Nov. 29, 2008
MALIBU, Calif. - Two goals late in regulation allowed third-seed Pepperdine to tie things up in Saturday's MPSF Tournament semifinal against No. 2 Stanford, and the Cardinal could not pull it out in overtime, falling 8-7 to the Waves in Malibu.
The loss drops the Cardinal (23-5) into Sunday's third-place game, where it will face the fourth-seeded UCLA Bruins at 1:30 p.m. Pepperdine (21-6) advances to Sunday's championship game against No. 1 USC.
The Wigo brothers, Drac and Janson, each scored a pair of goals to pace the Cardinal Saturday, while additional goals were scored by Andrew Drake, Peter Sefton and Jacob Smith.
Both team's goalkeepers proved to be equally solid in the cage, as Stanford's Jimmie Sandman made 11 saves and his Pepperdine counterpart, John Hahn, stopped 12 shots.
Pepperdine's Brett Auer proved to be the thorn in the Cardinal's side Saturday, scoring two of his three goals in the final 1:09 of regulation then adding the game-winner with 46 seconds remaining in the second overtime session.
With a five-meter penalty shot goal from Drac Wigo with 2:39 to play in the third period and a score from Janson Wigo with 2:49 to go in regulation, Stanford held a 6-4 lead with time winding down. The Waves, though, would halve the deficit on Auer's first goal with 1:09 remaining. After the Cardinal failed to score on the ensuing position, Pepperdine got one more chance to equalize, and once again, Auer was the culprit, netting the game-tying score with 24 seconds remaining.
The game remained tied after a scoreless first overtime session and into the second until Adam Hewko put the Waves ahead by a goal with 2:21 to play. Sefton answered for the Cardinal just 18 seconds later with his only goal of the game to make it 7-7, and the teams battled back-and-forth for the next minute and a half trying to net the clincher.
Pepperdine would finally pull ahead for good, as Auer's third of the game came with 46 seconds to play, and the Wave defense held on Stanford's final offensive chance to preserve the upset.
Early on in the contest, the Waves forced the Cardinal to play catch-up with two early scores and three overall in the opening period that gave Pepperdine a 3-1 advantage. The Cardinal would then outscore the Waves 2-0 in the second period and split the first two goals of the second half to knot things up at 4-4.
Pepperdine - 3 0 1 2 0-2 = 8
Stanford - 1 2 2 1 0-1 = 7
Stanford Goal Scorers: D. Wigo 2, J. Wigo 2, Drake, Sefton, J. Smith
Pepperdine Goal Scorers: Auer 3, MacDonnell 2, Hewko, Miller, Snyder
Goalie Saves: Sandman 11 (S); Hahn 12 (P)