MALIBU, California — Non-conference play comes to an end this week and the Pepperdine women's soccer team will attempt to head into the West Coast Conference campaign on a strong note after visiting nearby CSUN on Thursday.
Facing one of the nation's toughest schedules, the Waves have beaten then-#2 Stanford and tied then-#5 UCLA in the last two weeks, but will be attempting to get back to .500 with a win.
MATCH #10 — Thursday (September 26) at Matador Soccer Field in Northridge, California: Pepperdine (3-4-2) at CSUN (6-1-3) at 7 p.m.
WATCH/ONLINE — The match will be shown live online via BigWest.TV. Links to the broadcast and live stats can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
OPPONENT — Pepperdine is 8-1-3 all-time against CSUN. The last official meeting resulted in a 0-0 tie in Northridge in 2016 (the teams also tied in an exhibition, 1-1, last season). The Waves are 3-1-2 in matches played in Northridge. CSUN is receiving votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll. The Waves and Matadors have one common opponent (Pepperdine tied Texas A&M 0-0, CSUN lost 4-0).
LAST WEEK — The Waves took on two more nationally ranked Pac-12 opponents at the Rainbow Wahine Shootout in Hawai'i. First, the Waves battled then-#5 UCLA to a 2-2 draw behind goals by
Chloe Gaynor and
Hailey Stenberg. Then-#24 Washington State would post a 2-1 victory over the Waves despite a
Joelle Anderson goal.
NOTABLE — Four different Waves —
Shelby Little,
Leyla McFarland,
Hailey Stenberg and
Brie Welch are tied with a team-high two goals ... McFarland leads with three assists ...
Kinsey Ehmann is second in the WCC in saves per game (4.2) ... The Waves' team goals-against average of 1.06 ranks third in the WCC, but they're seventh in scoring at 1.33 goals per game ... Pepperdine has played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. The combined win-loss record of their non-conference opponents in 2018 was 120-62-20 (.643), and five of them won matches in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Five of the first nine opponents were nationally ranked at the time of the game.
TICKETS — Single-game tickets at Tari Frahm Rokus Field cost $10 each for adults and $8 each for children under 12, seniors 65+ and alumni/Crest members. Students, faculty and staff are free with an ID. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $5 each.
NEXT — Pepperdine begins WCC play with a home match against Portland on Saturday, October 5.
