Game Notes

This Week: The Pepperdine women's soccer team hosts a pair of Ivy League opponents this week, taking on Columbia on Friday and then Dartmouth on Sunday.

Game #4: Friday (Sept. 1) at Tari Frahm Rokus Field in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (1-1-1) vs. Columbia (1-0-1) at 3 p.m.

Game #5: Sunday (Sept. 3) at Tari Frahm Rokus Field in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (1-1-1) vs. Dartmouth (2-0) at 1 p.m.

Multimedia: Both games will be broadcast live on TheW.tv with Al Epstein on the call. Live stats will also be available on PepperdineWaves.com. Fans can follow @WavesSoccer on Twitter for live, in-game updates.

Series vs. Columbia: Pepperdine, 1-0 - The Waves and Lions have played once back in 2004, with Pepperdine picking up a 1-0 win in an early-season neutral-site contest in Berkeley, Calif.

Series vs. Dartmouth: Pepperdine, 2-0 - The Waves and Big Green have played twice in their history, with Pepperdine winning both games. The Waves won 2-1 at home in 2010 and won 1-0 on the road in 2012.

Last Week: The Waves played just one home game last week, picking up a big 3-0 win over Texas Tech. Pepperdine scored twice in the first half and then once in the second to play to a commanding victory over the previously unbeaten Red Raiders. Devyn Gilfoy and Danielle Thomas picked up goals in the first half and Bri Visalli scored in the second. Visalli also notched an assist on Thomas' goal.

WCC Preseason Poll: Pepperdine was selected to finish third in the WCC Preseason Poll. Santa Clara edged BYU for the top spot in the poll. Bri Visalli was also named to the preseason all-conference team. It was the third straight year the Waves have been picked to finish third in the WCC preseason poll. Pepperdine outperformed that prediction last year with a WCC Championship.

2017 Roster: Pepperdine returns 18 players from its 2016 roster and brings in an 11-player freshman class. The Waves lost 10 players from last year's roster.

WCC Title: Pepperdine is coming off of its third WCC title last year. The Waves won their previous titles in 2011 and in 2002 before that. Pepperdine and BYU shared the championship with 7-1-1 records, but the Waves earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by beating the Cougars in their lone meeting last year.

Tim Ward: Ward picked up his fourth WCC Coach of the Year award and second in the last three years in 2016 and now heads into his 20th year at the helm for Pepperdine. He guided the Waves to a third conference title and ninth NCAA Tournament appearance last year. Ward now has 220 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.