LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Pepperdine women's soccer (11-7-2, 8-2-1 WCC) ended the 2025 campaign in Westwood, falling in the opening round of the NCAA tournament to no. 17 UCLA (12-5-3, 6-2-3 Big Ten) 1-3 Saturday night.
 
"I thought the girls played really hard, especially in the second half," Head coach Tim Ward said. "We had to be adaptive with our style as the field didn't really allow either team to get into a normal rhythm."

The weather took center stage for the match as spurts of downpouring rain made field conditions soaked and muddy.
 
As the Waves were adjusting to the field at the beginning of the match, the Bruins scored fast and early in the third minute to put Pepperdine in a 0-1 deficit.
 
Pepperdine fought the weather for the remaining 42 minutes of the half, struggling to connect as UCLA tacked on another goal to have Pepperdine staring down a 0-2 hole.
 
Adjusting at the break, the latter 45 minutes gave nearly all momentum to the Waves. Outshooting the Bruins 5-1 in the second half, Pepperdine stayed in the attacking third, hunting for a goal. The Waves finally broke through in the 89th minute off the foot of Tabitha LaParl for her fourth of the year.
 
In the 89th minute with just under two minutes to go, the Waves had to double their score quickly. Earning a corner just after the goal, Jillian Medvecky ran across the field for the Waves to have 10 offensive players in the box. Without a goal converted on the corner, the Bruins punted the ball to the other end of the field, scoring their third goal of the night to put a dagger in the Waves season as the visitors fell 1-3.
 
With two saves on the night, Medvecky finishes the year with 80 saves, the most by a Wave since 2016.
 
Ending the year 11-7-2, including 8-2-1, Pepperdine won the program's sixth conference title, just the second time ever in back-to-back seasons. The 2025 title is also only the second time the Waves have won it outright, doing so in 2017 for the first time.
 
"I just want to give out a huge thank you to our graduating senior class," Ward said. "All of those women are absolute legends, and we just can't thank them enough for everything they've done for Pepperdine women's Soccer and Pepperdine University."

Making an appearance in their 16th NCAA tournament, the Waves have made it to postseason play for the past three years straight.
 
Pepperdine also notches the final conference title without a conference tournament as the deciding factor, as the WCC implements a four-team tournament to determine the league champion next season.
 
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 320-157-78.
 
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