MALIBU, Calif. – The #14 Pepperdine women’s soccer team will begin a stretch of five consecutive road games with the first matchup at UC Santa Barbara. The Waves will continue up the coast to visit Cal. Pepperdine is unbeaten after four games for the first time since 2014.
MATCH #5 — Thursday (Sept. 1) at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara, California: #14 Pepperdine (3-0-1) at UC Santa Barbara (0-3-1) at 7 p.m.
MATCH #6 — Sunday (Sept. 4) at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley, California: #14 Pepperdine (3-0-1) at California (2-1-0, hosts San Francisco on Thursday) at 2 p.m.
WATCH/ONLINE — The match against UCSB will be live on ESPN+ while the game against Cal will be streamed on Pac-12.com. Links to broadcasts and live stats 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 tied in two out 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 penalty kicks.
LAST WEEK — After falling behind 2-0 last Thursday to LSU, the Waves tied the Tigers 2-2, with goals from Tabitha LaParl and Tatum Wynalda. Pepperdine bounced back on Sunday with a hot start, blanking San Diego State 4-0. Ellie Sommers had her first start in goal as well as collected her first solo shutout making five key saves to keep the Aztecs off the board. Tori Waldeck, Wynalda, Carlee Giammona and Taylor Bloom each found the back of the net while Victoria Romero had two assists against SDSU.
ROSTER NUMBERS — The Waves’ 30-player roster breakdown is three redshirt seniors, three seniors, one redshirt junior, seven juniors, one redshirt sophomore, four sophomores, one redshirt freshman and 10 true freshmen. Pepperdine has eight returning starters and 19 letterwinners back. Three Waves — Kelsey Hill, Leyla McFarland and Trinity Watson — are back for an extra season after utilizing COVID-19 redshirt years.
RANKINGS — After spending the entire 2021 campaign in the top 25 in at least one of the major polls, Pepperdine continued the streak and headed into the 2022 season ranked #17 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Waves have been ranked #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 lone goal in the 1-0 victory over the Tritons.
AWARDS —Three members of the Waves were named to the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy watch list: Carlee Giammona, Tori Waldeck and Trinity Watson … Pepperdine also had three members receive notice on the United Soccer Coaches’ preseason players to watch lists: Watson (defender), Giammona (midfield) and Waldeck (forward) … Watson was named to Top Drawer Soccer’s preseason Best XI third team … Watson (26) and Waldeck (47) are ranked in the top 50 on the Top Drawer Soccer preseason NCAA DI preseason player rankings … Waldeck and Watson were also voted to the preseason All-WCC squad.
WCC — The Waves were picked to finish third in the WCC preseason coaches poll for a second consecutive season. The order went 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 its best seasons in program history finishing with an overall record of 17-4-1 and a third-place finish in the WCC. Pepperdine reached the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in program history. The Waves made it to the round of 16 for the fourth time. Tori Waldeck earned All-WCC first team honors for the first time. Other returning players honored by the league were two second teamers (Carlee Giammona and Trinity Watson) and two WCC All-Freshman team recipients (Tabitha LaParl and Kam Pickett).
WAVES IN THE PROS — Several Waves have made their marks professionally. Lynn Williams is a three-time NWSL champion (2016 Western New York Flash, 2018 and 2019 North Carolina Courage). In 2016, she was also the NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner. As a member of the U.S. National Team, she’s earned 43 caps and scored 14 goals. She won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Bri Visalli, who has been part of the U.S. U-23 team, played in England for a couple of seasons before joining the NWSL’s Houston Dash in 2020. In January 2019, the Waves had two NWSL Draft selections for the first time in Hailey Harbison (first round to North Carolina) and Michelle Maemone (third round to Utah). Rylee Baisden was named the 2019 Player of the Year in Australia’s NPLW and joined the North Carolina Courage in 2020. The Waves have produced two Olympians (Williams and Roxanne Barker, South Africa, 2012 and 2016) and a Women’s World Cup participant (Anisa Guajardo, Mexico, 2015). Anna Picarelli played for Italy and Kristi DeVert was the first Wave to suit up with the USWNT. In January 2022, Joelle 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 just 20 schools to have accomplished 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 earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that’s given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2021-22). Located in scenic Malibu, California, the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation’s most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #49 overall on U.S. News and World Report’s list of America’s best colleges.