Pepperdine Edged by UCLA, 1-0

LOS ANGELES, Calif. Â The secret is out. The real reason why #4 UCLA (8-0-2) pitches as many shutouts as it does is because the Drake Stadium goalposts make as many saves as the goalkeepers.

Or at least that seemed like the case Friday night as the Pepperdine women’s soccer team (4-6-2) was blanked 1-0 by Bruin goalkeeper Ashley Thompson, who turned back seven shots in pitching UCLA’s ninth straight shutout.

The posts and crossbars took turns stopping four shots taken between the two teams.

Freshman Laura Cole (Whittier, Calif./La Habra HS) hit the crossbar in the first half, and early in the second, rookie Myriah Stockman’s (Sandy, Utah/Brighton HS) blast hit the upper 90 and off Thompson’s leg on the way down.

“We were two post shots from either winning or tying this match,” Pepperdine head coach Tim Ward said. “The team gave us some good looks in the second half, but we ran into just some tough luck.”

But despite the problems involving the opposing frames, the Waves gave all they had and left everything on the field for 90 minutes, taking 12 shots to UCLA’s 17 and saving nine attempts to the Bruins seven.

The only statistical categories in which the Bruins held a distinct advantage were corner kicks and substitutions. However, the Waves diffused all six of the Bruin corners with 10 of 11 of their players pitching a complete game.

“As far as losses go, this was probably one of our better ones,” Ward said. “I really felt that we played some of our best soccer of the season tonight against a very good team; I’m proud of the composure and discipline we displayed on the field.”

Pepperdine’s lone gaffe was a Lauren Cheney goal allowed in the fifth minute. The Bruin junior ran across the top of the goal and fired a right-footed shot to the left corner. Cheney was assisted on the running play by Sydney Leroux and Christina DiMartino.

“That was a quality goal scored by an Olympic gold medalist,” Ward said.

Kayla Stolte (Santee, Calif./West Hills HS) and the Pepperdine defense played flawlessly the rest of the way, as the senior netminder came through with a season high eight saves, six of which were made in the first half.

Kelsey Baker (Honolulu, Hawai’i/Punahou School) also came through with a critical team save, clearing a shot off the line taken by Leroux.

Ward said the team defended hard and everyone represented Pepperdine in a magnificent way.

“If we continue to have this form and play with this level of sophistication, I really like our chances heading into conference play,” he said.

Pepperdine challenged Thompson inside the 42nd minute with three close-range shots. Shots taken by Amanda Rupp (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS) and Emily Wynne (El Cajon, Calif./University HS) were saved at the near post, and a second opportunity by Rupp was blocked by a defender.

In the 12th minute, Ashley Copp pushed a free kick around the wall, but Thompson was there to save the bullet.

 

For the match, the Waves placed seven of their12 shots on goal and UCLA fired 10 of its 17 attempts on frame.

Pepperdine has Sunday off and won’t return to the pitch until Wednesday for a 7 p.m. match at Cal State Bakersfield.

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