MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine women's soccer team got the 2019 season off to an excellent start, shutting out UC Riverside 3-0 on Thursday afternoon at Tari Frahm Rokus Field.
 
Despite winning 11 games last year, the Waves (1-0) never scored more than two goals in a game. This was their best scoring output in the last 22 games.
 
After UC Riverside (0-1) opened the scoring with an own goal, junior forward Brie Welch (Arroyo Grande, Calif./Arroyo Grande HS) and freshman midfielder Shelby Little (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Hillcrest Christian HS) got on the scoresheet.
 
GOALS
 
Pepperdine 39': Sophomore defender Trinity Watson (Ocean Beach, Calif./Point Loma HS) sent in a free kick from the right side, and with a Pepperdine attacker threatening just outside the goal box, a UCR defender inadvertently deflected the ball past her own goalkeeper.
 
Pepperdine 45': Less than 15 seconds before halftime, the Waves struck again. After a corner kick, sophomore defender Erin Sinai (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS) took a clearance and headed it into the middle and to the feet of sophomore midfielder Madi Cook (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Tesoro HS), who played it ahead of Welch. She beat the goalkeeper to the right with her left foot for her eighth career goal.
 
Pepperdine 68': Little scored on her Pepperdine debut as junior forward Calista Reyes (Las Vegas, Nev./Sierra Vista HS) got the ball ahead of junior forward Joelle Anderson (San Jose, Calif./Harker School) on the right. Anderson sent the ball toward goal, and it was deflected by the goalkeeper right to Little, who sent it home from just a few yards away.
 
STATS
 
Shots: Pepperdine 10, UC Riverside 4
Shots on Goal: Pepperdine 5, UC Riverside 0
Saves: Zoe Clevely (Pepperdine) 0, Annie Bailey (UC Riverside) 3
Corner Kicks: Pepperdine 12, UC Riverside 1
Fouls: Pepperdine 11, UC Riverside 10
Offside: Pepperdine 2, UC Riverside 0
 
QUOTABLE
 
Pepperdine Coach Tim Ward said: "It was a scrappy game, and that's to be expected in the first game out of the gates. To get a 3-0 result on your home field, you can never complain about that. There were some really good moments, and some moments we have to work on, and that's what you want in your first game."
 
NOTABLE

• This was the first-ever meeting between the Waves and Highlanders.
• Pepperdine is now 17-6-4 all-time in season openers, and 14-3-1 in games that double as the home and season opener.
• Clevely (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison HS) didn't need to make a save in recording her first career shutout.
• Sinai and redshirt freshman midfielder Olivia Packer (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde HS) made their first career starts.

NEXT
 
Pepperdine's four-match homestand continues Sunday (August 25) against #12 Texas A&M at 1 p.m. The match will be shown on the WCC Network.