The Pepperdine women's soccer team plays a little closer to home in the midweek matchup against UC San Diego before the 2024 home opener against known foe USC.
MATCH #1 — Thursday (Aug. 22) at UC San Diego in San Diego, Calif. against the Tritons (0-2) at 4 p.m.
MATCH #2 — Sunday (Aug. 25) at Tari Frahm Rokus Field in Malibu, Calif. against the Trojans of USC (1-0-1) at 1 p.m. For the first 100 fans in attendance, shaved ice from a Kona Ice Truck will be available.
ONLINE — Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+. Links to live stats can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
UC SAN DIEGO — Pepperdine has only played UC San Diego three times, with the first matchup in 2021. The Waves are 3-0 against the Tritons, outscoring them 9-1 across all three matches. This will be the first time since 2022, and only the second time ever, the team will be travelling down to Triton Soccer Stadium.
USC — The Waves have a long history with the Trojans. Dating back to 1993, the two teams have faced off a total of 16 times. Looking to get back to .500, Pepperdine's overall record against USC is currently 7-8-1. Opposite from expectation, the Waves have a far worse home record when playing the Trojans as six of the team's seven wins have come on the road. This game will serve as the home opener after Pepperdine started the 2024 campaign in Hawai'i before heading to Southern California for a midweek matchup with UC San Diego.
ROSTER NUMBERS — The Waves' 30-player roster breakdown is three graduates, four seniors, two redshirt juniors, five juniors, three redshirt sophomores, three sophomores, one redshirt freshman and nine true freshmen. Pepperdine has 19 returners, including eight postseason starters. Two Waves — Victoria Romero and Tori Waldeck — are back for an extra season after utilizing COVID-19 redshirt years. Graduate transfer Megan Edelman comes to Pepperdine after winning a 2022 National Championship in her four years at UCLA.
WEST COAST CONFERENCE — The Waves were picked to finish third in the WCC preseason coaches poll for a third consecutive season. The order went as follows: Santa Clara, Washington State, Pepperdine, Portland, Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, San Francisco, Oregon State, Pacific, Loyola Marymount, and San Diego.
LAST SEASON — The Waves finished second in the WCC with their 13th NCAA tournament appearance in 2023. Pepperdine lost in the first round to NCAA national-runner up Stanford. Retuners Taylor Bloom and Tori Waldeck earned spots on the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Teams. Waldeck also earned WCC Player of the Year while returning sophomore Julia Quinonez recieved WCC Freshman of the Year.
WAVES IN THE PROS — Several Waves have made their marks professionally. Lynn Williams is a four-time NWSL champion (2016 Western New York Flash, 2018 and 2019 North Carolina Courage, and 2023 Gotham FC). In 2016, she was also the NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner. As a member of the U.S. National Team, she's earned 70 caps and scored 19 goals. She won a gold medal in the most recent 2024 Olympics in Paris as well as a bronze in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Williams made her World Cup debut in 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, four times (most recently in 2022-23). 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.
