First-Place Waves Host Santa Clara, San Francisco
10/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
This Week: The No. 19 Pepperdine women's soccer team returns to Malibu looking to hold on to first place in the conference standings against Santa Clara on Friday and San Francisco on Sunday.
Game #16: Friday (Oct. 21) at Tari Frahm Rokus Field in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (9-3-3, 4-0-1) vs. Santa Clara (5-5-4, 2-1-1) at 3 p.m.
Game #17: Sunday (Oct. 23) at Tari Frahm Rokus Field in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (9-3-3, 4-0-1) vs. San Francisco (6-8-0, 2-2-0) at 1 p.m.
Multimedia: Both games will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Links to live stats will also be available at pepperdinewaves.com. Fans can also follow @WavesSoccer on Twitter for live updates.
Series vs. Santa Clara: The Waves are 8-14-0 all-time against Santa Clara. Starting in 1994, Santa Clara won the first seven matchups in the series, but since then it has been a story of home-field advantage. Since the turn of the millennium, neither team has won a game on the other's home field. The Waves and Broncos are 8-8 against each other since the year 2000. Santa Clara squeaked out a win in overtime last year and the Waves won 2-1 in 2014.
Series vs. San Francisco: The Waves are 12-10-1 all-time against the Dons, dating back to 1993. San Francisco has won two of the last three, but since 2007, the Waves have won six of the last nine, going 6-2-1 during that span. Pepperdine is 9-2-1 at home.
Last Week: Pepperdine played its lone game on the road, beating Saint Mary's 2-0. Hailey Stenberg scored in the 11th minute and Rylee Baisden put the game away with a 57th minute goal. Baisden also assisted on Stenberg's early goal.
Stellar Defense: The Waves have yet to allow a goal in five conference matches and are a game away from matching the program's longest shutout streak of six. Pepperdine played to a scoreless draw at Portland in the season opener and has won four straight since. The Waves have allowed only 0.73 goals per game this season and lead the WCC with nine shutouts on the year.
Seabert Record Watch: Hannah Seabert is chasing the Pepperdine all-time saves record held by Anna Picarelli (319), currently sitting at 312 saves on the year. Seabert is also 4 wins back of the all-time goalkeeper wins record with 43 for her career, chasing Roxanne Barker's 47 victories. She also has an outside chance at the solo shutout record, with her 26 shutouts sitting seven back of Picarelli's 32.
Beating BYU: The Waves shut down one of the top offenses in the country in a win over then-No. 5 BYU earlier this year. The Cougars came in scoring over 2.5 goals per game, but were held scoreless for just the third time on the year in a 1-0 Waves win. Bri Visalli scored on a penalty shot for the game's lone goal. Pepperdine outshot BYU 11-7 in the game.
Rylee Baisden: Senior Rylee Baisden has been Pepperdine's offensive leader so far this year, leading the team with five goals and four assists for a team-high 14 total points.
Rankings: The Waves stayed at No. 19 in the NSCAA Coaches Poll after a 1-0 week, and also held firm at No. 23 in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings. Pepperdine moved into Soccer America's Top 25, coming in at No. 24. The Waves also checked in at No. 19 in Hero Sports' rankings.
Wave in Rio: Former Pepperdine goalkeeper Roxanne Barker made her second trip to the Olympics when she competed for her native South Africa this summer in Rio. Barker became the first Wave to play in the Olympics when she competed for South Africa in the London 2012 games. Barker and RSA went 0-2-1 in Rio, but closed the tournament with a clean sheet against Brazil.
Hall of Fame: Waves alum Anna Picarelli was inducted into the Pepperdine Hall of Fame this year. Picarelli Played four seasons (2002-05), helping the team to the program's first WCC title, two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and four NCAA Tournament appearances. She was a three-time All-WCC honoree (2004 and 2005 second team, 2002 honorable mention) and ended her career as Pepperdine's career leader in saves (319), save percentage (.846), goals-against average (0.81) and shutouts (32). Picarelli was invited to a U.S. U-21 National Team camp and went to Italy to play professionally, winning two Italian National Cups and playing in the European Champions League. She made the Italian National Team and played in the 2009 European Championships and in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Picarelli is the second soccer play to be inducted.
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 #50 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
