Saturday, October 17
Malibu, Calif.
12:00 p.m. PT
Pepperdine University
vs
LMU
Women’s Soccer Readies for Cross-Town Opponent LMU
10/15/2026 3:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer
MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine women's soccer (8-3-2, 4-0 WCC) will host the Lions of LMU (4-5-3, 3-0-1) Saturday afternoon in a battle of two teams undefeated in conference play.
GAME NOTES
SERIES HISTORY WITH LMU
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Pepperdine will be welcoming the 2011 WCC Champions back to Malibu Saturday to honor the 15th anniversary of their championship run. With the recognition set for halftime of the match, kickoff is set for 12 p.m. pst, available to stream on ESPN+ (subscription required) with live stats available at www.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 24 winning seasons, Ward has proven he can lead consistently with excellence, garnering an overall record of 323-160-80.
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.
- The Waves had four different goal scorers in a 5-0 win over San Francisco last Saturday in Malibu.
- Julia Quinonez scored her third brace of the season, bringing her total in goals for the year to her 2025 final total of 11.
- Sam Hosford scored her third of her freshman campaign while Sahaana Potti scored her first collegiate goal. Layla Simon netted the match-winner as her first of the year.
- Pepperdine has scored eight goals through the last two matches.
GAME NOTES
- Unanimous among the WCC coaches poll, Pepperdine was picked to finish first in the conference this year.
- The trio of seniors: Peyton Leonard, Kyra Murphy, and Julia Quinonez were selected to the preseason all-conference team, the third year in a row the Waves have had three honorees make the squad.
- On their respective MAC Hermann Trophy positional players to watch, Leonard and Quinonez were recognized as returners who made the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region First Team last season.
- In the final year with no postseason tournament for the West Coast Conference, Pepperdine secured the title of conference champions for the second year in a row.
- Winning the title outright, it is the sixth conference championship for the Waves.
- The Waves have only won back-to-back titles one other time in 2016 and 2017, never doing so in three consecutive years.
- Over Tim Ward's 28 years of coaching, he has garnered over 300 wins and five WCC Coach of the Year awards, most recently in 2017.
- Throughout Ward's tenure, Pepperdine has earned six WCC titles with four NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and a total of 10 national team players.
- Returning for her senior year, Peyton Leonard is one of the most well-rounded players on the 2026 roster for the Waves.
- A steady presence on defense, the Ladera Ranch, Calif. native is also a threat on offense, tallying four goals and three assists last season.
- Named to the Top Drawer Soccer Top 100 Players across the NCAA, the centerback came in at No. 60.
- Leading the team for the second consecutive season, Julia Quinonez has notched 11 goals so far this year, bringing her collegiate total to 30, sixth all-time in Pepperdine record books.
- The senior currently leads the nation in shot accuracy at .771 and is 15th in the nation in points per game at 1.92.
- Quinonez leads the conference in points, live-action goals, shot accuracy, and game-winners with four.
- As a fifth year, Kyra Murphy brings the most experience to the Waves this season with 83 matches played, including 54 starts.
- Totalling 12 goals and 14 assists, Murphy is currently second in the conference with six assists on the season, the most in one year in her collegiate career.
- Returning in goal for the Waves, junior Jillian Medvecky has started all but three matches for the Waves, garnering a goals against average of 1.23, tallying 161 saves.
- With two returning on the backline, the Waves will have experience in the defensive third of the field.
- Senior Peyton Leonard and junior Lily Stewart have 83 starts between the two of them along with 10 goals.
- Four freshmen make up eight goals for the Waves this season, led by Sam Hosford who is second on the team in goals with three.
- Four freshmen have rotated in and out of the starting XI with Kate Ryan, Fiona McCormick, and Emjae Soriano joining Hosford as first-year impact players.
- With a 8-3-2 record, all three Pepperdine losses have come to teams in the top 60, with two of the three to teams in the top 20 RPI.
- Posting a 5-0-1 record in Malibu, the Waves remain undefeated at home so far this season.
SERIES HISTORY WITH LMU
- All time, the Waves hold the series advantage over the Lions 18-9-6.
- In Malibu, Pepperdine is 10-5-1 against LMU.
- Most recently, Layla Simon scored in the 1-1 draw in Los Angeles last year.
- At home, the Waves are looking to remain undefeated and avenge the 2024 3-0 shutout suffered at Tari Frahm.
- The last two losses against the Lions have come in Malibu in 2024 and 2016. In both years the Waves won the WCC title.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
- Sitting at 4-5-3, LMU is coming off a 1-1 tie at home to Santa Clara.
- Undefeated so far in conference play, the Lions are 3-0-1 and just two points behind the Waves.
- The Lions have five different goal scorers, led by Cameron Bourne who has netted four so far this season.
- Through 12 matches, LMU has narrowly been outscored 10-9.
- In the net for LMU, JJ Hoover has a GAA of .83, notching 59 saves so far this year.
Pepperdine will be welcoming the 2011 WCC Champions back to Malibu Saturday to honor the 15th anniversary of their championship run. With the recognition set for halftime of the match, kickoff is set for 12 p.m. pst, available to stream on ESPN+ (subscription required) with live stats available at www.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 24 winning seasons, Ward has proven he can lead consistently with excellence, garnering an overall record of 323-160-80.
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.
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