Major Road Games Await Pepperdine Soccer
9/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Major Road Games Await Pepperdine Soccer
September 23, 2009
Click on the above video for head coach Tim Ward's comments on this weekends matches
MALIBU, Calif. - In the pregame hoopla leading up to last Sunday's home match against Sacramento State the Pepperdine women's soccer team was restless on the sideline while getting amped for a must-win game.
The Waves were still fresh off a tough 3-1 loss at Long Beach State, and as they stood in the circle each one of them took their turn declaring, with confidence, what they would do to win the game. When the circle shifted its attention to starting forward Callie Payetta (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach HS) the rookie striker informs them with all conviction that she is going to play 10 times harder for all the injured players who can't perform.
She says this with senior Kelly Reilly (Cardiff, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS) on her mind. And even though Payetta and Reilly - a defensive midfielder - don't play the same position, Payetta unfailingly recognizes what intangibles the senior team co-captain brings out to the pitch and does her very best to replicate that missing effort on both sides of the ball.
"Callie is awesome when it comes to pressuring the ball," head coach Tim Ward said. "She leads our charge at the line of confrontation and is really gung-ho in her approach. She has this knack to knick the ball and disrupts possessions, which plants seeds of doubt in the mind of a lackadaisical defender. Callie will punish them if they're not alert because she's always playing with her foot on the gas."
Payetta also has a penchant for scoring goals. During her senior year at Huntington Beach, Payetta rattled the net 12 times and was named to the All-Seaview League first team in addition to receiving team MVP honors, and in an August scrimmage against Cal State Fullerton she twice scored off set pieces in a 2-0 victory. Additionally, her game-tying goal against the 49ers was off a 30-yard free kick booted into the six-yard box by Myriah Stockman (Sandy, Utah/Brighton HS).
For close to 54 minutes of the Sacramento State match Payetta and her teammates filled in nicely for Reilly from a defensive standpoint, having limited the Hornets to five shots at that point, but after one of the Waves was dragged to the ground inside the goal mouth, Payetta found herself taking over for Reilly in an offensive sense - as the team's primary penalty kick taker.
Here was Payetta's mission statement coming to fruition, but could she accomplish her goal in such a pressure-packed situation and live up to those pregame sentiments? At halftime sophomore Laura Cole (Whittier, Calif./La Habra HS) said she never wanted to feel the same way again after losing to Long Beach State, so would Payetta deliver that go-ahead score and lead Pepperdine to victory or would freshman jitters get the better of her?
Payetta fired her shot low and to the left. SSU's Savannah Abercrombie slid over to stop the shot, but didn't get anything more than a finger on the ball and watched it take slow roll down the line before getting caught in the side netting.
The team and crowd erupted in jubilation and despite there being more than 35 minutes left to play, the match and all its momentum belonged to the Waves.
"It was a quick sequence," Payetta said of the penalty kick. "I got a little nervous until I saw it go over the line."
"Callie made me look good on that call," Ward added. "We have five very good players for penalty kicks and when I looked out at who we had on the field in that situation, she was the best choice. Callie is mentally tough, a real warrior who is always going to lay it down for the team."
Joining a squad with a combined eight seniors and juniors, Payetta's odds to start the season at forward were already pretty good but she made sure to earn that spot by treating the coaches' offseason workout packet as a sacred text. Each and every day Payetta read over what was required of her and entered preseason camp in tip-top shape.
She continues to work hard in practice, knowing that the only way Pepperdine gets back to the NCAAs is by pushing it hard every day and never quitting.
"It wasn't easy, but doing what the coaches told me to do through the packet really helped," she said. "Now I'm working my butt off in practice every day and giving it 110 percent. There are some days I want to give up, but I keep it going because I love playing. I want to beat everyone and get us back to the NCAAs - this goal really has us psyched."
Two victories on an upcoming road trip will certainly help distinguish Pepperdine's NCAA résumé and improve its RPI. This weekend's venture rolls the Waves through Tempe for a Friday night game against Arizona State and Salt Lake City for a Sunday afternoon tilt with Utah. Pepperdine has played both non-conference opponents regularly since 2004 and owns an all-time combined record of 4-1-4 (.667) against them.
The Waves and Utes played to a 2-2 tie at their last meeting in 2007. Pepperdine also claimed a strikingly similar result against the Sun Devils last year at Tari Frahm Rokus Field as those schools battled to a 1-1 deadlock.
Arizona State enters this weekend with a 5-1-2 win-loss record and is unbeaten over its last five contests since losing to Kansas 1-0 during the First Tennessee Lady Vol Classic on Aug. 30. Among ASU's more notable decisions this season are a 3-2 win over Tennessee and a pair of 1-1 ties against No. 8 Virginia and Nebraska.
Alexandra Elston leads the Sun Devil's offense with seven points on three goals and one assist, while goalkeeper Briana Silvestri has pitched two shutouts en route to a 0.82 goals-against average.
Utah has the luxury of having an extra day's rest prior to its 1 p.m. battle with the Waves. The Utes first will play in-state rival Utah State at Rio Tinto Stadium in nearby Sandy, Utah Thursday at 7 p.m. before welcoming the Waves at their on-campus facility.
Utah is 5-4-1 this season, a roller-coaster type record that's featured as many quality victories (Cal State Fullerton, Santa Clara) as head-scratching losses (Weber State, William & Mary). The Utes have gone winless over their last three contests, including a 6-1 loss at UCLA and 2-2 tie with Loyola Marymount, following a 5-2 start.
Five Utes have scored two or more goals this season led by Kelly Isleib with four (11 points overall). Hannah Turpen has played all but 78 minutes in goal and has shutout three opponents to go along with her 1.41 GAA and .698 save percentage.
