No. 4 Pepperdine Earns Fourth WCC Shutout with 1-0 Victory Over Gonzaga

October 21, 2011

MALIBU, Calif. – The No. 4 Pepperdine women’s soccer squad held onto a 1-0 shutout victory over West Coast Conference foe Gonzaga on Friday at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. Freshman forward Ally Holtz’s second half goal proved to be the difference for the Waves in the win.

The victory extends the Waves’ unbeaten streak, stemming back to the final game of the 2010 season, to 17 games as the team is now 12-0-4 overall and 4-0-0 in conference play. The team also continues to defend home field advantage, as the Waves are unbeaten at Tari Frahm Rokus Field since 2009 and are riding a 19-game unbeaten streak.

The Waves got off to a strong start, defending their home field turf and pushing for a goal. At the 10:16 mark junior Anisa Guajardo (Clovis, Calif./Buchanan HS) turned loose a header that forced Bulldog goalkeeper Susan Brown to make a strong save. The Waves continued to fight on the Zags’ defensive half throughout the first 45 minutes of play. Right before the half at the 44:35 mark the Waves had a beautiful sequence that gave Callie Payetta (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach HS) an excellent crack at the goal off a cross, but Brown made her seventh save of the half on the play.

Although the score was 0-0 at halftime, the Waves led with nine shots to the Bulldogs’ three and had four corner kicks.

The Waves picked up in the second half where they left off and just seven minutes in Karissa Garcia (Roseville, Calif./Oakmont HS) had a nice shot on goal, but Brown was able to make the save to keep the score tied. At the 76:28 mark the ball was pushed forward and a Bulldog defender just barely got her head on the ball, sending it backwards towards her own goal. Holtz (Honolulu, Hawai’i/Punahou HS) jumped up towards the sailing ball in front of the keeper and was able to get her head on it and put the ball home. The goal put the Waves up 1-0 and was the second of her freshman season.

The Zags were not going to go down easy and pushed through the final 10 minutes of play. Junior goalkeeper Roxanne Barker (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) was forced to come off her line and make a few great saves to preserve the victory. She finished her eighth shutout with two saves.

The 1-0 score held up through the final whistle, giving the Waves their ninth team shutout of the season. The goal was the first game-winner of Holtz’s career.

“We knew Gonzaga was going to be good and very organized defensively. They are very, very tough. I thought we played well and deserved to win the game. You just have to find ways to win sometimes, even when it’s not pretty. We are very proud of the team and the way they played today,” head coach Tim Ward said.

The Waves are set to travel to Saint Mary’s to take on the Gaels on Sunday (Oct. 23) at 1 p.m. PT in another WCC tilt.

Oct. 21, 2011 – Tari Frahm Rokus Field
Pepperdine 1, Gonzaga 0
PEP 0 - 1 = 1
GON 0 - 0 = 0

SCORING:
76:28 – PEP Ally Holtz (unassisted)

SAVES: Roxanne Barker (PEP) 2, Susan Brown (GON) 9

SHOTS: PEP 18, GON 6

CORNER KICKS: PEP 9, GON 0

FOULS: PEP 6, GON 5