. Redlin leads the team with 10 goals and shares an eighth-place tie with Lacey Ubaldi, who achieved the record in 2000 and 2003. Jennifer Evans is on top of the list with 20 goals, which she attained in 1993. Both Woods and Redlin have 25 points on the season, which puts them in a tenth-place tie with Ubaldi.
SAN FRANCISCO RECAP: The ball just didn't roll Pepperdine's way as it fell to San Francisco 2-1. The Waves took the lead early in the game to set the pace when Lindsey Redlin found the back of the net after Megan Woods's shot deflected off the USF goalie to put the Waves up 1-0 at the 2:52 mark. The score was evened in the first half and the teams continued to battle in the second period. The game looked as if it would go into overtime, but USF booted the ball into the net at the 89:18 mark to put the Dons up 2-1 and secure the win.
SAINT MARY'S RECAP: Pepperdine came back from a 2-0 deficit and played Saint Mary's to a 2-2 tie at Saint Mary's Stadium.The Waves scored two goals in the last 10 minutes to force the game into overtime. Despite the deficit in the second half, the Waves attacked the Saint Mary's defense and at the 80:46 mark, senior Megan Woods put Pepperdine on the board when she drove the ball in the net. Shortly after junior Lindsey Redlin was left with an open net after a Gaels' mistake and tapped in the game-tying goal. Pepperdine outshot the Gaels 5-2 in overtime, but the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
ABOUT SAN DIEGO: San Diego enters the match with a 5-11-1 overall record and a WCC record of 1-4-0. San Diego is coming off of a 3-0 victory over Portland State, but has had a tough start in the WCC conference. The team's only WCC win was a 2-0 shutout over Saint Mary's. The Toreros are led by forwards Michelle Rowe, who has a team-high six goals and Amy Epsten who adds three goals and a team-high three assists. Head Coach Ada Greenwood is in the midst of his third season with San Diego.
SERIES VS. SAN DIEGO: The Toreros lead the all-time series 6-5-1. In 2004, the game ended in a 0-0 tie at Tari Frahm Rokus Field.
ABOUT CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: The Matadors are 11-6-0 overall and 3-4-0 in the Big West Conference. Northridge won nine straight games before losing the next four and are coming off of a split weekend. In overtime, the Matadors won 4-3 against Cal Poly before losing to UC Santa Barbara 2-1. The team is led by midfielders Brianna Monka, who has a team-high seven assists along with eight goals, and Kristy Krohn, who adds nine goals. Head Coach Terry Davila leads both the men and women teams at Northridge and is in the midst of his second season coaching the women.
SERIES VERSUS CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: Pepperdine leads the series 4-0-2. The last time the two teams met was in 2001 when they battled to a 0-0 tie.
WAVES POST IMPRESSIVE NON-CONFERENCE MARK: Over the last five-plus seasons, Pepperdine has registered a 65-11-9 (.820) non-conference mark. After falling 2-0 to Fresno State in the 2000 season opener, the Waves posted an impressive 22-match unbeaten streak before falling to No. 3 seed UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Dating back to the start of the 2001 season, Pepperdine is 45-5-7 (.851) during the regular season against non-conference opponents. The Waves had their 34-match regular-season unbeaten streak against non-conference opponents snapped by UCLA early in the 2003 season.
TOUGH TO SCORE ON: Since the start of the 2003 season, Pepperdine has been a difficult team for opponents to score. That season, the Waves established a school-record with 11 shutouts. In 2004, Pepperdine turned in another solid defensive effort as it posted 10 shutouts in 19 matches and set a single-season mark with a 0.60 goals-against average. Junior goalkeeper Anna Picarelli enjoyed a solid campaign as she led the West Coast Conference (WCC) with a 0.61 goals-against average. The Waves currently have five shutouts in 2005.
PEPPERDINE SETS CONSECUTIVE MATCH SHUTOUT MARK: With shutouts in its first six contests of 2004, Pepperdine broke the school record for most consecutive shutouts. The previous record was four set in 2003.
WAVES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: Pepperdine made its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004. The team ventured cross town to UCLA for the second straight year and lost a hard-fought 1-0 decision to the host Bruins. In 2003, the Waves traveled to nearby UCLA where they opened play against cross-town rival USC and posted a 1-0 victory over the Trojans. It marked the third consecutive year that Pepperdine won a first-round match. The Waves suffered a 2-0 loss to the host Bruins in the second round and have an all-time post-season record of 4-4. The Waves earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001 and advanced to the second round where they lost to UCLA. Pepperdine earned the West Coast Conference's (WCC) automatic berth to the 64-team field in 2002 and reached the "Sweet 16" before falling to Michigan.
PICARELLI NO. 1 ON CAREER SHUTOUT LIST: Senior goalkeeper Anna Picarelli entered the 2005 season as Pepperdine's all-time career leader in shutouts with 25. After posting a shutout against Utah on Friday, September 30 she increased her career total to 29. Picarelli set a single-season record with 10.5 shutouts in 2003 and finished with 10 in 2004. She also entered 2005 as Pepperdine's all-time leader with a 0.72 goals-against average. Her 0.61 goals-against average in 2004 is a single-season school mark.
