Pepperdine Closes Regular Season at Pacific
11/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
This Week: The No. 20 Pepperdine women's soccer team wraps up the regular season this week with a lone game at Pacific on Saturday. The Waves can lock up a West Coast Conference title and NCAA Tournament berth with a win.
Game #18: Saturday (Nov. 5) at Knoles Field in Stockton, Calif.: Pepperdine (11-4-3, 6-1-1) vs. Pacific (1-14-1, 1-7-0) at 1 p.m.
Multimedia: Saturday's games will be streamed live on TheW.tv. A link to live stats will be available at pacifictigers.com. Fans can also follow @WavesSoccer on Twitter for live updates.
Series vs. Pacific: The Waves are 7-0 all-time against the Tigers since the teams first played back in 1993. Pepperdine won last year's contest 1-0 at home and in 2014 picked up a 5-0 win on the road.
Last Week: Pepperdine played its lone game against Loyola Marymount at home last week, falling 1-0 to the Lions. LMU scored in the first minute of action and was able to hold the Waves the rest of the way.
On The Line: The Waves have a chance to lock up a WCC title and berth in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. BYU could still tie Pepperdine for the conference crown with a win, but the Waves hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Cougars and would receive the conference's automatic bid to the postseason.
Stellar Defense: The Waves have allowed just two goals in their eight WCC games so far this season. After a scoreless draw at Portland, the Waves shutout their next four opponents in victories. Santa Clara's goal in week three snapped a 606 scoreless minute streak. The Waves are second in the WCC and 24th in the NCAA with 0.72 goals allowed, and their 10 shutouts are tied for 19th in the nation and second in the WCC.
Seabert Record Watch: Hannah Seabert is tied for the Pepperdine all-time saves record with Anna Picarelli, currently sitting at 319 saves for her career. Seabert is also 2 wins back of the all-time goalkeeper wins record with 45 for her career, chasing Roxanne Barker's 47 victories. She also has an outside chance at the solo shutout record, with her 27 shutouts sitting five back of Picarelli's 32. Seabert tied Picarelli for first on the saves list last week against LMU.
Rylee Baisden: Rylee Baisden has been the Waves' offensive leader this year, leading the team with six goals and five assists for a team-high 17 points. She is fifth in the WCC in points. Baisden picked up her second WCC Player of the Week award after scoring a goal and an assist two weeks ago.
Rankings: The Waves moved to No. 20 in the NSCAA Coaches Poll after falling last week to LMU. The Waves are also No. 20 in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings and No. 19 in the Hero Sports rankings. Pepperdine is currently 30th in RPI.
NCAA Tournament History: 2014 was the Waves' eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament and third in the last five years. The Waves have gone as far as the Sweet 16 three times in their history ('02, '05, '14). 2014 was the third time the Waves have hosted a first-round game as well. It was the first time the Waves have advanced out of the first round when playing at home and the first time in program history Pepperdine has advanced on a shootout. It was the fifth time overall that the Waves have advanced out of the first round.
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 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 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.
