Aug. 10, 2005
Malibu, Calif. - The Pepperdine women's soccer team begins preparations for a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance when it opens practice Friday at Tari Frahm Rokus Field.
The Waves make their 2005 debut on Saturday, August 20, when they host Cal State Bakersfield in a scrimmage beginning at 3 p.m.
The following is a 2005 season outlook.
Having developed into a program that is nationally recognized, the Pepperdine women's soccer team will look to build upon that reputation as it prepares for the 2005 season.
Over the last four years, Pepperdine has compiled an overall record of 66-26-10 (.696), captured the West Coast Conference (WCC) title in 2002, made four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and concluded three of the last four years ranked in the Top 25. Over that same time period, the Waves have registered the WCC's third-best overall mark while playing in one of the top conferences in the country.
Only perennial national powers Portland and Santa Clara have better overall records the past four seasons. The Pilots have registered a 78-15-3 (.828) mark while the Broncos have gone 75-16-9 (.795).
Pepperdine concluded the 2004 campaign with a 9-7-3 overall mark and finished seventh in the WCC with a 1-4-2 record. On the strength of a 7-2-2 start, the Waves received an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Pepperdine traveled across town to face UCLA and fell 1-0 to the Bruins in a first-round match.
Entering the 2005 campaign, eighth-year head coach Tim Ward welcomes back 20 letterwinners, including eight starters from a year ago.
Headlining the list of returning players are seniors Megan Woods, Jenna Fodor, Anna Picarelli and Daniella Bosio.
Woods earned first team All-WCC honors a year ago after topping the Waves with 13 points (five goals, three assists) from her forward position while Fodor - also a forward - tied for second on the team with nine points (four goals, one assist).
Picarelli returns for her senior campaign after totaling 10 shutouts and setting a school-record with a 0.61 goals-against average en route to being named second team All-WCC.
Bosio returns to anchor the back line after receiving honorable mention All-WCC.
While the Waves have a talent-laden roster, Ward and his staff will be looking for players to step up and fill the void left by the departure of six seniors who played a key role in the rise of the program and provided leadership.
The group of Jenna Ainsworth, Ali Pavoni, April Pettigrew, Maytal Shvartz and Ashley Swanson became the first class in school history to reach the postseason all four years and left Pepperdine as the program's second-winningest class, compiling a 53-20-9 (.701) mark.
Dianna Sanguinetti, who transferred to Pepperdine prior to the 2003 campaign, also was a significant contributor to the Waves' success as a starting defender.
Ainsworth concluded her four-year career 10th on Pepperdine's all-time points list with 35 while Pavoni ranked fifth with 51 points, fourth in goals scored (23) and seventh in assists (15).
Swanson established herself as one of the top defenders in the country as she was an honorable mention All-American and named All-West Region by Soccer Buzz in addition to earning first team All-WCC accolades.
Despite the loss of a strong senior class, Pepperdine returns an experienced and talented group of players and welcomes a recruiting class that ranked No. 7 in the West Region and No. 30 in the country by Soccer Buzz.
The Waves are once again expected to finish near the top of the WCC standings as they were voted to place fourth in the conference by the league's head coaches.
Defending co-champion Portland garnered the top spot in the balloting as the Pilots totaled seven first-place votes. Santa Clara, which tied Portland for the 2004 conference title, received one first-place vote and finished second.
San Diego, which placed third in the WCC standings and earned an NCAA Tournament berth a year ago, was third in the balloting followed by the Waves.
The following is a position-by-position look at the 2005 Pepperdine team.
FORWARDS
After a year in which Pepperdine set a single-season school record for fewest goals scored, the Waves will be looking to improve their offensive output in 2005. Injuries played a key role in 2004 as Pepperdine scored just 19 goals. Fodor, who missed 11 matches due to injury, and junior Jennifer Brewer, who did not play the final three matches after suffering a season-ending knee injury, are expected to be at full strength this season.
Both Fodor and Brewer will look to duplicate their performances from their rookie seasons when they totaled 27 and 16 points, respectively. Their return to form plus the continued consistent play of Woods and junior Lindsey Redlin will give the Waves multiple scoring threats.
