San Diego Athletics

MALIBU, Calif. — San Diego women's soccer came from behind to earn a road point against the West Coast Conference's preseason favorite Saturday afternoon, drawing Pepperdine 2-2 on Abby Haley's 81st-minute equalizer at Tari Frahm Rokus Field.

The Toreros are unbeaten in three straight matches after a win over Portland last Saturday and a draw with San Francisco on Wednesday.

Amanda Anders forced the first save of the match in the 16th minute, and Jonnie Quiroz drew another in the 37th. It was scoreless at the break, with San Diego holding a 4-3 edge in shots and a 2-1 advantage on target.

San Diego broke through in the 62nd minute. In a flurry at the top of the box, Haley had a shot blocked and Kate Sealy forced a save before Gianna Melton, who came off the bench in the first half, finished it off for her first career goal.

Pepperdine tied it less than two minutes later and took a 2-1 lead in the 76th minute. Haley answered in the 81st minute for her first career goal as well, scoring off assists from Anders and Ella Callanan. 

Ilise Medrano made eight saves, seven of them after halftime, including two in a 24-second span in the 56th minute. She also stopped the final shot of the match in the 83rd minute to keep the score level.

"I'm proud of the resilience our team showed today against a very good Pepperdine side." said head coach Greg LaPorte. "This was a game of momentum. I thought we had the better of the first half, created some really good chances, and put ourselves in a position to win. Pepperdine came out strong in the second half, and while we took the lead, we weren't able to hold it. When they went ahead 2-1, our response was exactly what we needed. We became more aggressive, competed harder, and found a way back into the game. To come away with a 2-2 draw against a program we haven't gotten a result against since 2015 is a positive step. Of course, we wanted all three points, but I'm proud that our players refused to settle for a loss. Now the challenge is putting together that level of performance and mentality for a full 90 minutes."

UP NEXT
Las Toreras close the regular season Saturday, Nov. 7, at Pacific. Kickoff at Knoles Field in Stockton, Calif., is set for 1 p.m., and the match will stream on ESPN+.