Pepperdine Drops 1-0 Decision to #16 San Diego

MALIBU, Calif. Â Pepperdine’s women’s soccer team (6-9-2, 1-3 WCC) outshot #16 San Diego, 15-10, but it wasn’t enough as the Toreros left Tari Frahm Rokus Field Friday afternoon with a 1-0 victory.

“That was a good San Diego team and it was really tough to break them down defensively,” Pepperdine head coach Tim Ward said. “We had our chances, but it didn’t feel like we did enough to win Â or to lose for that matter. They got a goal on their set piece and we missed ours.”

San Diego’s (12-4-2, 4-0 WCC) game-winner was scored by Ashley Kirk at the start of the 25th minute, heading in a Natalie Vinti free kick from inside the 18-yard box and into the side netting.

“Set pieces have been our undoing this season, but that one was particularly disappointing since we’ve been defending them well over the past few games,” Ward said.

Pepperdine placed seven of its 15 shots on goal, two of which were on a wide-open net. In the 39th minute, the Waves caught USD goalkeeper Brittany Cameron out of position, but Amanda Rupp’s (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS) shot hit the right post.

As the match was in its final three minutes, Rupp had a shot partially stopped on the ground by Cameron and Kelly Reilly’s (Cardiff, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS) put back attempt from inside the six was denied by a Torero defender at the goal line.

Cameron finished the match with six saves, while Pepperdine’s goalkeeper senior Kayla Stolte (Santee, Calif./West Hills HS) came through with eight, matching a season high.

Stolte’s eight-save efforts have all come in one-goal losses to nationally ranked opponents: #4 UCLA, #3 Portland and #16 San Diego.

Offensively, Rupp led the Waves and all players with five shots. San Diego’s Amy Epstein placed all four of her shots on goal as the Toreros finished the match with a 90 percent shot on goal percentage.

“They really came at us in the second half, but at the same time we didn’t allow them to get lots of chances off running plays,” Ward said. “I’m very proud of the energy and fight we had on display.”

Pepperdine finishes its weekend homestand Sunday with a 1 p.m. contest vs. Santa Clara

Sunday is also Club Soccer Family Day. Members of local club teams interested in attending the Santa Clara match at a discounted rate should contact Pepperdine Athletics Events Coordinator Kevin Borzenski at (310) 506-6018.

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