URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Ill.  – The Pepperdine women's soccer team fell 3-2 against Illinois on Sunday afternoon at Demirjian Park.
 
The Waves (2-1-5) and Fighting Illini (4-1-1) were tied 1-all after the first 45 minutes of play and Illinois tallied a penalty-kick goal to take a 2-1 lead following the break. Tori Waldeck then scored the equalizer 20 minutes later, but a late goal by Illinois gave them the victory. Pepperdine however did outshoot Illinois 18-12.
 
GOALS
 
Pepperdine 10': The Waves earned a corner kick and senior midfielder Skylar Enge (Cardiff, Calif./Pacific Ridge School) sent a beautiful set-piece pass to the middle of the box. As the ball came down, sophomore defender Taylor Bloom (Huntington Beach, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) jumped above the defender and headed the ball into the back of the net. This was Bloom's first goal of the season.
 
Illinois 33': The Fighting Illini made their way into the box and sent a right-footed pass to Makala Woods. Woods made one move and tapped the ball to Sydney Stephens who found the back of the net.
 
Illinois 54': Illinois earned a penalty kick on a Pepperdine yellow card. As the Fighting Illini took the kick, the Waves' keeper had a great save, but off the rebound, Sarah Foley of Illinois connected and put the ball in the top left part of the goal.
 
Pepperdine 73': Senior midfielder Julianna Duckett (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga HS) had a perfect pass to sophomore midfielder Karina Gonzalez (Sanger, Calif./Hallmark Charter School). Gonzalez then kicked a beautiful pass to senior forward Tori Waldeck (Newhall, Calif./Hart HS). Waldeck then crashed through the offensive zone and beat the Fighting Illini defender and sent an on-target right-footed tap into the back of the net inside the box. This was Waldeck's second goal of the season.
 
Illinois 88': Makala Woods of Illinois sent a left-footed pass to Sydney Stephens who was at the top of the goalie box. Stephens tapped the ball off the reception into the back of the net.
 
STATS
 
Shots: Pepperdine 18, Illinois 12
Shots on Goal: Pepperdine 12, Illinois 7
Saves: Taylor Rath (Pepperdine) 3, Harlee Head (Pepperdine) 1, Julia Cili (Illinois) 10
Corner Kicks: Pepperdine 4, Illinois 3
Fouls: Pepperdine 5, Illinois 14
Offside: Pepperdine 5, Illinois 5
 
QUOTABLE
 
Pepperdine coach Tim Ward said: "In light of how well we played at times today, it's pretty remarkable that we lost that game. We created enough clear cut chances to probably score six goals today but just didn't put them away, and to give away a goal in the first half the way we did when we were dominating the match, was a disappointment.
 
"In the second half, the game opened up a bit and again, we had so many nice moments to put the game away and then we missed a mark on a corner and gave away a penalty kick. Harlee makes a wonderful save and yet, they're able to put the rebound in because we didn't box out.
 
"We then showed character to tie it up with a great individual effort by Tori, but yet, we lost it as they scored the winner near the end. It's a tough one to take as we've let go of too many results late this fall. We'll keep working, though, and hopefully we can start getting some more positive results."
 
UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine will have a few extra days before heading to visit the defending 2022 National Champions #4 UCLA on Friday, Sept. 15. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed on UCLA Live Stream-2.