Women's Soccer Hosts Cal Poly, #21 Arizona State
9/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 21, 2010
Pepperdine Women's Soccer Notes 
MALIBU, Calif. -- The Pepperdine women's soccer team has two home games this week against Cal Poly and #21 Arizona State -- the Waves' last two home matches until late October, as the next five are on the road. Pepperdine has won every other match this season and will try for its first two-game winning streak of the season against Cal Poly. This weekend's matches are the midpoint of the regular season.
MATCH #10 -- Friday (Sept. 24) at Tari Frahm Rokus Field: Pepperdine (5-3-1) vs. Cal Poly (4-4-0) at 3 p.m.
MATCH #11 -- Sunday (Sept. 26) at Tari Frahm Rokus Field: Pepperdine vs. #21 Arizona State (6-1-1) at 1 p.m.
ON THE WEB -- Live internet statistics via Gametracker will be available for all home matches at www.pepperdinesports.com. A link to the opponents' live stats program will be provided for road games.
TICKETS -- Single-game prices are $8 for adults, $5 for students/seniors/children and free to all Pepperdine students, faculty and staff (and their dependents) with a valid Pepperdine ID. A season pass costs just $36. Call the Ticket Office at (866) WAVE-TIX for more information.
PROMOTIONS -- Sunday's match is "Club Soccer Day" and all clubs will get in for free. There is a form on pepperdinesports.com that must be completed by Friday to get free admission. The Waves will then sign autographs after the match.
CAL POLY -- Pepperdine is 3-4-1 all-time against Cal Poly, though it's a 2-1-1 mark in Malibu. The schools haven't met since 2006 and a 2-1 overtime victory at home for the Mustangs. The last time the schools played in Malibu, ti was a 3-2 overtime victory for the Waves in 2001. The teams have played two teams in common: both squads won at Hawaii, while the Waves beat Arizona (4-2) and Cal Poly lost to the Wildcats (4-2).
ARIZONA STATE -- Pepperdine is 3-1-2 all-time against Arizona State. The Sun Devils won for the first time in the series last season in Tempe, 1-0. This is the third year in a row the schools have met. In 2008 in Malibu, the match ended in a 1-1 tie.
LAST WEEKEND -- The Waves won one and lost one at the Hawaii Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Soccer Classic over the weekend. They fell to tourney champ Washington State, 1-0, before rebounding to beat the Rainbow Wahine, 2-0. Pepperdine lost to WSU despite advantages of shots (10-6) and corner kicks (7-2). Michelle Spacciapolli and Callie Payetta scored goals in each half in the win against Hawaii, and Pepperdine enjoyed a 13-4 shot advantage.
WCC STATS -- Among conference teams, Pepperdine is second in goals per game (1.78), fifth in shots per game (12.11) and sixth in goals-against average (0.87) ... Laura Cole is second in game-winning goals (three), tied for third in goals per game (0.56) and fifth in points per game (1.22) ... Roxanne Barker is tied for fourth in saves per game (4.00) and sixth in goals-against average (0.79) ... Anisa Guajardo is sixth in points (1.11), tied for sixth in goals (0.44) and tied for sixth in shots (2.56) ... Michelle Spacciapolli is tied for sixth in shots (2.56).
COLE -- Pepperdine is unbeaten when junior forward Laura Cole (Whittier, Calif./La Habra HS) scores a point this season. They're 5-0-1 when she has a goal or an assist, 0-3 when she hasn't. Cole notched six goals as a 2008 freshman (earned All-WCC honorable mention and WCC All-Freshman honors), but was kept off the scoresheet entirely in 2009. She has bounced back in excellent form with team highs of five goals and 11 points thus far in 2010.
GUAJARDO -- Sophomore forward Anisa Guajardo (Clovis, Calif./Buchanan HS) scored four goals in the season's first five games, quickly surpassing her freshman total of two tallies. She's the first Pepperdine player to record at least four goals and 10 points after five games since Emily Wynne in 2006.
2010 NOTES -- Pepperdine won on opening day (8/20 vs. Fresno State) for the second year in a row and the sixth time in the last eight years ... Pepperdine's four-goal output vs. Arizona (8/29) was the first time the Waves scored more than two goals since the end of the 2008 season ... Pepperdine had four different goal-scorers vs. Arizona (and again against Detroit), the first time that had happened since midway through the 2008 season ... Pepperdine has scored first in seven of nine games ... Pepperdine is 5-0 when scoring a goal in the first half.
