Waves Take on Last Week of Regular Season Play
10/31/2023 11:02:00 AM | Women's Soccer
MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's soccer team will face two WCC matchups in the last games of regular season play. The Waves will be on the road in San Francisco to start the week, then will face the Bulldogs at home in a tie-breaker for the number one slot in the WCC.
MATCH #17 — Wednesday (Nov. 1) at Negoesco Stadium in San Francisco, Calif.:Pepperdine (8-3-5, 5-1-0 WCC) at San Francisco (6-7-3, 3-2-1 WCC) at 6 p.m. PT
MATCH #18 — Saturday (Nov. 4) at Tari Frahm Rokus Field in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (8-3-5, 2-1-0 WCC) vs. Gonzaga (12-3-1, 5-1-0 WCC) at 12 p.m. PT
WATCH/ONLINE — Both matches will be live on ESPN+ (subscription required). Links to live stats and the stream can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
TICKETS — Tickets to all Pepperdine home women's soccer matches in 2023 will be available via e-ticket ONLY. Patrons must purchase tickets to any event prior to arriving on campus. Individuals without tickets to an event will not be allowed on campus. Pepperdine faculty, staff and students must show Pepperdine ID card for entry — no ticket purchase is required. To purchase e-tickets and read the spectator guidelines, visit: tickets.pepperdinewaves.com. Ongoing construction projects are significantly affecting parking availability at our athletic venues. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to find parking and make your way to the venue. Please park in the Firestone Fieldhouse parking lot or the RHO parking lot.
SEATING — Bleacher seating at Tari Frahm Rokus Field is limited and on a first-come, first-serve basis. Fans are encouraged to bring their own chairs.
OPPONENTS — Pepperdine is 17-10-3 all-time against San Francisco ... The Waves are 20-6-4 all-time against the Bulldogs and are currently tied for first with Gonzaga in WCC play.
LAST TIME ON THE PITCH — The Waves collected a WCC win against San Diego this week on the road. On Friday, Oct. 27, Pepperdine defeated the Toreros 7-0 at Torero Stadium in San Diego. The Waves found the back of the net just after the 30th minute when Tatum Wynalda saw a pass from Skylar Enge. Tori Waldeck came back with a shot just a minute later, with a ball from Julia Quinonez, scoring in the 32nd minute. After halftime, Quinonez added a point to the board off a Wynalda pass. Later, in the 61st minute, Wynalda was able to find the back of the net again with an assist from Ava Verplancke. Verplancke later sent passes to Taylor Bloom, and Kendall Campbell, who put Pepperdine up 6-0. In the 85th minute, Caroline Coleman would finish out the match, adding one more to the top left corner. The Waves took the Toreros 7-0.
WCC STATS — The Waves are ranked third in the WCC in save percentage (.806), and second in goals per game (2.188) ... Taylor Rath ranks third in save percentage (.806), third in saves (54) and sixth in goals against average (.899) ... Skylar Enge is second in assists per game (.438) and tied for second in assists (seven) ... Tori Waldeck is tied for first in shots on goal (29) and shots on goal per game (1.81), third in shots per game (three) and goals per game (.563), fifth in points (22), ninth in assists (4) and assists per game (.250) ... Ava Verplancke is fourth in assists per game (.429).
HONORS — Tatum Wynalda gained her second WCC weekly honor on October 30 after earning WCC Offensive Player of the Week. This is the fourth WCC accolade the Waves have received this season after Wynalda scored two goals — including her first career game-winner and added an assist to lead Pepperdine in its 7-0 road win over San Diego 10/27. Her brace against San Diego was her second career multi-goal game and her five shots tied her career high.
Julia Quinonez marked her second WCC weekly honor and the fourth for the Waves this season on October 9 after being named the WCC Offensive Player of the Week. Quinonez recorded her first career game with a goal and an assist against the Gaels on 10/18.
Taylor Rath and Julia Quinonez collected the second and third WCC weekly honor after being named Defensive and Offensive Player of the Week. Rath and Quinonez helped the Waves go 1-0-1 over the weekend when the Waves tied San Diego State 1-1 on Thursday night and blanked CSUN 2-0 on Sunday night. Rath had a career-high six saves against SDSU prior to earning her first shutout of the season at CSUN, 2-0. Rath posted a .909 save percentage combined last week, and only allowed one goal ... Quinonez has made an immediate impact for the Waves as she scored in both matches last week, including the game-winning goal against the Matadors (2-0). She recorded five shots in both games combined ... This is the first time in program history that Pepperdine has swept the WCC Players of the Week accolades. Prior to the 2021 season, the conference only honored one player each week.
Tatum Wynalda notched the first WCC weekly accolade for the Waves this season, as she was named Offensive Player of the Week after scoring both game-tying goals in the match against #16 Georgetown (8/17) and Michigan (8/19).
AWARDS — Tatum Wynalda of the Waves received notice on the United Soccer Coaches' preseason forwards to watch list. Additionally, Tori Waldeck and Wynalda were also voted to the preseason All-WCC squad.
ROSTER NUMBERS — The Waves' 27-player roster breakdown is five seniors, two redshirt juniors, four juniors, two redshirt sophomores, six sophomores, three redshirt freshmen and five true freshmen. Pepperdine has six returning starters and 18 letterwinners back.
WCC — The Waves were picked to finish third in the WCC preseason coaches poll for a second consecutive season. The order went as follows: Santa Clara, Portland, Pepperdine, Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, San Francisco, Pacific, Loyola Marymount, San Diego.
LAST SEASON — The Waves finished the 2022 season with a 9-4-5 overall record and tied for fifth place in the WCC at 3-3-3. Tatum Wynalda earned All-WCC second team honors and WCC All-Freshman team. Other returning players honored by the league were Taylor Bloom and Kam Pickett, who earned All-WCC honorable mention.
WAVES IN THE PROS — Several Waves have made their marks professionally. Lynn Williams is a three-time NWSL champion (2016 Western New York Flash, 2018 and 2019 North Carolina Courage). In 2016, she was also the NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner. As a member of the U.S. National Team, she's earned 43 caps and scored 14 goals. She won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Williams made her World Cup debut in the summer of 2023. Bri Visalli, who has been part of the U.S. U-23 team, played in England for a couple of seasons before joining the NWSL's Houston Dash in 2020. In January 2019, the Waves had two NWSL Draft selections for the first time in Hailey Harbison (first round to North Carolina) and Michelle Maemone (third round to Utah). Rylee Baisden was named the 2019 Player of the Year in Australia's NPLW and joined the North Carolina Courage in 2020. The Waves have produced two Olympians (Williams and Roxanne Barker, South Africa, 2012 and 2016) and a Women's World Cup participant (Anisa Guajardo, Mexico, 2015). Anna Picarelli played for Italy and Kristi DeVert was the first Wave to suit up with the USWNT. In January 2022, Joelle Anderson signed a two-year professional contract with the Houston Dash. In June 2023, Kelsey Hill signed with Angel City FC as a national team replacement player and on August 17, 2023 signed a full-time contract with Angel City.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — 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 20 schools to have accomplished this feat — and 10 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 26 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, five times (most recently in back-to-back years during the 2022-23 and 2021-22). Located in scenic Malibu, California, 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 #76 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
