Wynne Leads Waves to 2-0 Win at Gonzaga

SPOKANE, Wash. Â Emily Wynne scored three points and Kayla Stolte pitched her fourth shutout of 2008 as Pepperdine defeated West Coast Conference rival Gonzaga, 2-0, Friday afternoon.

The Waves’ victory was their first on the Bulldogs’ home turf since 2002 and raised their record to 6-7-2 (1-1 WCC). Gonzaga fell to 5-8-2 (0-2 WCC) with the loss.

"Four of our last five performances have been really good, but there's been the matter of getting our forwards on the scoreboard, which we did today," Pepperdine head coach Tim Ward said. "The whole team played real well and I'm proud of the overall performance."

Wynne’s (El Cajon, Calif./University HS) fourth multi-point game of the season was the result of a game-winning assist to freshman Laura Cole (Whittier, Calif./La Habra HS) in the 17th minute and an insurance goal in the 52nd. Pepperdine’s tri-captain is tied with Cole for second on the team with 10 points.

Senior Amanda Rupp (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon) leads all Waves with 19 points on seven goals and five assists.

Wynne’s assist was a cross through traffic from the left side over to Cole, who punched the ball in from close range. The assist was Wynne’s fourth of 2008; she needs one more to reach 20 for her career.

Cole’s score was her fourth of the season and Pepperdine’s first against conference opposition.

"The first goal helped us relax and play," Ward said. "Wynne took the ball down there and Ashley Copp (Coronado, Calif./Coronado HS) was able to get in the way of some people, which allowed Cole to drop the ball into the far corner." 

Wynne put the game out of reach early in the second half after beating Gonzaga goalkeeper Lauren Ames inside the 18-yard box. Wynne dribbled the ball to about 15 yards back of the goal line where she rifled a shot into the right side of the netting.

"Emily was composed with the ball the entire time and finished off her shot with confidence," Ward said. 

Pepperdine was credited with 13 shots, including seven in the second half, and placed four on goal. Wynne led all strikers with five attempts.

Defensively, Pepperdine remained stout as it limited the Bulldogs to four shots, and Stolte’s (Santee, Calif./West Hills HS) lone save on a Sara Rhodes’ shot came just inside the 15th minute.

As a team, the Waves have pitched six shutouts this season and haven’t allowed two or more goals in a game since last month. Their goals-against average following Friday’s win stands at 1.03.

Pepperdine has a noon match to play Sunday at #3 Portland before it returns to Tari Frahm Rokus Field next week for the first time in close to a month. The Waves are 4-3-1 on their home pitch this season.

Related News

Footer