Women's Soccer Hosts Sacramento State, Hawaii
10/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
UPCOMING — The Pepperdine women’s soccer team (2-4-3), unbeaten in its last four games, finishes off a seven-game non-conference homestand with contests against Sacramento State and Hawaii this weekend.
MATCH #10 — Friday (Oct. 5) at Tari Frahm Rokus Field: Pepperdine vs. Sacramento State (6-2-1) at 3 p.m.
MATCH #11 — Sunday (Oct. 7) at Tari Frahm Rokus Field: Pepperdine vs. Hawaii (7-2-1) at 1 p.m.
TICKETS — Single-match tickets to all home women’s soccer games are $8 for adults, $5 for students and seniors and free to all Pepperdine students and faculty with a university ID.
OPPONENT INFO — In the only previous meeting between Pepperdine and Sacramento State, the Waves recorded a 4-0 home win in 1996 ... Pepperdine has never lost to Hawaii, winning all four previous games. The Waves won the last meeting, 2-0, in Malibu in 2005.
LAST WEEKEND — The Waves battled a strong Utah squad to a 2-2 tie last Friday in Malibu. The Waves took a first-half lead on an Amanda Rupp goal and a second-half lead on a Courtney Price goal, but both times, Utah’s Adele Letro tied the game with her 10th and 11th goals of the season. Pepperdine then defeated Cal State Northridge, 3-1, on Sunday in Malibu, with Kylie McDonald and Nicole Romanowski scoring their first collegiate goals and Sophia Medina getting the other.
TOUGH SCHEDULE — Although the Waves began the season with an 0-4-1 record, head coach Tim Ward still saw promise and felt his team was improving game after game. Now unbeaten in its last four matches (including a tie against then-#6 UCLA), the Waves are heating up. Three of the first seven games were against ranked opponents and Pepperdine went 0-1-2 in those matchups. The win-loss total of Pepperdine’s nine opponents thus far is 48-25-15 (.631) according to the NSCAA scoreboard.
YOUTH — The nucleus of Pepperdine’s team will be together for two straight years, as the 2007 Waves have only three seniors, two of whom are in their final year of eligibility. The breakdown is as follows: three seniors, eight juniors, six sophomores and seven freshmen.
WCC STATS — Pepperdine is sixth in the conference in goals-against average (0.93) ... Kayla Stolte is sixth in goals-against average (0.93) and tied for seventh in saves (3.3) ... Sophia Medina, Amanda Rupp and Emily Wynne are tied for eighth in assists (two).
TIM WARD — Now in his 10th year as head coach of the Waves, Tim Ward has developed Pepperdine to where it is on the verge of being a national power. The Waves have made the NCAA Tournament in five of the last six years. Ward has been with Pepperdine from nearly the beginning, as the program was established in 1993 and he became an assistant coach in 1994 before being elevated to the head position in 1998.
GOOD WORK — One of the team’s goals is to be the most socially conscious program in the country, so most Pepperdine women’s soccer players weren’t wasting away the summer at the beach. Among the interesting accomplishments from summer 2007: senior midfielder McKenzie Hill, junior midfielder Jenna Shay and junior forward Emily Wynne spent three weeks in Uganda, Africa, putting on soccer clinics and volunteering at a medical clinic in a rural village ... Freshman defender Cammie Burke did a month of community service in Fiji ... Junior defender Ashley Copp studied vertebrate biology in Argentina ... Junior forward Amanda Rupp studied in Florence, Italy ... Junior midfielder Samantha Hire and junior defender Michaela Carrera went on a mission trip to Honduras.
WCC PRESEASON POLL — The Waves were picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference in 2007 in a preseason vote of the coaches. Only long-time powers Portland and Santa Clara ranked ahead of Pepperdine. Following the Waves in the voting were San Diego, Loyola Marymount, Gonzaga, San Franciso and Saint Mary’s.
PEPPERDINE HISTORY — The Waves have made five NCAA Tournament appearances in their 14-year history, with all of them coming in the last six years. Pepperdine advanced to the Sweet 16 in both 2002 and 2005. The Waves also captured a share of the 2002 WCC title.
2006 RECAP — The Waves fell on the bubble heading into the 2006 postseason and unfortunately were not awarded an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament despite an 11-6-3 record and a third-place finish in the WCC at 4-2-1. Lindsey Redlin and Emily Wynne each tied a school record with 10 assists and made the All-WCC first team and second team, respectively. Kelsey Baker was also on the second team and Jen Brewer and Sophia Medina were honorable mention. Medina and Courtney Price made the WCC All-Freshman team.
TARI FRAHM ROKUS FIELD — Located on the campus of Pepperdine University, Tari Frahm Rokus Field might just be the most beautiful soccer facility in the nation with its view of the Pacific Ocean. It has been the Waves’ home field since the program was established in 1993. The Waves have won more than 70 percent of their home games at Rokus Field, which is surrounded by the Stotsenberg Track.
UP NEXT — The Waves play their first road game in a month at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Oct. 11, then open WCC play at home against local rival Loyola Marymount on Sunday, Oct. 14.
