SANTA CLARA, Calif.  – In a hard-fought battle, the Pepperdine women's soccer team dropped 1-0 to #18 Santa Clara in the opening weekend of West Coast Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Buck Shaw Field.
 
The Waves (3-3-5, 0-1-0 WCC) and Broncos (8-2-2, 1-0-0 WCC) were scoreless after the first 45 minutes of play, but a minute and a half into the second half, Santa Clara found the back of the net. The squads battled it out for the remaining 43 minutes, but Pepperdine was unable to find the equalizer. Pepperdine and Santa Clara were nearly neck-and-neck in shots at 11-9 in favor of the Broncos.
 
GOALS
 
Santa Clara 47': The Broncos took a shot on goal from the right side of the box. As the Pepperdine keeper made a great punch out to clear the ball, Santa Clara connected with the ball first and let a shot rip from outside the top of the box into the back of the net.
 
STATS
 
Shots: Pepperdine 9, Santa Clara 11
Shots on Goal: Pepperdine 1, Santa Clara 3
Saves: Taylor Rath (Pepperdine) 2, Marlee Nicolos (Santa Clara) 1
Corner Kicks: Pepperdine 2, Santa Clara 6
Fouls: Pepperdine 9, Santa Clara 8
Offside: Pepperdine 1, Santa Clara 3
 
UP NEXT
 
The Waves will continue WCC play on Wednesday, Oct. 4 hosting Pacific at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. The match is set for 3 p.m. and will be live on ESPN+.