WCC PRESEASON COACHES POLL: Pepperdine has been picked to finish fourth in the West Coast Conference by the league's coaches. The Waves return 20 letterwinners, including six starters from last year's team that finished 9-7-3 overall. Pepperdine finished seventh in the WCC and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Waves suffered an opening-round 1-0 loss to UCLA at Drake Stadium. Rankings: 1) Portland (7) 2) Santa Clara (1) 3) San Diego, 4) Pepperdine 5) Loyola Marymount 6) Saint Mary's T7) Gonzaga T7) San Francisco (First-place votes in parenthesis)
PEPPERDINE SCHEDULE INCLUDES EIGHT RANKED OPPONENTS: The Pepperdine women's soccer program, which has become a nationally-ranked entity over the last four years, faces a challenging schedule in 2005 as it plays eight teams ranked in Soccer Buzz' preseason poll, including three (UCLA, Portland and Santa Clara) that earned national Top 10 rankings. Other preseason ranked opponents include Arizona (No. 25), Utah (No. 26), Central Florida (28), Kansas (No. 29) and San Diego (No. 30). Additionally, the Waves schedule includes 10 teams (Central Florida, Arizona, Kansas, Southern Methodist, UNLV, Utah, UCLA, Portland, San Diego and Santa Clara) that participated in the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
THE PROGRAM: In the midst of its 13th season of intercollegiate competition, the Pepperdine women's soccer program has compiled an overall record to date of 142-83-23 (.619). The Waves achieved a program first in 2002 as they set a single-season record for most wins with an 18-2-2 mark and earned a share of their first-ever West Coast Conference (WCC) title. Pepperdine made its first-ever "Sweet 16" appearance, posting road wins over Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wisconsin. The Waves' season came to an end in the third round when they suffered a 2-0 loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor. Pepperdine received its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001 and advanced to the second round to finish the year with a 12-5-3 record. The Waves made their post-season debut against USC on November 16, 2001 and defeated USC, 1-0. Pepperdine's season ended with a 2-1 loss to UCLA in a second-round match. The Waves made their third straight NCAA appearance in 2003 and advanced to the second round and earned a fourth consecutive appearance in 2004. Pepperdine competed as a NCAA Division I independent team in 1993. In 1994, the Waves surprised the critics and finished an impressive third place in their debut West Coast Conference (WCC) season. The Waves turned in the best-ever performance in WCC play in 2002 as they compiled a 6-1-0 record and became the conference's first team to defeat perennial national powers Portland and Santa Clara in the same season. Pepperdine went 13-6-1 during the 2000 campaign and made post-season play for the first time.
Tim Ward: Tim Ward, who is in the midst of his eighth season as head coach of the Pepperdine women's soccer program, has compiled an overall record of 94-44-18 (.660) and is the winningest coach in school history. Ward, who has led Pepperdine to four straight NCAA appearances, guided the Waves to their best-ever record of 18-2-2, including a 6-1-0 mark in West Coast Conference (WCC) play in 2002. Pepperdine tied Santa Clara for the WCC title with a 6-1-0 record and Ward was named the conference's "Coach of the Year." He was also named the West Region's "Coach of the Year" by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Ward was named Pepperdine's third head coach in May of 1998, succeeding Kenny Dale, who served as the Waves' head coach from 1995-97. Prior to being named head coach, Ward served four years as an assistant under Dale and George Kuntz, the program's first-ever head coach. During his time in Malibu, Ward has been actively involved in all aspects of the Pepperdine program, including conditioning, practice planning, recruiting, scheduling and coordinating the highly successful Malibu Soccer Academy. Ward also served as Pepperdine's assistant sports information director. While an assistant for the Waves, Pepperdine accumulated a four-year record of 35-36-6 overall record and a 14-13-1 mark in West Coast Conference (WCC) play. Ward played his collegiate career at nearby California Lutheran in Thousand Oaks where the Kingsmen compiled a 57-18-8 record during his four years. California Lutheran won or shared the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SCIAC) championship in 1991, 1992 and 1993, and advanced to post-season play in 1990, 1991 and 1992. In addition to garnering academic All-American accolades in 1992, Ward was a first-team All-SCIAC selection in 1993 after earning second team honors in 1992.
WAVES AT HOME: In the midst of its 13th season of intercollegiate play, Pepperdine is 85-28-10 (.731) in matches played at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. Pepperdine posted its best-ever home mark in 2002, concluding the year with a 10-0-0 record. The Waves' previous best home records came in 1993 and 1996 when they went 8-1. Pepperdine finished the 2004 season with a 6-1-1 and is currently 9-1-1 in 2005.
WAVES ON THE ROAD: In the midst of its 13th season of intercollegiate competition, Pepperdine has compiled a 58-56-13 (.508) record in matches played on the road. The Waves were 6-2-2, including a 1-0-0 mark in neutral contests, on the road in 2002 and tied the single-season record for most road wins, equaling the 2000 team that went 6-4 away from Tari Frahm Rokus Field. Pepperdine finished the 2001 season with a 4-4-1 road record, including a 1-0 mark in neutral contests. The Waves were 6-2-0 on the road in 2003, including a 1-3-0 mark in neutral site contests. They concluded the 2004 season 3-6-1 on the road, including a 1-0-0 mark in neutral contests. Pepperdine is 4-0-1, including a 1-0 mark, neutral site contests in 2005.
SPORTS INFORMATION HOTLINE: For updated information concerning Pepperdine athletics, including results and a schedule of upcoming events, please contact the Pepperdine Sport Information Hotline at 310-506-7373. The hotline will be updated on a regular basis throughout the course of the 2005-2006 school year.
ON THE WEB: For updated information concerning Pepperdine athletics, including results and schedules of upcoming events, on the Internet, please bookmark the following address: http://www.PepperdineSports.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on the women's soccer program, or to arrange interviews with players and the coaching staff, please contact Al Barba at the Pepperdine Sports Information Office by calling (310) 506-4455.
