Blues Players Make Waves at Pepperdine

Anisa Guajardo assisted on the first goal of the Pali Blues' season back in May and now she's off to a lightning fast start at Pepperdine University, scoring both of the Waves' goals in Friday's 2-1 season-opening victory at California.

In just her first season with the Pali Blues, Pacific Palisades' semi-professional women's soccer team, Guajardo played in 13 of 14 games and tied for the team lead with 11 points (four goals, three assists). The Blues finished 7-1-6 and missed the W-League playoffs by one point.

A standout from Buchanan High School in Clovis, Guajardo has since grown accustomed playing near the beach. She played a crucial role in the midfield for the Blues at Stadium by the Sea and is flourishing at forward up the road in Malibu, where she is a junior at Pepperdine.

Against Cal, Guajardo opened the scoring in the 50th minute off a throw-in. She used deft dribbling to shake her defender and scored again in the 83rd minute to give the Waves a 2-0 lead. It was her 10th goal in 28 career games (including 20 starts) at Pepperdine. 

Also contributing to Pepperdine's win Friday was goalkeeper and fellow junior Roxanne Barker, who was on the Blues' 2011 roster but did not see playing time. The Blues' starting goalie this past year was another Pepperdine player, 2006 graduate Anna Picarelli, who led the Waves to two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in her four seasons. 

It's no surprise she was in net Friday—she has started all 40 games the Waves have played since she joined the Pepperdine program. In Berkeley, Barker faced seven corner kicks and made four saves, allowing only one ball to get past her—in the 86th minute. 

A three-time All-League honoree at Irvine Woodbridge High, Barker had 15 shutouts in her first two seasons at Pepperdine, posting a 20-13-6 record.

Pepperdine's home opener is Sunday at 1 p.m. against Arizona.

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