2010 HONORS -- Anisa Guajardo was named the Player of the Week by L.A. Soccer News on Sept. 7 (which includes all area college and pro teams, men and women) ... Gunny Jonsdottir, Michelle Manning and Michelle Spacciapolli made the all-tournament team in San Diego ... Spacciapolli, Katie Gallanes, Michelle Pao and Ana Pontes made the all-tournament team in Hawaii ... Spacciapolli, an All-WCC second team selection in 2009, was named to the preseason All-WCC squad ... Jonsdottir is ranked #56 on Top Drawer Soccer's list of the country's top freshmen.
BIO HIGHLIGHTS -- Gunny Jonsdottir is a member of the Iceland National Team ... Four Waves played in the U-23 club national championship match this summer: Rebecca Klamser and Kelsea Smith for the winning Camarillo Eagles team and Anisa Guajardo and Myriah Stockman on the second-place Arizona Rush side ... Katie Gallanes also won a club national championship this summer with the U-17 So Cal Blues.
2010 ROSTER -- The Waves bring back 14 of 24 letterwinners (including eight of 11 starters) as well as two redshirts, while eight newcomers complete the roster. Returning players account for 11 of the 18 goals (61%) and seven of the 11 assists (64%). The roster consists of just two seniors (Haleigh Guertin, now in her fourth year as a starting defender; and Michaela Carrera, a sixth-year senior), six juniors, eight sophomores, one redshirt freshman and seven true freshmen.
WARD -- Part of the program from nearly the beginning, Tim Ward is in his 13th season as the Waves' head coach. He entered the 2010 season with a 135-75-30 (.583) record with eight seasons of double-digit victories. His teams have posted nine winning seasons and five NCAA Tournament berths, including the Sweet 16 in 2002 and 2005. Ward has been with the women's soccer program for 17 of its 18 seasons, as he was an assistant coach from 1994-97 before being elevated to head coach.
SCHEDULE -- Twelve of Pepperdine's 20 matches come against teams that posted a .500 record or better in 2009, and six advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Waves will face nearly half the Pac-10 (Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA and Washington State) and will play in tournaments hosted by San Diego and Hawaii. Pepperdine will play a total of nine home games.
WCC PRESEASON POLL -- The Waves were picked to finish fourth in the conference in a preseason vote of the league's coaches. The predicted order went as follows: Portland, Santa Clara, San Diego, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary's, Gonzaga and San Francisco.
2009 IN REVIEW -- The Waves went 11-7-1 last season, good for their 11th double-digit win season and first since 2006. Pepperdine narrowly missed out on an NCAA Tournament berth after finishing 3-3-1 in the WCC, good for a tie for fourth place. Kelly Reilly and Michelle Spacciapolli made the NSCAA All-West Region second team, while Sophia Medina was on the third team. All-WCC honors saw Medina on the first team, Roxanne Barker, Reilly and Spacciapolli on the second team and Cammie Burke and Kelsea Smith on honorable mention.
GOALS -- It's the same for every team, but a particular area of emphasis for the Waves is putting the ball in the back of the net in 2010. Despite last year's successful record with 11 wins, the Waves managed just 18 goals in 19 games, were shut out six times and never scored more than twice in any one contest. Michelle Spacciapolli and Callie Payetta are the top returning goal-scorers with four apiece in 2009, while Anisa Guajardo netted two in limited action and Michelle Manning had one.
WOMEN'S SOCCER HISTORY -- One of Pepperdine's youngest programs (it was established in 1993), the women's soccer team has also been one of its most successful over the last decade with five NCAA Tournament appearances, including Sweet Sixteen berths in 2002 and 2005. The Waves have posted winning seasons in 12 of their 17 seasons, including 11 years with double-digit victories.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE -- Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won a total of nine NCAA championships in five different men's sports -- one of just 14 schools to have accomplished this feat. Of the 14, Pepperdine is the only non-BCS school and has by far the smallest enrollment. The majority of Pepperdine's teams are ranked nationally year after year and compete for conference and national titles.
