Game Notes

THIS WEEK: The No. 13 Pepperdine women's soccer team stays on the road for games at Xavier and Kentucky. Pepperdine heads to Cincinatti, Ohio to take on the Xavier Musketeers on Thursday at 4 p.m. (PT) and then will travel to Lexington, Ky. for a 9 a.m. (PT) contest against Kentucky.

Multimedia: Fans can follow the Waves game at Xavier via live stats on goxavier.com or through the gametracker link on the Pepperdine schedule page. The team's game at Kentucky will be broadcast on the SEC Network+, which can be accessed through the Watch ESPN app.

Last Week: The Waves recorded a draw and a loss in two games in Hawaii. The Waves played to a 0-0 draw with Washington State, a team that has given up just one goal this year, and then suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of No. 1 UCLA, 2-0.

Scoreless Streek: The Waves had a streak of 397 scoreless minutes broken against UCLA last week. Pepperdine had not allowed a goal since their season opener before playing the Bruins.

Conquering Carolina: The Waves picked up one of the biggest wins in program history two weeks ago, taking down 21-time NCAA Champions North Carolina. The Waves got a 71st minute goal from Williams and then held on to the clean sheet to seal a 1-0 victory over the then ninth-ranked Tar Heels.

Player of the Week: Williams picked up WCC Player of the Week honors after her two goal, two assist week two weeks ago. Williams was also named to College Soccer 360's National Honor Roll for the week and she and teammate Courtney Assumma were both named to Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week.

Xavier: The Musketeers come into play with a 3-3-1 record. After losing its first three games, Xavier has gone 3-0-1 over its last four contests. The team finished last year 9-8-1 overall, recording its first winning season since 2005. The Musketeers were 2-7-0 in Big East play and missed the postseason. Head coach Woody Sherwood is in his fifth season.

Kentucky: The Wildcats come into the week 5-1-0, winners of their last five contests, including a victory over in-state rival Louisville. Kentucky has not allowed a goal in its last four games, outscoring opponents 13-0 over that period. The team's lone loss came at Washington. Kentucky finished last season 14-7-1 overall and 7-4-0 in the SEC, outside of the playoff picture. Head coach Jon Lipsitz is in his sixth year.

Waves in the Rankings: The Waves currently sit at No. 13 in the NSCAA rankings. Pepperdine made a jump in the national rankings last week, moving to No. 11 in the NSCAA Coaches Poll after beating Florida Atlantic and then-No. 9 North Carolina. The Waves jumped into the poll at No. 17 after starting the season 2-0 before moving up six spots a week ago. The Waves jumped one spot in the Soccer America Rankings to No. 12 and one spot in the Top Drawer Soccer ratings to No. 16 this week.

Preseason WCC Poll/All-Conference: The Waves were tabbed fourth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll this year. The Waves, who finished fourth in the conference standings last season, garnered 57 points in the coaches poll. Defending conference champs BYU took first in the poll with a total of 73 points and three first place votes. Portland was tabbed second (72 points) and Santa Clara was picked third (69 points), with each school receiving three first place votes. Pepperdine's Holtz and Williams were both named to the preseason All-WCC squad. Williams is coming off an All-WCC first team nod last year and Holtz is coming off an all-conference second team honor last season.

MAC Hermann Watch List: The Waves' Williams was one of 63 players named to the preseason MAC Hermann Award Watch List this season. The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in NCAA soccer presented annually to one male and one female athlete. The winners will be announced Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, at the trophy presentation banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.

Alvarado on Mexico U-20 Squad: The Waves' Taylor Alvarado was named to the Mexican National U-20 Team this past summer and competed with the team at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Canada this August. Mexico went 0-1-2 in group play, with Alvarado making an appearance in the team's final game against Korea. She had previously competed for Mexico in the CONCACAF U-20 Championship and at the 2012 U-17 World Cup in Azerbaijan.

Broadcast Info: All of the Waves' home games this season will be broadcast live on WaveCasts at PepperdineSports.com. Live stats for all home games will also be carried on PepperdineSports.com.

A LOOK AT THE 2014 WAVES
Roster Notes:

• · Pepperdine returns 18 players from last year's squad and brings in eight newcomers (seven freshmen and one transfer).
• · The Waves' roster features seven seniors, two redshirt juniors, one junior, one redshirt sophomore, eight sophomores and seven freshmen.
• · Pepperdine graduated five seniors from last year's squad; Michelle Pao (D/F), Katie Gallanes (D/M), Katie Rivers (M/F), Kristin DeGrandmont (D) and Carolyn Dapper (GK). The group combined for 10 goals and 22 assists in 249 games played over their careers.

Top Scorers:

• · The Waves return their two leading scorers from last season in seniors Lynn Williams and Ally Holtz.
• · Williams: Was on the verge of a historic season before missing the last four games of the season due to injury ... Was still named to the NSCAA All-West Region first team and the All-WCC first team ... Started the first 15 games of the season and posted 11 goals and three assists for 25 points ... In the WCC, finished first in goals per game (0.73, which is third in Pepperdine history), tied for second in game-winning goals and third in points per game (1.67, which is fourth in Pepperdine history).
• · Holtz: Made the All-WCC second team as a junior ... Was second on the team in goals (six) and points (16) while leading the squad in assists (four) ... Tied for 10th in the WCC in goals ... One of three players to start all 19 games.

The Keeper:

• · After taking over the starting job as a freshman last season, Hannah Seabert returns for the Waves following a breakout rookie campaign.
• · Seabert: Played 1,732 of the 1,752 minutes ... Posted a 10-7-2 record and had 114 saves, five shutouts and a 1.40 goals-against average ... The 114 saves were the second-most in Pepperdine history and her average of 6.0 saves per game ranked third ... Ranked first in the WCC in save percentage (.809), total saves and saves per game and sixth in goals-against average

Last Season:

• · The Waves are coming off a 2013 campaign where the team finished the year 10-7-2 overall and 5-4-0 in WCC competition.
• · Pepperdine finished the season tied with San Diego for fourth in the conference standings, but owned the head-to-head tie-breaker courtesy of a 2-1 road win over the Toreros.
• · Thanks to Seabert's 114 saves last year, the Waves led the WCC in that category. Pepperdine was also third in the conference in total shots (324) and posted the fewest yellow cards (2) and fouls (128) on the year.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE: 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 17 schools to have accomplished this feat -- and nine 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 23 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 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., 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 #57 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.