SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Pepperdine women's soccer (9-4-1, 6-0 WCC) defeated San Diego (4-3-6, 1-3-2 WCC) 2-1 on Friday night behind an 85th minute game-winning goal from Peyton Leonard.
"I'm really proud of the girls because we stuck with our shape and our ideas," said head Coach Tim Ward. "It was a really big result."
With the home team scoring in the opening minute, Pepperdine played down 0-1 from the jump. Two shots on goal in the first half would not find the back of the net as the Waves trailed at the break.
Determination drove Pepperdine as the second half began with a flurry of corners on San Diego's defensive end. Although the Toreros fended off the Waves, momentum had swung in favor of the visiting team.
Equalizing in the 69th minute, Elle Quinn drove a beauty of a ball across the end line to Julia Quinonez, who poked it in for her team-leading ninth of the season.
Not satisfied with a tie, the Waves kept the foot on the gas to find the winning goal. For the 11th and final corner of the evening for Pepperdine, Tatum Wynalda served a perfect ball into the box to find Peyton Leonard's head for a goal in the 85th minute. The game-winner is Wynalda's seventh assist of the season and Leonard's fourth goal of the year.
Up next, Pepperdine will travel across Los Angeles to play the Lions of Loyola Marymount Wednesday night. In the seventh night match of the season, kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The live stream will be on ESPN+ (subscription required) with live stats available on pepperdinewaves.com.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN'S SOCCER
Pepperdine women's soccer has been competitive since season one in 1993. As just the third head coach in the program's history, Tim Ward has led the Waves to 14 NCAA tournament appearances, winning the West Coast Conference five separate times and taking his squad to the round of 16 four times, most recently in 2021. With 23 winning seasons, Ward has proven he can lead consistently with excellence, garnering an overall record of 318-155-77.
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