Box Score
(San Francisco) - The University of San Francisco women's soccer team dropped a 4-0 decision to nationally-ranked Pepperdine Friday at Malibu, Calif. The Dons will return home Sunday, to conclude the 2011 season against CSU Bakersfield.
With the loss, the Dons fall to 5-14-0 overall and finish the 2011 West Coast Conference season with a 2-6-0 record.
"I think we walked into the perfect storm today," said head coach Mark Carr. "I feel like Pepperdine is one of the best WCC opponents we have played this year. Our first half performance was not good enough. Defensively, we were too loose, allowed them too much space and time and collectively did not work hard enough to limit their opportunities."
Pepperdine jumped out to an early lead midway through the first half, and never looked back. The Waves opened scoring at 18:22 as Laura Cole tallied her seventh goal of the season. Cole connected with a cross from Anisa Guajardo, and Myriah Stockman, to drill the ball into the lower right corner.
The Waves struck again at 39:25 as Amanda LeCave gave them a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
"We changed our shape in the second half and did a much better job," added Carr. "I am so proud of how Celly performed in the goal for us today. We exposed her on too many occasions and she came up big for us time after time. We must now move on and prepare for our final game of the season at home to Bakersfield on Sunday."
The second half was the same story, as Pepperdine tallied a goal early and one in the final minutes of the contest. At 54:14, Karissa Garcia scored thanks to a header into the right corner off of a cross from Guajarado. Michelle Pao capped scoring at 88:47, earning an unassisted goal from outside the box.
USF goalkeeper Celia Pellegrini finished with 16 saves for the Dons.
San Francisco will return to the field for the final time this season when it hosts CSU Bakersfield Sunday at 1 p.m. The match at Negoesco will mark the annual Senior Day, when the Dons honor three of their own – Meritt Peterson, Keonna Robinson and Joan Piasta.
