MALIBU, Calif. – The University of San Francisco women's soccer team had its chances late but ultimately fell short of the equalizer, falling to the 22^nd ranked Pepperdine Waves 1-0 on Saturday.

"Tough game today against a good Pepperdine team," said head coach Jim Millinder. "We were not as good offensively as we needed to be in the final third today. Our pressure was good in the first half but just weren't dangerous enough. We had some chances but it was a tight game by both teams when it came to defending.  We will work on a few things next week before we play a good Portland team in our home opener.  Our effort was good today.  We need to score goals to win games it is that simple!"

The two sides played very evening with the score remaining tied until the Waves broke through in the 69^th minute when defender Trinity Watson sent a through pass to Joelle Anderson who took a shot from 18 yards out toward the left post and got past keeper Molly Eby.

 
The Dons (1-2-1, 0-2-0) had arguably their best chance to tie the game immediately after the goal by Anderson when Kaylin Lunsford launched a shot that hit off the cross bar.
 
Pepperdine (3-2-0, 2-0-0) earned their second shutout of the season by keeping the Dons out of the back of the net.  The Waves outshot the Dons 11-9 – but six of those nine shots came in the second half.
 
USF's last great chance happened seconds before the final horn when Catherine Hill's shot went over the top of the goal in the 89^th minute.
 
Eby (1-2-1) took the loss, surrendering just the one goal.  She finished the day with four saves. Pepperdine's keeper Zoe Clevely earned the win.
 
The Dons will return to action on Saturday March 13 when the Dons make their long-awaited home debut against Portland.  That game is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start time.