Pepperdine Waves women’s soccer player Tabitha LaParl was named the West Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Week last week.
The sophomore forward received the honor on Sept. 5, after she kicked a game-wining goal in one match and assisted on equalizing goal in another contest.
LaParl, a WCC All-Freshman team member last season, had the score in Pepperdine’s 3-0 win over UC Santa Barbara on Sept 1. Against California on Sept. 4, she assisted on senior midfielder Carlee Giammona’s kick that solidified a 1-1 tie.
LaParl took eight total shots and three on goal in the two games.
The second-year Wave received a pass from freshman midfielder and forward Tatum Wynalda in the game against UC Santa Barbara. LaParl kicked the ball with her right foot and the ball tipped off the goalkeeper’s hand and hit the back of the net. LaParl received another pass from Wynalda in the 76th minute of their contest against California. She made a couple of moves, and then sent a cross pass to Giammona, who kicked the ball in for the tying score.
LaParl took five of Pepperdine’s 19 shots in their 2-0 over Arizona on Sept. 11 in Tucson.
Giammona scored her fifth goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 56th minute, after the Waves were fouled inside the box in front of Arizona’s goalkeeper. The right-footed score was Giammona’s first career penalty kick.
Junior forward Tori Waldeck scored Pepperdine’s second goal in the 81st minute after her team earned a corner kick on the left side of the field. Trinity Watson, a redshirt senior defender, kicked the ball to the front of the box.
The ball was headed by an Arizona defender toward the back post, and then bounced off another defensive player. The ball almost went into the Arizona goal, but was saved by a third defender. The ball then landed near Waldeck, who kicked the ball to the top left corner of the net. The ball hit the goalkeeper’s glove but still went across the goal line.
Pepperdine took six shots on goal, while Arizona took none. Arizona was the fifth opponent the Waves held scoreless this season.
Waves head coach Tim Ward said the victory over Arizona was a good one.
“Considering it was a warm day, the effort our girls put out there today was immense,” he said. “Everybody put in a great shift and our team’s defense was very good again today. Although we might have scored one or two more on another day with the opportunities we had, we were really pleased to come away 2-0 winners.”
Pepperdine has a 5-0-2 record and is ranked 10th in the nation heading into their match at Long Beach State on Thursday at 6 p.m. The squad hosts UCLA on Sunday at 1 p.m.