Waves hold off Trojan assault for win
- by Soccer America , Sep 22, 2014
“This was a heck of a game against a really good USC team,” said Pepperdine coach Tim Ward. “They were on us early and then threw the kitchen sink at us after the half, but both times we responded with some really good attacking play. This team just knows how to stay calm and respond.”
Harbison scored the first goal of the day in the 16th minute after a corner kick came to her at the top of the box, and the sophomore sent home a shot through the traffic that found the upper left corner of the net.
Waves keeper Hannah Seabert held off USC until the 52nd minute when Erin Owen equalized. But Alvarado got the game-winner after a long throw-in was headed back to her by teammate Lynn Williams. USC finished with a 15-4 edge in shots in the second half but could not get a second goal.
“Taylor did a great job making an intentional effort to get to the back post and that was something we had talked about before this game,” said Ward. “A lot of the time players will just stop once that ball is played in, but she was all over it.”
The loss is the first of the season for the Trojans, who dropped to 6-1-2 on the year. The eight-game unbeaten streak to start the season set a new program record for a team being undefeated to start the season.
“I thought we played a great second half against a really good Pepperdine team," said USC coach Keidane McAlpine said. "We still need to work on playing the first half with that same kind of intensity to really have the impact that we want in conference play.”
