Box Score
MALIBU, Calif. --- The No. 3 Pepperdine Waves overcame an early goal by Micaela Capelle to defeat the Portland Pilots 2-1 in a West Coast Conference women’s soccer game on Sunday afternoon at Rokus Field. All three goals came during the game’s first half.
The Pilots, who have one regular season game remaining, drop to 8-9-1 overall and to 3-4-0 in the WCC. The Waves bounce back from their first loss of the season to improve to 14-1-4 overall and 6-1-0 in the conference.
Capelle, who has been on a scoring binge for the Pilots lately, notched her fifth goal in the last seven games with a strike in the 13th minute. On a pass from Danielle Foxhoven, Capelle hit it just right as she curled a shot over the Pepperdine keeper and into the top of the net from the top of the 18-yard box.
“That was a great goal,” head coach Garrett Smith said. “The first half was a great performance by us, and it could have easily been two or three to nothing.”
Portland would hold onto the 1-nil advantage for the next 24 minutes as the Waves struggled to mount a serious threat on the UP goal. That changed in the 37th minute when Lynn Williams registered the equalizer on just the second shot of the game for Pepperdine. Williams took as pass from Michelle Pao and snuck a shot inside the far post from the right side of the box.
And just when it appeared the two sides would enter the locker room tied at 1-1, the Waves were granted a penalty shot on a questionable call with less than four minutes left in the first stanza. Laura Cole converted the PK and Pepperdine entered halftime with the momentum and a 2-1 lead.
Pepperdine would then hold on for the next 45 minutes to pick up the win.
“Give Pepperdine credit, but we performed well on a tough field against a tough opponent,” noted Smith. “The second half didn’t go our way. We still looked to create and still got shots off, but we should have put them away in the first half.”
The Pilots next return home to host the Gonzaga Bulldogs at 7 p.m. on Saturday night at Merlo Field. The game will mark the final regular season appearance at home for UP’s six seniors, who are one of the most successful senior classes in the country. Hailee DeYoung, Danielle Foxhoven, Halley Kreminski, Kassi McCluskie, Emma Nelson and Michelle Olivier will be honored with a pre-game ceremony.
