MALIBU, California – The #25 Pepperdine women's soccer team doubled up #16 BYU in shots but the Cougars came away from Tari Frahm Rokus Field with a 2-1 West Coast Conference win on Saturday.
 
Despite a 16-8 shot advantage, the Waves (6-4-1, 5-2-1) lost to the Cougars (10-3-1, 7-1-1) for the first time in Malibu since 2012. It was Pepperdine's home finale.
 
The Waves had an impressive 20 minutes to start the match and were unlucky not to score a couple of times. The Cougars scored once in the first half and again in the second half to take a 2-0 lead, and although Leyla McFarland got one back for Pepperdine, the Waves were unable to equalize.
 
GOALS
 
BYU 26': BYU's first shot of the game resulted in the first goal. Cameron Tucker brought the ball up the right side and into the box. She sent the ball across the front of the goal and Ashton Johnson poked it home from in front of the left post.
 
BYU 60': The Cougars got a second goal in transition. Mikayla Colohan played the ball ahead of Johnson. She got tangled up at the top of the box with a Pepperdine defender who went down, and Johnson was free to get in alone for the score.
 
Pepperdine 68': Pepperdine cut the deficit in half as senior defender Laura Ishikawa (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) sent a long ball up the left side ahead of junior forward Leyla McFarland (Bonita, Calif./Eastlake HS). McFarland's first touch put her on a better angle toward goal than the defender, and after another dribble she fired in a shot to the far post. It was her fourth goal of the season, tying the team high, and her third in the last four games. It was her ninth career goal.
 
STATS
 
Shots: Pepperdine 16, BYU 8
Shots on Goal: Pepperdine 7, BYU 5
Saves: Zoe Clevely (Pepperdine) 3, Cassidy Smith (BYU) 6
Corner Kicks: Pepperdine 4, BYU 2
Fouls: Pepperdine 12, BYU 7
Offside: Pepperdine 6, BYU 1
 
QUOTABLE
 
Pepperdine Coach Tim Ward said: "We started on fire and we should've been up 2-0 in the first 15 minutes. To play that well and to come out that strong and to not bury the chances that we created, that really was the game ... Our performance was awesome. BYU is a fantastic team. It was a high-level soccer game today. We've outplayed a lot of teams this year and I would edge it toward us today. I think we had more shots and clear-cut chances but they were ruthless. They got two chances and buried it. I'm proud of the girls, down two and we never stopped believing. Leyla's goal was fantastic, and then I think we had some chances to get the equalizer. So it was a disappointing result, but a really good performance."
 
NEXT
 
Pepperdine closes out the regular season next Saturday (April 17) at Gonzaga. The game will be shown on the WCC Network.