Aug. 19, 2011
Final Stats
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BERKELEY - The California women's soccer team may have out shot Pepperdine, 14-9, but it was the Waves that crashed through the goal line more often for Pepperdine won, 2-1, on Friday afternoon. Anisa Guajardo notched both of the goals for the Waves while Lauren Battung prevented the shutout by scoring in the 86th minute of the first game of the season for both squads.
"As a team, we played well," Cal head coach Neil McGuire said. "But we got comfortable. I thought that we felt like we had the upper hand in possession, and as a result we got a little sloppy and didn't move the ball well enough. Credit goes to Tim Ward and his squad for playing tremendous soccer today."
Lauren Battung and Mekenna DeBack each took three shots. Emily Kruger made six stops in goal for the Bears while Roxanne Barker stopped four. California took seven corners to Pepperdine's three. Guajardo notched four shots while six other Waves tallied one apiece.
"I thought Pepperdine did a nice job of taking advantage of set pieces and some of the mistakes that we made," McGuire said. I think we had opportunities to be in the game. I think we had opportunities to win it. I just wish we had those opportunities in sooner."
Less than five minutes into the second half, Guajardo poked it through. Michelle Pao threw the ball in from the far side, Michelle Manning then flicked it to Guajardo, who shot it to the right post.
With 17:28 left in regulation, Mekenna DeBack had a great look, but her shot went just wide. Cal's next best chance came at 79:22, when Thelma Bjork Einarsdottir took a direct free kick from 30 yards out that Pepperdine keeper Roxanne Barker had to catch towards the right upper 90.
Leading 1-0 in the 83rd minute, Amanda LeCave flicked the ball to Guajardo outside the box. She dribbled on the left flank and shot it with her left foot to put the Waves up, 2-0.
Less than five minutes remained in regulation when Lauren Battung seized an opportunity and scored with Mekenna DeBack and Katie Benz assisting.
"Pretty much the whole time that I was playing outside mid, I was looking for a 1-v-1 opportunity," Battung said. I was wide open so I just holding my space until someone found me. We had a lucky chance with a cross in and a deflection."
Multiple Cal freshmen saw their first time on the pitch in the Blue & Gold on Friday. Thelma Bjork Einarsdottir was the sole freshman to start while Sandra Ley, Kory Lamet and Taylor Comeau all came in off the bench.
"I thought for their first outing in collegiate soccer, they did quite well for themselves," McGuire noted of the class of 2015.
Later This Weekend on the Pitch:
Opening weekend wraps up on Sunday against San Diego State.
"We believe we can win every game so we'll go into the San Diego State game thinking that we can win," McGuire said of his Sunday opponent. "There's no question that they're a great team. Our goal is to come out and win every match."
