MALIBU, Calif.  – The Pepperdine women's soccer team will hit the road for two matches, visiting LSU of the SEC and Illinois of the B1G. 
 
MATCH #7 — Thursday (Sept. 7) at LSU Soccer Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.: Pepperdine (2-0-4) at LSU (4-2-0) at 4 p.m. PT
 
MATCH #8 — Sunday (Sept. 10) at Demirjian Park in Champaign, Ill.: Pepperdine (2-0-4) at Illinois (3-1-1, visits Missouri on Thursday) at 10 a.m. PT
 
WATCH/ONLINE — The match against LSU will be streamed on the SEC Network+ while the game against Illinois will be streamed on B1G+. Links to live stats and the stream can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
 
LSU — Pepperdine and LSU are 0-0-2 all-time. The Waves and Tigers last met during the 2022 season at Tari Frahm Rokus Field and tied 2-2. Pepperdine fell behind 2-0 in the first half and Tabitha LaParl and Tatum Wynalda found the back of the net in the second half to earn the tie.
 
ILLINOIS — The Waves are 1-1-0 all-time against the Fighting Illini. The last meeting between the two squads was during the 2019 season in Malibu. Illinois captured a 3-2 over the Waves.
 
LAST WEEK — For the second week in a row, the Waves went 1-0-1 after defeating Fresno State 2-0 on Friday afternoon and tying Harvard 1-1 on Sunday afternoon. On Friday, goals by Peyton Leonard and Karina Gonzalez in either half lifted Pepperdine to a 2-0 victory over Fresno State at Bulldog Soccer Stadium. The Waves and Bulldogs were nearly even in shots for 90 minutes, with Pepperdine having the one-shot advantage, 6-5. Pepperdine took three shots in the first half, which were all on target and included Leonard's goal in the 26th-minute, which was her first of the season and first career goal. The Waves did the same in the second half against the Bulldogs and Gonzalez found the back of the net in the 56th minute. Taylor Rath and Harlee Head collected a combined shutout. On Sunday, Pepperdine finished with a 1-1 tie against Harvard at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. The Waves held a steady pace during the match, outshooting the Crimson in the first half, 4-3. The squads went into the break 0-0, and Pepperdine then answered shortly into the second half as Kam Pickett found the back of the net in the 64th minute. Pickett's goal was the first of the season and her first career goal. Harvard answered on an unlucky touch from Pepperdine to equalize the game.
 
WCC STATS — The Waves are ranked tied for third in the WCC in goals against average (0.83) and fourth in goals per game (1.50) ... Taylor Rath leads the conference in save percentage (.815), ranks third in saves (22) and sixth in goals against average (0.85) ... Skylar Enge is tied for fourth in assists (three) and assists per game (0.50) ... Tori Waldeck is tied for seventh in assists (two) ... Karina Gonzalez, Julia Quinonez and Tatum Wynalda are all tied for ninth in the WCC for goals with two each and tied for 10th in goals per game (0.33).
 
HONORS — 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.
 
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 #55 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.