Waves Face North Carolina State in NCAA Second Round
11/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
This Week: The No. 19 Pepperdine women's soccer team faces North Carolina State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Stanford on Friday.
Game #20: Friday (Nov. 18) at Cagan Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif.: Pepperdine (12-4-4) vs. North Carolina State (10-8-2) at 4:30 p.m.
Multimedia: Stanford will be streaming Friday's game via Facebook live at Facebook.com/Stanfordwsoccer. A link to live stats will also be available at pepperdinewaves.com.
Series vs. NC State: The Waves and Wolfpack have only played once in their respective histories. Pepperdine won the lone meeting, which was last season on a neutral setting at San Diego. The Waves beat NC State 1-0 in overtime.
First Round Win: Pepperdine advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in in program history last week, moving past California on penalty kicks. The Waves scored early against the Bears, getting a sixth minute goal from Danielle Thomas. Cal came back with a goal in the 68th minute and the teams would play even through two overtimes to go to a shootout. Pepperdine won 3-2 in the penalty shootout, getting a make from Rylee Baisden on the last kick to seal the win. It was the second time in three years that the Waves have advanced on PK's, beating USC in 2014.
WCC Title: Pepperdine locked up the program's third WCC in the last week of the regular season, beating Pacific 1-0 on the road to secure the championship. The Waves last won a title in 2011 and in 2002 before that. Pepperdine and BYU shared the title with 7-1-1 records, but the Waves earned the conference's automatic bid by beating the Cougars in their lone meeting this year.
WCC Awards: Six Waves were honored with WCC postseason awards this week. Pepperdine's Hannah Seabert was named WCC Goalkeeper of the Year and head coach Tim Ward was named Coach of the Year. Rylee Baisden picked up All-WCC first team honors along with Seabert and Bri Visalli was named to the All-WCC second team. Michelle Maemone garnered honorable mention and Hailey Stenberg was named to the All-Freshman team.
Stellar Defense: The Waves allowed just two goals in their nine WCC games this season and none on the road. 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 18th in the NCAA with 0.65 goals allowed per game, and their 11 shutouts are tied for 16th in the nation and are second in the WCC. Pepperdine's 11 shutouts also match a program record.
Hannah Seabert: Seabert picked up the program's first Goalkeeper of the Year award this year. She also set the the Waves' career mark for saves this season. This year she has posted eight solo shutouts and been the goalkeeper of record in each of the Waves' 11 shutouts on the season, the most of any WCC keeper. She is second in the league with a 0.66 goals against average and has posted a total of 74 saves thus far. Seabert is also second on the Pepperdine career list for goalkeeper wins, with 46, just one behind Anna Picarelli. She is the first Wave keeper to earn WCC Goalkeeper of the Year honors.
Rylee Baisden: Baisden has been the Waves' offensive leader this year, leading the team with six goals and six assists for a team-high 18 points. She is fifth in the WCC in points. Baisden has two WCC Player of the Week Awards this year and was named All-WCC first team.
Tim Ward: Ward picked up his fourth WCC Coach of the Year award and second in the last three years this season. He guided the Waves to a third conference title and ninth NCAA Tournament appearance. Ward now has 219 career wins as the winningest coach in program history. He has overseen 15 winning seasons and has led the Waves to 13 10-win seasons and nine years with at least 12 wins.
NCAA Tournament History: 2016 is the Waves' ninth trip to the NCAA Tournament and fourth in the last six years. The Waves have gone as far as the Sweet 16 three times in their history ('02, '05, '14). 2016 is the fourth time the Waves have hosted a first-round game as well. 2014 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. Pepperdine has made the Sweet 16 in '02, '05 and '14. The Waves have a 7-8-1 postseason record.
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.
Hall of Fame: Waves alum Anna Picarelli was inducted into the Pepperdine Hall of Fame this 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 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.