Freshmen Amanda Rupp (Encinitas, CA / La Costa Canyon HS) and Rosanna Podesta (La Verne, CA / St. Lucy's HS) are also viable options up front. Rupp was a three-time all-league selection at La Costa Canyon HS and a member of the San Diego Surf while Podesta was named her high school team's "Most Valuable Player" and "Offensive Player of the Year" as a senior.
MIDFIELDERS
The midfield should be an area of strength for Pepperdine this season. Seniors Kelsey Quane and Lisa Steepleton along with junior Lauren Treinen and sophomores Samantha Hire and McKenzie Hill have started for the Waves while junior Loretta Younkin and Ashlee Doi have seen extensive playing time.
Hire had a solid rookie campaign in 2004 as she appeared in 17 matches, starting seven, and was named honorable mention All-WCC and selected to the All-Freshman team.
Pepperdine is also expected to receive contributions from a freshman class that includes Erin Bay (Cerritos, CA / Los Alamitos HS), Michaela Carrera (San Diego, CA / Horizon HS) and Emily Wynne (El Cajon, CA / University HS).
Bay was a member of the Southern California Blues and the Cal South Olympic Development Program (ODP) in addition to enjoying a decorated high school career at Los Alamitos High where she was named to the Los Angeles Times' Dream Team in 2005 and was a first team All-Sunset League selection as a junior and senior.
Carrera was a two-time first team All-Coastal South League selection while Wynne garnered All-CIF honors at University High and played for the PQ Premier team.
DEFENDERS
During the past four seasons, defense has been a key in helping Pepperdine advance to postseason play and they play of the defenders in 2005 will also be determining factor in the Waves' success. Pepperdine established a single-season goals-against average mark in 2004 and will have to replace to key players in Sanguinetti and Swanson.
The good news for the Waves is they return Bosio, juniors Caty Mitchell and Courtney Nelson along with sophomores Courtney Young and Meredith Magher. Mitchell and Nelson combined to start 12 matches a year ago while Young received significant playing time.
The Waves also have capable players in freshmen Ashley Copp (Coronado, CA / Coronado HS), Kelsey Baker (Honolulu, HI / Punahou HS) and Jessica Needham (Camarillo, CA / Oaks Christian).
Copp is a gifted athlete who helped Coronado High to a pair of CIF Championships and was a member of the Region IV Olympic Development Program. Baker was tabbed the Hawaii "Player of the Year" by Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Advertiser. Needham was a three-time All-Frontier League first team selection.
GOALKEEPERS
Goalkeeping should be an area of strength for Pepperdine as Waves return Picarelli, who over the last two years has recorded 20.5 shutouts and is the school's all-time career leader with a 0.72 goals-against average.
Backing up Picarelli in goal are sophomore Kathryn Cumming, redshirt freshman Katie Rokus and rookie Kayla Stolte (Santee, CA / West Hills HS). Stolte is a highly-regarded keeper who was named to the San Diego Union Tribune's All-San Diego Section and was a four-year member of the Cal South State Olympic Development team.
SCHEDULE
Pepperdine's 20-match schedule includes 10 teams that appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament and eight teams that are ranked in the Soccer Buzz 2005 Preseason Top 30 poll.
Highlighting the Waves' schedule are home matches against 2004 NCAA runner-up UCLA on October 2 and WCC matches against 2004 co-champions and perennial national powers Portland (October 16) and Santa Clara (November 5).
Pepperdine kicks-off its 2005 season with home matches against Central Florida (August. 26) and Arizona (August 28), two teams that reached the post-season in 2004. Other 2004 NCAA Tournament participants to visit Tari Frahm Rokus Field in 2005 include UNLV (September 23) and Utah (September 30).
The Waves also will battle Kansas, which reached the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament, at the San Diego Tournament on September 9 and will travel to Dallas to meet Southern Methodist on September 18). Pepperdine returns to San Diego later in the season to visit the Toreros in a WCC match on October 28.
The Waves open WCC play with a home match against local rival Loyola Marymount on October 9.
