SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Pepperdine women's soccer (7-4-1, 4-0 WCC) scored late to down the Broncos of Santa Clara (5-5-2, 1-1-2 WCC) on the road for just the second time ever.
"What a strong performance full of character and grit," Head Coach
Tim Ward said. "It's one of the toughest places to win in college soccer for a reason so we're going to enjoy this one for at least 24 hours, but then it's back to business as usual. It doesn't get any easier from here, the WCC is the real deal."
Battling in the first half, the Waves carried momentum from the previous game into the opening minutes of the match. With heavy possession and good looks on goal, scoring seemed imminent.
As the Broncos fought back, no goal was seen on either side in the first 45 of the match.
With time dwindling, a 0-0 draw became more likely by the minute in the latter portion of the second half. In the 69th minute, a Waves corner gave
Tabitha LaParl the opportunity to net her third goal and first olympico of the season from the left-hand side of the field. However, after going in the net the goal was called back for "interference with the goalie" and the match remained scoreless with 20 minutes to go.
Relentless in pursuit of a win, the Waves kept their foot on the gas. In the 85th minute,
Peyton Leonard served a beauty of a ball into the box, finding LaParl's head for the match-winner.
Five saves by
Jillian Medvecky in goal gave her shutout no. 6 on the season.
This is just the second time Pepperdine has won on the road against Santa Clara, first doing so in 2017. Moving to 4-0 in the WCC, the Waves hold sole possession of first place just a-third of the way into conference play.
Up next, Pepperdine is home against the Bulldogs of Gonzaga. It is the Hispanic Heritage Month game and commemorative totes will be given to the first 50 students in attendance. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. with the live stream on ESPN+ (subscription required) as well as 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 316-155-77.
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