Aug. 20, 2003

Highlighted by early season contests against perennial national powers Stanford and UCLA, the Pepperdine women's soccer team will face a challenging 2003 schedule, which was announced by head coach Tim Ward.

The Waves are coming off an 18-2-2 season in which they captured their first-ever West Coast Conference (WCC) title, advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program's history and concluded the year with a Top 5 national ranking.

Pepperdine's 2003 19-match schedule includes four non-conference matches against opponents who reached the 2002 NCAA Tournament, plus four contests against WCC foes that advanced to post-season play, including defending national champion Portland and national runner-up Santa Clara.

The Waves are slated to open the season on Friday, August 29 against UC Irvine at Tari Frahm Rokus Field before hosting UCLA on Sunday, August 31. The Bruins are coming off a 16-3-0 season in which they advanced to the "Sweet 16" and finished the year ranked as high as No. 3 nationally.

After a two-match homestand to begin the year, Pepperdine opens a four-match road trip that includes contest at Stanford (Sept. 7) and versus Auburn (Sept. 12) in the UNLV / Fila Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Stanford, which earned the No. 1 national seed for last year's NCAA Tournament, is coming off an 18-1-0 season and a Top 5 national ranking. The Cardinal reached the "Elite Eight" of the NCAA Tournament where it fell to Portland.

Auburn concluded last season with a 14-4-2 record and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Waves non-conference schedule also includes a non-conference match against Wake Forest in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Demon Deacons posted a 12-7-1 mark and advanced to the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament.

Pepperdine opens WCC play on Sunday, October 12, when it hosts local rival Loyola Marymount. The Lions went 10-6-3 a year ago and made their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Waves, whose first four conference matches are against opponents who made last year's NCAA Tournament, then travel to San Diego (Oct. 17) and Santa Clara (Oct. 19) before returning home to host defending national champion Portland on Friday, October 24.