Washington State (4-4-3) fought strong but suffered a 2-3 loss to No. 13 Pepperdine (7-2-2) in Malibu, Calif. on Wednesday. The Cougs are winless against ranked teams and on the road this season.
WSU entered the game coming off an impressive draw against then No. 7 Utah State and a much-needed home win against San Diego to start conference play on Saturday, Sept. 28. Meanwhile, Pepperdine was coming off of a long rest period, playing just two games in 22 days, including 10 days of rest before the Wednesday matchup. The lengthy resting period did not stop coach Todd Shulenberger from highlighting the talent of the Pepperdine side.
“Well Pepperdine’s beaten UCLA, they’ve beaten Georgetown, two teams that have gone deep in the tournament every single year,” coach Shulenberger said on Monday. “They’ve tied Arizona, they’ve done a tremendous job.”
While Shulenberger praised the Waves squad, he also projected confidence in his team.
“The thing that sticks out is that it was opening weekend, it was across the pond in Hawaii basically, so they had to cross the water to get there and had no exhibition,” Shulenberger said. “But Utah State got at them 4-0. So I’m looking at that like ‘alright, they’re vulnerable’ because we know what we did against Utah State. But again, they had tremendous results. They’re athletic, they’re bigger, they’re stronger, they’re better than they were, but they’re a soccer team and they are beatable as well.”
It was the Waves that started hot. Pepperdine’s Tatum Wynalda quickly penetrated into the box and fired off a shot that was barely blocked by WSU center-back Reese Tappen in the 2nd minute. Immediately after, attacker Tabitha LaParl fired a corner kick that ricocheted off the crossbar and then the left post, giving the Cougs an early scare.
In the 9th minute, the Waves’ offensive barrage broke through with a clean shot attempt from 2023 WCC Offensive Player of the Year Tori Waldeck who received a well-placed ball into a dangerous position that bounced off two Coug defenders before landing at Waldeck’s feet, who quickly scored the goal.
It did not take long for WSU to respond, as midfielder Megan Santa Cruz quickly responded with a goal of her own just four minutes later. After a chaotic sequence in the box with multiple deflections, Santa Cruz was able to get a contested shot off that fired toward the left goal post and bounced off the foot of Pepperdine’s defender and into the goal, taking a sharp turn to the right.
In what was expected to be a highly physical contest between the two WCC teams, the physicality led to a highly aggressive offensive showing from both teams in the first half. The Waves looked strong on their feet, playing excellent transition offense and showing off their speed on multiple dangerous deep balls. It was the WSU offense that would execute on the offensive opportunities though.
Just four minutes after subbing into the game, fifth-year veteran Grayson Lynch would get an excellent opportunity which she quickly capitalized on. Coming off an outstanding defensive play, Santa Cruz fed the ball to Lynch who weaved her way through multiple Pepperdine defenders in the box and powerfully hit the back of the net just past the halfway point of the first half. The goal gave the Cougs a 2-1 lead at halftime.
The Cougs put on arguably their strongest offensive performance of the season in the first half, scoring two goals in a half for the first time since Aug. 22, when they beat Montana 3-0. WSU looked poised, and despite consistent offensive attacks from Pepperdine, Wazzu managed to hold its own and finish on the ones that mattered. This type of play would not continue in the second half.
The surgical offense that forced full attention from the Pepperdine backline vanished in the second half, and WSU took blow after blow. The first critical hit came when defender Peyton Price received her second yellow card in the 50th minute, forcing her off the field and leaving the Cougs down a player. The Cougs backline was put in a vulnerable position for the rest of the game and had a hard time recovering.
In the 52nd minute, Pepperdine found the back of the net off of a beautiful cross, but the goal was called back due to an offside penalty. They would quickly be redeemed though by a penalty kick opportunity, as the Waves’ Kyra Murphy was knocked from behind on another easy pass into the box. Midfielder Caroline Coleman then got the ball past WSU goalkeeper Nadia Cooper on the penalty.
Pepperdine’s wave of success continued as Wynalda would punch in a simple goal off of a deflection from Nadia Cooper. For the last 30 minutes of the match, the Cougs would fail to string together a strong set of offensive plays and were forced to play a game of keep away in their own half of the field.
Pepperdine finished a near-perfect second-half performance with a 3-2 victory. The Waves have not lost since Aug. 25 and backed up their ranking in the latest poll. WSU played a strong first half, but the scoreboard did not truly reflect how the game went. The Cougs looked overmatched in the second, losing several 50-50 balls, easily losing track of through balls, and allowing easy penetration in the box. The precision passing and speed of the Waves proved too difficult to keep up with.
Santa Cruz and Lynch had the best performances for the Cougs, each finishing with a goal. Santa Cruz had three shots, with two on goal in just 58 minutes of play.
Waldeck led the Waves’ attack, finishing with four shots and two shots on goal, with one reaching the back of the net. Waldeck is tied for the team lead in goals this season with three.
WSU travels just over 20 miles southwest of Malibu to face Loyola Marymount on Saturday.
