Waves Face UCLA on the Road This Week
9/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
This Week: The No. 19 Pepperdine women's soccer team plays its lone game this week at UCLA in a non-conference matchup. The Waves and Bruins face off in Los Angeles on Thursday at 7 p.m. Pepperdine has a 10-day break on its schedule following the contest.
Multimedia: Fans can watch Thursday's game live on the Pac-12 Network. Live stats will be available at PepperdineSports.com. Fans can also follow @WavesSoccer on Twitter for live, in-game updates.
Last Week: Pepperdine traveled to Tucson, Ariz. for the Arizona Cats Classic, going 1-1 on the week. The Waves dropped their opening game to No. 18 Arizona State before bouncing back to hand Arizona its first loss of the season in a 1-0 win.
Waves in the Rankings: The Waves moved to No. 19 in the NSCAA Coaches Poll after going 1-0-1 last week and moved to No. 24 in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings. Pepperdine opened the season at No. 10 in the coaches poll.
Clean Sheets: The Waves have scored shutout victories in five of their first eight games to start the season. Pepperdine is coming off a season in which it posted 11 shutouts. Hannah Seabert has four solo shutouts in goal this year (5 combined), making her third all-time on the Waves' career list with 18 solo shutouts.
Drawing the Cavaliers: The Waves nearly pulled off the upset against the No. 1 team in the country last week, getting a go-ahead goal from Bri Visalli in the 81st minute against Virginia. The Cavaliers tied the game in the 85th minute, however, and the teams played to a 2-2 tie. The Waves fell behind 1-0 early in the game, but came back with a score from freshman defender Danielle Thomas just before the half. It was the Waves' second game against a ranked opponent this season, having already beaten then-No. 13 Wisconsin, 2-0.
Scoreless Streak: The Waves opened the season with three-straight shutouts, running their scoreless minutes streak to 324 before giving up a goal to Iowa State in their lone loss. The three consecutive shutouts were the most to starts a season since 2004, when the Waves opened with a program-record six-straight shutouts.
Overtime Openers: The Waves opened the season with a pair of overtime wins, scoring early in extra time in both victories. Pepperdine downed Cal State Northridge at home to start the year, getting a penalty kick goal from Kristen Rodriguez in the 94th minute to win 1-0. The Waves got another 1-0 win against North Carolina State at the Torero Classic in San Diego on Sunday, with Taylor Alvarado scoring the game-winner in the 92nd minute.
Malibu Milestone: Pepperdine head coach Tim Ward hit a milestone this year in the Waves' season-opening win over CSUN, presiding over his 200th win at the helm for the Waves. Ward is in his 18th season with the team after taking over as the Pepperdine head coach in 1998. His team posted a program-best 18 wins in 2002 and has recorded double digit win totals in 12 of his 17 seasons. 2014 was his fourth 15-win campaign. Ward's record is now 201-100-45 for his career.
Players of the Week: Hannah Seabert and Bri Visalli have secured two of the four WCC Player of the Week awards handed out so far this season. Seabert won the award after leading the Waves to a pair of overtime shutouts in their first two games and then Visalli snagged the award two weeks later after scoring against Toledo and top-ranked Virginia in a win and a draw.
Preseason All-WCC: Hailey Harbison picked up Preseason All-WCC honors. Harbison (Rancho Penasquitos, Calif./Westview HS) got the preseason nod after taking home WCC Freshman of the Year and NSCAA All-West Region first team honors last year. She was a catalyst on both the offensive and defensive ends for the Waves last season, scoring one goal and recording two assists as an attacking outside defender. Harbison was part of a Waves defense that gave up just 16 goals all year, and led the conference with 11 shutouts and a 0.67 goals against average.
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 25 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 #52 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
