Waves Send Off Seniors Sunday vs. Saint Mary's
11/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
MALIBU, Calif. - The end of senior Alexis Farler's collegiate career was summed up in three words - snap, crackle and pop.
"I normally have a high tolerance for pain but I was screaming bloody murder," recalled Farler, a victim of a torn left anterior cruciate ligament. "We were playing a small-sided game. I went to flick the ball and heard this nasty snap, crackle and pop as soon as I turned. My leg collapsed underneath me as soon as it happened."
The coaches stopped practice and sent everyone home. Farler lay on the ground receiving treatment from the team's athletic trainers.
An ACL injury is different for everybody but its just plain "weird" for Farler. A week following her mishap she could still drive, attend classes, walk around and even swim. She could do most anything she wanted to but run.
And that what makes this injury such a bummer. A strong soccer player such as herself is capable of doing most any mundane task, but they can forget about trying to cut and run on that knee until at least six to eight months of treatment have gone by.
Farler underwent surgery this past Wednesday and is currently laid up in her apartment, getting around on crutches. She's in good spirits but sounds tired and frail. Luckily, though, she has three roommates to provide fellowship and her mom and stepdad are coming in from Sacramento for Sunday's home finale against Saint Mary's.
They'll be escorting her onto the field during pregame ceremonies for Senior Day, in what will definitely be a bittersweet moment for all involved.
Since her injury, Farler has displayed a tremendous amount of support in her new found role as spectator. She drove to Santa Clara last week, and came up to Tari Frahm Rokus Field for the first half of Thursday's match against Seattle.
Too bad she didn't feel better because she missed classmate Sophia Medina's game-winner in the 63rd minute.
"I've taken on a more supportive role with the team," she said. "I still want to play and make an impact, but this injury gives me a chance to assist in a different way. I can keep cheering them on and be loud from the bench even though it's not always easy."
But don't rush to pity Farler. This girl has a lot going on for her away from the field.
Where to begin? Well, for starters she recently interviewed over the phone with both E & J Gallo Winery and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and is hoping to receive face-to-face interviews in the coming week.
And this past summer, Farler, an organizational communications major, traveled down the East Coast with Project L.E.A.D. (Leadership Education and Development) and later went with Rotaract to Tijuana, Mexico, where she volunteered at an orphanage.
Farler is quite learned about her potential future employers and sounds like she'd be the perfect fit for either selling wine or educating the public on social issues.
"A job with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group would help me get more involved in the community," Farler said. "I'm particularly interested in eliminating hunger because we waste so much food that could be going back to orphans or low-income families.
"I also want to develop better opportunities for higher education. There are less scholarship offers in a bad economy and I want find people willing to sponsor students."
Farler's role within Project L.E.A.D underscored her commitment to education. On this trip, which took place during spring break, she joined 11 other students to engage in the concepts and applications of leadership principles and service.
During their weeklong road trip stretching from Boston to Washington D.C., Farler and her colleagues conducted leadership workshops and seminars with local high school and middle school students. They also participated in small group meetings with prominent community and national leaders in fields such as business, politics, Christianity, education, media, and social activism.
All participants were required to be involved in the planning stages of the trip, from choosing the destination, to setting meetings with leaders, to developing and scheduling leadership workshops for local schools.
"I was in charge of the Boston school on our first day," Farler said, "and it was great to see all our hard work and planning come through. I then took on a supporter role for the rest of the trip, but I still believe you can still lead even when you are being led."
At heart, Farler is still a competitor and it's very likely she'll be just as active on the weekends as she is during the work week. And while she hasn't completely put her soccer career to rest, Farler's latest mission is to become a tri-athlete.
With a mind still very much set on competing, what better way to retain that competitive edge than by testing the limits of one's body through running, swimming and biking.
"Competing in a triathlon is something I can work toward even at this stage," she said. "I just want to stay healthy and have fun. And since everything's pretty much in a straight line I don't have to worry about cutting or anything else that's crazy."
Match Preview: Pepperdine's all-time series with Saint Mary's is tied at 6-6-3. The Waves are 5-0-2 against the Gales since 2002 and have outscored them 9-1 over their previous two meetings.
Saint Mary's entered conference season three games over .500 at 8-5, but has had a rough time against its WCC opponents. The Gaels are 1-4 in conference play and have lost three of their matches by one goal, including two in overtime to San Francisco and Santa Clara.
Jessica Menzhuber, Daelyn Paul and Ashley Nied all have produced double-digit point totals for a Gaels' offense that has scored 24 goals. Menzhuber leads the club with 24 points on 10 goals and four assists.
The Gaels' defense is anchored by goalkeeper Tara Larson, who is 9-8 this season with two shutouts, 68 saves and 1.62 goals-against average.
SMC has allowed 37 goals, but 17 of those were in losses to No. 18 Colorado, No. 9 California and No. 2 Portland. No other opponent has scored more than twice on them in any game this year.
The Waves snapped a two-game losing streak Thursday with a 1-0 victory over Seattle University at Tari Frahm Rokus Field, where they've posted a 7-2-1 record. Medina scored her team-best fourth game-winning goal in the 63rd minute after receiving an assist from sophomore Laura Cole (Whittier, Calif./La Habra HS).
Defensively, the Waves thwarted three Redhawks corner kick attacks in the second half to give freshman netminder Roxanne Barker (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) her eighth shutout of 2009. Barker's season shutout total is tied with Anna Picarelli for the third highest in the program's history. She can tie Picarelli's season record of 10 with two more shutouts over the next two matches against SMC and San Francisco (Nov. 7).
Pepperdine's seven wins at home are its most at Tari Frahm since finishing 7-0-2 in 2006.
Promotions: It's a Girls High School Weekend at Tari Frahm Rokus Field for the Waves' match Sunday against Saint Mary's. Girls' high school soccer teams may receive free admission for either game by submitting an online form that can be found off the Pepperdine Women's Soccer Promotion page.
