PALO ALTO, California – The Pepperdine women's soccer team was on the verge of beating #3 Stanford for the second season in a row, but the reigning national champions scored twice in the final eight minutes for a 2-1 non-conference victory on Friday.
Victoria Romero gave Pepperdine (1-2) a 1-0 lead in the 71st minute, but the Cardinal (1-0) equalized in the 83rd minute and then converted a penalty kick in the 87th minute.
It was impressive performance overall for the Waves, who outshot the Cardinal 14-10 and had a 6-3 edge in shots on goal.
GOALS
Pepperdine 71': Junior forward
Leyla McFarland (Bonita, Calif./Eastlake HS) played the ball ahead to freshman forward
Victoria Romero (Claremont, Calif./The Webb Schools), who got in on a breakaway. The onrushing Stanford goalkeeper stopped Romero's first attempt, but the rebound came back to the freshman, and she buried her second try for her first career goal.
Stanford 83': The Waves' defense attempted to clear the ball from deep in their area, but only got it about 25 yards out and to the feet of Stanford's Sierra Enge. After two quick dribbles, she arced a perfectly placed shot over the Pepperdine goalkeeper.
Stanford 87': A foul was called in the box by the Waves' defense against the Cardinal's Madison Haley, and Civana Kuhlmann converted the penalty kick.
STATS
Shots: Pepperdine 14, Stanford 10
Shots on Goal: Pepperdine 6, Stanford 3
Saves:
Kinsey Ehmann (Pepperdine) 1, Katie Meyer (Stanford) 5
Corner Kicks: Pepperdine 1, Stanford 3
Fouls: Pepperdine 15, Stanford 6
Offside: Pepperdine 1, Stanford 2
QUOTABLE
Pepperdine Coach
Tim Ward said: "I've never been more proud of a team's performance. We went at them, toe to toe. The first half, we were all over them. I thought we created the best chances in the game. We had enough chances to score four or five goals and that's a rarity against a team like Stanford. Both teams were trying to win. Last year's win was very different, even though we won, it was a matter of just hanging on after we scored in the first half. This time we kept playing. They're the reigning national champs and we gave them everything they can handle. Unfortunately the game was decided by a penalty kick, and that was a bummer. It's a tough one to take."
NOTABLE
- Pepperdine handed Stanford its only loss, 1-0 in Malibu, during the Cardinal's run to the NCAA championship in 2019. In fact, the Waves are the only team to beat the Cardinal in the last 800+ days.
- This was Stanford's first win against Pepperdine. The Waves had won the previous two meetings.
- Pepperdine's two losses this season have come to nationally ranked Pac-12 teams but the Waves have outshot both of them (#4 UCLA was the other).
- McFarland was credited with a team-high four shots for the Waves.
NEXT
Pepperdine begins West Coast Conference play next Saturday (Feb. 27) at Saint Mary's at 1 p.m.
