MALIBU, Calif. – The #14 Pepperdine women’s soccer team will kick off a five-game road trip streak with the first matchup at UC Santa Barbara. The Waves will continue up the coast to visit Cal. Pepperdine is undefeated after four games for the first time since 2014.
MATCH #5 — Thursday (September 1) at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara, Calif.: #14 Pepperdine (3-0-1) at UC Santa Barbara (0-3-1) at 7 p.m.
MATCH #6 — Sunday (September 4) at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley, Calif.: #14 Pepperdine (3-0-1) at California (2-1-0, hosts San Francisco on Thursday) at 2 p.m.
WATCH ONLINE – The game against UCSB will air live on ESPN+, while the game against Cal will air on Pac-12.com. Links to live streams and statistics can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
UC SANTA BARBARA — The Waves are 13-3-0 all-time against the Gauchos. Pepperdine has won the last five meetings since a 2008 home loss to UC Santa Barbara. Last season, the Waves shut out the Gauchos at Tari Frahm Rokus Field 3-0.
CALIFORNIA- Pepperdine is 1-1-4 all-time against California. The Waves and Bears have drawn two of the last four meetings. The last meeting was during the 2016 season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, although the Waves and Bears tied 1-1, Pepperdine advanced to the second round via penalties.
IN THE PAST WEEK – After falling 2-0 to LSU last Thursday, the Waves tied the Tigers 2-2, with goals from tabitha laparl Y Tatum Wynalda. Pepperdine bounced back to a strong start on Sunday, shutting out San Diego State 4-0. ellie sommers he made his first start in goal and earned his first solo shutout making five key saves to keep the Aztecs off the board. Tori WaldeckWynald, carlee gianmona Y taylor flower each found the back of the net while victoria rosemary He had two assists against SDSU.
LIST NUMBERS – The breakdown of the 30-player Waves roster is three redshirt seniors, three seniors, one redshirt junior, seven juniors, one redshirt sophomore, four sophomores, one freshman in red shirts and 10 real freshmen. Pepperdine has eight returning starters and 19 card winners. Three Waves — Kelsey Hill, Leyla McFarland Y Trinity Watson – are back for one more season after wearing the COVID-19 redshirt years.
CLASSIFICATIONS — After spending the entire 2021 campaign in the top 25 in at least one major poll, Pepperdine continued the streak and headed into the 2022 season ranked #17 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Waves have been ranked at No. 14 each of the next two weeks.
HONORS — Leyla McFarland earned a spot on the College Soccer News Women’s National Team of the Week after scoring three goals in two games against CSUN and UC San Diego. McFarland scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over the Tritons.
AWARDS —Three members of Waves were included in the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy watch list: carlee gianmona, Tori Waldeck Y Trinity Watson … Pepperdine also had three members get notice of United Soccer Coaches preseason players to watch rosters: Watson (defender), Giammona (midfield) and Waldeck (forward) … Watson was named third in the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI Team… Watson (26) and Waldeck (47) are ranked in the top 50 in the NCAA DI Preseason Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Player Rankings… Waldeck and Watson they were also chosen for the pre-season All-WCC team.
CMI — The Waves were chosen to finish third in the WCC pre-season coaches’ poll for the second consecutive season. The order was as follows: BYU, Santa Clara, Pepperdine, Gonzaga, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Francisco, Pacific, Loyola Marymount, San Diego.
LAST SEASON – The Waves had one of their best seasons in the show’s history, finishing with an overall record of 17-4-1 and a third-place finish in the WCC. Pepperdine made it to the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in program history. The Waves reached the round of 16 for the fourth time. Tori Waldeck earned All-WCC first-team honors for the first time. Other players who returned honored by the league were two second team players (carlee gianmona Y Trinity Watson) and two WCC All-Freshman team winners (tabitha laparl Y kam pickett).
WAVES IN THE PROFESSIONALS — Several waves have left their mark professionally. Lynn Williams He is a three-time NWSL champion (2016 Western New York Flash, 2018 and 2019 North Carolina Courage). In 2016, he was also the NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner. As a member of the US National Team, he played in 43 games and scored 14 goals. She won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Bri Visalliwho has been a part of the US Under-23 team, played in England for a couple of seasons before joining the Houston Dash of the NWSL in 2020. In January 2019, the Waves had two NWSL Draft picks for the first time in haley habison (first round to North Carolina) and Michelle Maemone (third round to Utah). Rylee Baisden was named the 2019 NPLW Australia Player of the Year and joined the North Carolina Courage in 2020. The Waves have produced two Olympians (Williams and Roxanne BarkerSouth Africa, 2012 and 2016) and a participant in the Women’s World Cup (Anisa GuajardoMexico, 2015). Ana Picarelli played for Italy and Kristi Devert it was the first Wave to don the USWNT. In January 2022, joel anderson signed a two-year professional contract with the Houston Dash.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men’s sports, one of only 20 schools to have achieved this feat, and 10 overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football, and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a “major” conference. The waves have won a total of 26 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also won the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success given to the best non-football related school, three times (most recently in 2021-22). . Located in picturesque Malibu, California, the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the most beautiful in the nation. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, is ranked No. 49 overall on US News and World Report’s list of America’s Best Colleges.
