Sept. 5, 2005 was the last time that UCLA had lost at Drake Stadium. No member of the current No. 9 women’s soccer team had suffered defeat at home ““ until Friday night. Seventy-three unbeaten games later, UCLA (7-3-1) watched that streak vanish as it surrendered to Pepperdine (7-3-2) in a 1-0 upset.
The Bruins gave up a goal early in the match when Pepperdine sophomore forward Michelle Manning received an assist from Wave junior midfielder Michelle Spacciapolli just outside the box and curved the ball past UCLA redshirt junior goalkeeper Chante’ Sandiford into the top right corner in the 23rd minute.
The Waves held a 6-4 shot advantage in the first half, but the Bruins emerged from halftime more dominant, outshooting Pepperdine 6-2 during the second period. Without junior forward and leading scorer Sydney Leroux, who missed her third game this season as she is with the U.S. Women’s National Team in Kennesaw, Ga., the Bruins tried to utilize their other scoring options.
Sophomore forward Zakiya Bywaters, who tallied a game-high three shots, sophomore midfielder Chelsea Cline and freshman forward Jenna Richmond launched a number of shots that were denied entry into the back of the net, thanks to the play of Wave sophomore goalkeeper Roxanne Barker. Barker seized five saves in the shutout, while Sandiford notched three.
Friday’s match against Pepperdine marked the Bruins’ final non-conference game as Pac-10 play begins next week against Cal and top-ranked Stanford.