Waves Finish Season at Gonzaga
11/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
UPCOMING — The Pepperdine women’s soccer team (5-7-6 overall, 2-3-1 WCC, fifth place) closes out the 2007 season at Gonzaga on Saturday.
MATCH #19 — Saturday (Nov. 10) at Martin Field in Spokane, Wash.: Pepperdine at Gonzaga (11-7-1, 2-4-0, tied for sixth place) at 1 p.m.
OPPONENT INFO — Pepperdine is 10-3-1 all-time against Gonzaga, including a 4-1-1 mark in Spokane. The Bulldogs earned all three of their wins in the series from 2003-05, but the Waves ended that with a 3-0 win in Malibu last season. The last meeting in Spokane resulted in a 2-0 Gonzaga victory in 2004.
LAST WEEK — Third-ranked Portland clinched the WCC title and spoiled Pepperdine’s Senior Day festivities with a 2-0 win at Rokus Field on Sunday (Nov. 4). The Pilots scored goals in the third and 86th minutes and outshot the Waves 12-3.
TOUGH SCHEDULE — Pepperdine’s record can partly be explained by the fact that the Waves have played one of the most difficult schedules in the country. The win-loss total of Pepperdine’s 18 opponents thus far is 180-98-53 (.624) according to the NSCAA scoreboard. And, according to www.soccerratings.com, at one point this season Pepperdine had the highest-rated strength of schedule in the country. Two weeks ago, the site ranked Pepperdine at #48 nationally despite having only three wins at the time (no one else in the top 70 had fewer than six wins). The Waves were still ranked #48 as of last week.
CLOSE CALLS — What might Pepperdine’s record be if they had scored just one more goal here or one more goal there? Five of Pepperdine’s seven losses have been by one goal, and the other two were by two goals. Also, six ties sets a new school record, surpassing the four that were recorded in 1998.
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 fourth in the conference in goals-against average (0.98) and sixth in goals scored (1.22) ... Kayla Stolte is fourth in goals-against average (0.94) and fifth in saves (3.6 per game) ... Amanda Rupp is tied for fifth in assists (five) and tied for ninth in goals (five) and points (15) ... Emily Wynne is fourth in shots per game (2.3).
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 Francisco 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.
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.
