The #20 Pepperdine women's soccer team secured the first 10-win season since 2021 with a 2-0 win over Portland under the lights Wednesday night.
The Waves (10-3-3, 4-1-1) got back on track against the Pilots (8-4-5, 3-2-2) netting two goals and securing the shutout thanks to six saves by freshman
Jillian Medvecky (Concord Township, Ohio).
Without Pepperdine's two leading goal scorers, senior
Tori Waldeck (Newhall, Calif.) and redshirt junior
Tabitha LaParl (Lakewood, Calif.), the offense needed a push to come away with a victory tonight. In the 22nd minute, the push came in the form of freshman
Elle Quinn (Folsom, Calif.) With three assists on the season, Quinn is used to being in the attacking third, but she had yet to secure her first collegiate goal. Scoring unassisted and nearly uncontested, Quinn rocketed the ball into the goal from just outside the box on the left-hand side. As the 14th Wave to score this season, Quinn further proved the versatility of the Pepperdine offense. At half, the Waves led 1-0.
The second half did not see any goals from either team for the majority of the 45 minutes. Just as Quinn's goal looked to be the sole one of the match, junior
Tatum Wynalda (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) put an exclamation point on the win for Pepperdine. A ball from freshman
Ariana Salvador (Newhall Calif.) would give the Wynalda an opportunity to score by outrunning the Portland defense. Placing the ball perfectly into the far side of the net, the junior cemented the win.
On the defensive side of the ball, Medvecky had a busy night. Three saves each half resulted in the Ohio native's sixth clean sheet this season, including third solo. Tonight marks the most saves recorded by the freshman since Sept. 1 in the 1-0 shutout against #3 UCLA.
The 2-0 victory gave the Waves a crucial three points in conference play, shooting them up to second place in the West Coast Conference. Currently one point behind Santa Clara, both teams have four more matches to play.
GOALS
22' | Quinn found the ball after a fight for possession by the Pepperdine offense in the box, rocketing the ball from just outside the 18 for the lead.
86' | Wynalda got a good look on goal by outpacing the Portland defense, perfectly burying the ball into the left side of the net from the far side of the box.
STATS
Shots: Pepperdine 12, Portland 12
Shots on Goal: Pepperdine 6, Portland 6
Saves:
Jillian Medvecky (Pepperdine) 6, Bre Norris (Portland) 4
Corner Kicks: Pepperdine 2, Portland 3
Fouls: Pepperdine 9, Portland 10
Offsides: Pepperdine 1,Portland 0
UP NEXT
The #20 Pepperdine soccer team travels 90 minutes south to Corvallis, Ore. to take on the Beavers of Oregon State. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m. Saturday. Live stats can be found on pepperdinewaves.com
