PULLMAN, Wash. — Pepperdine women's soccer (10-5-2, 7-1-1 WCC) at Washington State (5-6-5, 3-3-2 WCC) on a rainy Saturday night from Lower Soccer Field in Pullman.

The lone goal came off the foot of Layla Simon in the 60th minute, as the Waves knocked on the door through the opening hour until breaking through with Tabitha LaParl and Tatum Wynalda setting up the eventual game-winner.

Jillian Medvecky made a career-high nine saves in goal for the Waves, earning her sixth clean sheet of the season and third in West Coast Conference play.

"I'm so proud of the ladies tonight," said head coach Tim Ward. "A gritty, grindy win in really difficult conditions, but I felt like we had good intensity in the first half against a highly motivated team, and then in the second half I think that we found another level and really deserved the result. I'm proud of every woman on this team and we just need to go again now. Big one on Wednesday at home!" 

With the rain pouring down at the game's start time, each side settled into an end-to-end opening spell which saw Medvecky called into action three times in the opening 15 minutes, as the sophomore would be busy throughout for Pepperdine.

The Waves best chance of the first half came in the 40th minute on a Kyra Murphy volley off a Julia Quinonez cross which forced a good save as Pepperdine's lone shot on goal of the first 45 minutes.

Pepperdine came out with control early in the second half, firing six shots in the opening 13 minutes but unable to test Zora Standifer in the Cougars' net.

The Waves then found their breakthrough in the 60th  minute, as Tabitha LaParl found Tatum Wynalda with a through ball into the box, as Wynalda centered it perfectly to Layla Simon who fired home her third goal of the season.

Pepperdine almost doubled the lead in the 80th minute with Peyton Leonard finding the back of the net with a header off a free kick, but the offside flag kept it a one-goal game into the final minutes.

The Cougars continued to test Medvecky, firing their ninth shot on goal with just over a minute to play before having a free kick with under 30 seconds to play from a dangerous position,

The Pepperdine defense held strong one last time, forcing a shot wide and seeing out the closing seconds to secure the three points on the road.

The Waves will return home for the final time in the regular season, hosting Portland at 3 p.m. on Wednesday from Tari Frahm Rokus Field.

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 319-156-78.

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