Women's Soccer Heads Across Town to Face No. 5 USC

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Pepperdine women's soccer (0-1-1) heads east towards Los Angeles to take on No. 5 USC (1-0) in just the second match ever at Rawlinson Stadium Thursday night at 7 p.m.

"The focus right now is on our own development and trajectory," Head Coach Tim Ward said. "Our schedule has never been for the faint of heart. We're excited about showing up and playing a vicious opponent, focusing on how we can get better. This new venue has got to be one of the best in the country for a women's soccer program. It's going to be a special occasion to get to play there."

LAST TIME OUT

The Waves played the Rainbow Wahine of Hawai'i in the home opener, tying 2-2.
Megan Edelman and Tatum Wynalda scored the two goals for Pepperdine just four minutes apart.
Ariana Markey notched the first assist of her collegiate career on Edelman's goal.

GAME NOTES

Two games into the season, Tatum Wynalda leads the Waves with three points, garnering an assist at TCU and a goal against Hawai'i.
Wynalda played in all 21 matches last year, making 17 starts.
As the leading returning offensive producer for the Waves, Tabitha LaParl tabbed six goals and two assists last season.

Through her career, LaParl has amassed 10 goals and nine assists over her career with 49 caps.
In her completed three seasons, Wynalda has scored 18 goals with seven assists through three years.
The Waves are coming off a 2024 season which saw the program's fifth WCC Championship after finishing (6-1-3) in the conference. The title was split with Santa Clara who posted the same mark in the WCC.
Pepperdine returns nine of the starting 11 from last season.
The last time the program won back-to-back conference titles was 2016 & 2017 as Pepperdine looks to win the WCC outright for just the second time ever.
Thursday night, Ward will look across at the Trojan squad to see his daughter, Charlotte, who is a freshman at USC.

SERIES HISTORY

In 17 matchups with the Trojans, the Waves are 7-9-1 all-time. With a 4-3-0 record on the road in the series, this will be Pepperdine's first match inside Rawlinson Stadium and just USC's second.
Last season, the Trojans came to Malibu and beat the Waves 3-1 after an early Waves lead. The last win for Pepperdine was on the road in a 2-0 shutout in 2021.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS

Coming in at No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, the Los Angeles foe in USC is one of the most highly-touted squads in the country.
Currently just 1-0, USC beat California Baptist 4-0 Sunday night in the grand opening of Rawlinson Stadium. The match-winning goal came from a penalty kick in the first half of play.
Selected to finish first in the Preseason Big Ten poll, the Trojans saw forward Maribel Flores, midfielder Ines Derrien and forward Faith George garner Preseason All-Big Ten honors.

The game Thursday is slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff and will be available to stream on Big Ten Plus (subscription required). Live stats will be available here.

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 309-152-77.
TICKETS
For more information and to purchase tickets to upcoming home events, visit here.
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine women's soccer news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineWSOC.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Megan Edelman

Tabitha LaParl

Ariana Markey

Tatum Wynalda

Footer