The University of Toledo women’s soccer team upset 22nd-ranked Pepperdine on Sunday, following a loss at Pittsburgh on Friday. 

UT knocked off Pepperdine in a thriller with a hat trick from fourth-year forward Rachel MacLeod on their way to a 3-2 victory. 

This was the first home win of the season and also the first win over a ranked opponent in school history. 

MacLeod became the eighth player in school history to score three or more goals in a game and now owns the fourth spot in program history with 26 career goals. The last time a Rocket scored at least three goals in a game was in 2009 when Brittany Hensler scored a hat trick against Kent State. 

Coming into Sunday’s game, Toledo lost four of their first five games with their only win coming at Youngstown State. 

With UT averaging just one goal per game, Toledo’s head coach Brad Evans made some changes to the formation and style of play to allow more scoring opportunities.

“We wanted to change some things in our tactics and formation to give our girls up top more chances and to put more pressure on defenses,” Evans said.  

Those adjustments were tested as trouble arrived early for UT in the form of Pepperdine third-year forward Lynn Williams, who scored her first goal of the day in the 29th minute. 

Shortly after in the 36th minute, MacLeod put in her first goal of the afternoon when she split the defense, shook the goalie and drilled into the back of the net. The game-tying goal gave the Rockets momentum going into the half.

Less than five minutes into the second half, MacLeod netted her second goal of the day and gave Toledo their first lead of the game. 

MacLeod received a pass from second-year Kika Hernandez deep in Pepperdine territory and fired a low bullet past the goalie. 

Second-year keeper Sam Tiongson made eight saves on the day, which allowed the Rockets to stay knotted with Pepperdine through some dicey moments in the second half. 

“Sam’s shot stopping has improved a lot in the past year and she showed great patience and technique,” Evans said. “She had a really strong game and it was good to see her rebound against a really good team.” 

With 10 minutes remaining in the game, UP first-year goalie Hannah Seabert played a long ball up top that found Williams, who scored a breakaway goal and her second goal of the day to tie things up 2-2. 

In the final minutes of the half, MacLeod would get the best of the goal-a-thon between the two forwards, beating the goalie on a penalty with just 1:34 left in regulation to clinch it. 

UT second-year Angelica Hernandez played a ball up the line to Macleod who beat one defender and then got cut down by another defender in the box, leading to the penalty kick.

“It was late in the game, fatigue was sitting in, but it was like Rachel had another gear when she turned the corner and went into the box,” Evans said. 

Given MacLeod’s knack for scoring goals and her recent hot streak, Evans had to like UT’s chances when she took the PK. 

“You expect her to step up, she’s a senior, she’s experienced and she’s a goal scorer,” he said. “You expect her to grab the ball and take the kick confidently. I didn’t know what the result was going to be, but I did know she was going to take that ball and go for it, there was no doubt in my mind.”

Macleod put her shot in the lower left corner of the net, giving her and the Rockets their third goal of the day, which proved to be the game-winning score.

The Rockets improved their record to 2-4-0 while the Waves dropped to 2-2-1. 

On Sept 8.,Toledo traveled to Pittsburgh where they were defeated by the Panthers 1-0.

Pitt took their second corner kick of the game and senior forward Katelyn Lippert crossed a ball into the box that found senior defender Morgan Sharick who headed it into the back of the net. 

The Rockets failed to generate enough offense to equal the score and were shut out for the first time this year.

“To be successful in soccer you need at least seven players to play well, and we just did not have that on that day,” Evans said.

Pitt put 14 shots on goal and applied heavy pressure the entire game, making it hard for Toledo to find room to score in the mid-field.

Toledo is off until they host Indiana State on Sept. 20 at 5 p.m. and then Dayton on Sept. 22 at 1 p.m. The Rockets begin Mid-American Conference play the following weekend against Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan.