Pepperdine and Saint Mary's Box Score (Nov. 1, 2009) 
UNLIKELY HEROES SAVE WAVES ON SENIOR DAY
November 1, 2009
Click on the above video for Tim Ward's postmatch comments following Pepperdine's 2-1 victory over Saint Mary's.
Box Score
MALIBU, Calif. - "Who are you?"
That was the question asked of freshman striker Anisa Guajardo (Clovis, Calif./Buchanan HS) by a teammate after she scored both goals in Pepperdine's 2-1 win over Saint Mary's Sunday at Tari Frahm Rokus Field.
It was a fair question to ask of Guajardo, who had only made four previous appearances this season totaling 95 minutes.
But with her team trailing 1-0 in front of a Senior Day crowd of 326 fans, Guajardo made the most of her 18 minutes of play and promptly delivered the game-tying and game-winning goals in the 46th and 63rd minutes.
"I'm just sorry I couldn't have done this earlier in the season," a humbled Guarjardo said. "Coach and I have been practicing together and it was great to see my hard work pay off and to do this on Senior Day, our last home game. It was nice to return the favor to these seniors who have been helping me all year long."
Guajardo first struck 54 seconds into the second half after receiving a deep ball from goalkeeper Roxanne Barker (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS). Guajardo quickly settled the ball to her foot and immediately made a charge inside the 18-yard box.
"There was a little luck involved on that goal," she said. "There was a miscommunication between two of their defenders and I just ran through with the ball. I just know I didn't want to shank it, and if I didn't beat their goalkeeper it would have been sad."
There was a bit more skill involved on Guajardo's second goal, which was assisted by redshirt junior Rebecca Klamser (Ventura, Calif./Buena HS).
"When Becca laid that ball off to me it was easy to tuck away," Guajardo said. "That was a beautiful piece of skill and I'm sure another teammate helped on the other side by distracting a defender."
Klamser's assist was her first since her freshman year of 2007.
The Waves weren't quite out of the woods after taking the lead and had to survive some close calls over the final 27 minutes of regulation.
Saint Mary's fired nine of its 15 shots in the second half, two of which were blocked and four of which were either saved by Barker or one of her defensive teammates. The Gaels even had a goal taken off the board due to an offsides penalty.
Then, from the 85th through 87th minutes, SMC saw a Caroline Shevlin shot just miss wide, Barker getting her fingertips on a Alex Ciliento hook, and a Pepperdine defender taking one for the team in saving Daelyn Paul's bullet at the far post.
Barker's fifth and final save came with two ticks left on the clock, catching Ashley Nied's midfield bomb.
Barker stopped two of the first three shots she faced in the first half before Ciliento banked her third goal of the year off the near post.
Saint Mary's goal was set up off an indirect free kick following one of 12 Pepperdine fouls. Caroline Kreuz's kick first found Paul, who one-touched it over to Ciliento, who then banked in her shot perfectly past Barker's outstretched arm.
Pepperdine slowed down Saint Mary's for a bit following that score and out shot them for the game, 21-15. The Waves also held an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks.
Sunday's victory raised Pepperdine's overall record to 10-7-1 and 2-3-1 within the West Coast Conference. Saint Mary's fell to 9-10 and 1-5 against the WCC.
Pepperdine wraps its regular season this coming Saturday at San Francisco. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
