SAN DIEGO, California – Two key players returning from injury – sophomore forwards
Joelle Anderson and
Devyn Gilfoy – made big contributions as the Pepperdine women's soccer team won its first road match of the season, 1-0, at San Diego State on Friday afternoon.
Gilfoy (Brentwood, Calif./Liberty HS) set up Anderson (San Jose, Calif./Harker School) for the game's only goal in the 81st minute to allow the Waves to improve to 3-5 this season, while dropping the Aztecs to 2-5.
Gilfoy was making her first appearance in nearly a year (Sept. 15, 2017), while Anderson had missed the previous three games. The duo, who both came off the bench, had three of Pepperdine's seven shots on goal.
Pepperdine had the better run of play overall and outshot SDSU 14-4, though the Aztecs had several near-misses, including two shots that hit the post or the crossbar in the first half, and a point-blank shot from less than 10 yards away that went over the bar in the second half.
The Waves momentarily thought they had scored a goal at the end of the first half, but Gilfoy's header was waved off when it was judged to have come after the halftime whistle.
GOALS
Pepperdine '81: Gilfoy centered the ball into the box from the right side and to the feet of Anderson. With one dribble she was able to get past one defender, and before another defender could stop her, she popped the ball over the goalkeeper's head and into the back of the net. It was Anderson's second goal of the season and the 11th of her career.
STATS
Shots: Pepperdine 14, San Diego State 4
Shots on Goal: Pepperdine 7, San Diego State 2
Saves:
Brielle Preece (Pepperdine) 2, Gabby English (SDSU) 6
Corner Kicks: Pepperdine 4, San Diego State 2
Fouls: Pepperdine 4, San Diego State 3
Offside: Pepperdine 2, San Diego State 6
QUOTABLE
Pepperdine Coach
Tim Ward said: "Our subs changed the game, with the return of Joelle and Devyn, plus others like Nicolette (Lewis) and Leyla (McFarland). It's been a long road to recovery for Devyn but she and the others really lifted the team. We've had two shutouts in two games and we're starting to play some really good defense. It's nice to see their growth. The way our midfield pressured the ball was also a massive part of that.
"What a great result. SDSU is very similar to us, talented and young. Even though we didn't get the goal at halftime, that sparked us. We went into halftime with a new resolve, and in the second half we were outstanding. I really felt like we merited more than one goal. But the two girls who had been out made the difference and helped us get the result. The energy, belief and performance was really nice. Everybody was really stoked about this result, we needed it and we got it."
NOTABLE
- Senior goalkeeper Brielle Preece (Livermore, Calif./Granada HS) recorded her 16th career solo shutout, fourth all-time at Pepperdine.
- All three Pepperdine victories this season have been by 1-0 scores.
- Pepperdine scored its first road goal of the season.
- This was the first meeting between Pepperdine and SDSU since 2013. The Waves now lead the all-time series 6-3-0.
NEXT
Pepperdine returns home to host UC Irvine this Sunday (Sept. 16) at 1 p.m. at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. The game will be shown on TheW.tv.
